Most of us have spent our lives caught up in plans, expectations, ambitions for the future; in regrets, guilt or shame about the past. To come into the present is to stop the war.
Jack KornfieldRead
The best of modern therapy is much like a process of shared meditation, where therapist and client sit together, learning to pay close attention to those aspects and dimensions of the self that the client may be unable to touch on his or her own.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Therapy is a collaborative exploration of the self, guiding clients towards self-awareness.
Jack Kornfield's quote highlights the vital role of therapy as a shared journey between the therapist and the client. It emphasizes that modern therapy resembles a form of meditation where both parties engage in a deep exploration of the client's inner self, allowing the client to access thoughts and feelings that may otherwise remain unexamined. This collaborative process fosters self-discovery and healing, as clients learn to articulate and confront aspects of their identity with support.
Themes
TherapySelf-AwarenessCollaborationMeditationHealing
In practice
Example use cases
During a mental health seminar, I shared Kornfield's quote to emphasize the therapeutic process.
More from Jack Kornfield
All quotes →We need courage and strength, a kind of warrior spirit. But the place for this warrior strength is in the heart. We need energy, commitment, and courage not to run from our life nor to cover it over with any philosophy-mate rial or spiritual. We need a warrior’s heart that lets us face our lives directly, our pains and limitations, our joys and possibilities.
Jack KornfieldRead
The questions asked at the end of lie are very simple ones: Did I love well? Did I love the people around me, my community, the earth, in a deep way? And perhaps, Did I live fully? Did I offer myself to life?
Jack KornfieldRead
We can bring our spiritual practice into the streets, into our communities, when we see each realm as a temple, as a place to discover that which is sacred.
Jack KornfieldRead
According to Buddhist scriptures, compassion is the "quivering of the pure heart" when we have allowed ourselves to be touched by the pain of life.
Jack KornfieldRead
Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.
Jack KornfieldRead
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