Meditation is not a means of forgetting the ego; it is a method of using the ego to observe and tame its own manifestations.
Mark EpsteinRead
It is exceedingly difficult to maintain a sense of absence without turning that absence into some kind of presence
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that it's challenging to recognize and accept what is missing in our lives without it influencing our thoughts or feelings.
Mark Epstein's quote highlights the struggle of dealing with absence in our lives. It emphasizes that acknowledging what is lacking, whether it pertains to relationships, opportunities, or emotions, often transforms that absence into a palpable presence in our psyche. Instead of merely recognizing emptiness, we may unconsciously begin to dwell on it, allowing it to affect our mood and perspective. This exploration of absence and presence invites us to reflect on how our thoughts shape our emotional landscape.
Themes
AbsencePresenceRecognitionEmotionsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about grief, this quote can be shared to illustrate the complexity of mourning.
More from Mark Epstein
All quotes βWhile the primary function of formal Buddhist meditation is to create the possibility of the experience of "being," my work as a therapist has shown me that the demands of intimate life can be just as useful as meditation in moving people toward this capacity. Just as in formal meditation, intimate relationships teach us that the more we relate to each other as objects, the greater our disappointment. The trick, as in meditation, is to use this disappointment to change the way we relate.
Mark EpsteinRead
Desire is a teacher: When we immerse ourselves in it without guilt, shame, or clinging, it can show us something special about our own minds that allows us to embrace life fully.
Mark EpsteinRead
If aspects of the person remain undigested-cut off, denied, projected, rejected, indulged, or otherwise unassimilated-they become the points around which the core forces of greed, hatred and delusion attach themselves.
Mark EpsteinRead
Itβs one of my theories that when people give you advice, theyβre really just talking to themselves in the past.
Mark EpsteinRead
We are looking for a way to feel more real, but we do not realize that to feel more real we have to push ourselves further into the unknown.
Mark EpsteinRead
Similar quotes
In order for sensation to accede to the objectivity of things, it must itself be changed into a thing. The agent of change is language: the sensations are turned into verbal objects.
Octavio PazRead
The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists, who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood. The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom have always been nonconformists. In any cause that concerns the progress of mankind, put your faith in the nonconformist!
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
REJECT ALL FORMS OF CORRUPTION THAT DIVERT RESOURCES FROM THE POOR
Pope FrancisRead
Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problem you have at this moment.
Eckhart TolleRead
To see a world in a grain of sand_x000D_ And a heaven in a wild flower,_x000D_ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,_x000D_ And eternity in an hour.
William BlakeRead
I believe in God the way I believe in quarks. People whose business it is to know about quantum physics or religion tell me they have good reason to believe that quarks and God exist. And they tell me that if I wanted to devote my life to learning what they've learned, I'd find quarks and God just like they did.
Mary Doria RussellRead