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
In building a path through the self to the far shore of awareness, we have to carefully pick our way through our own wilderness. If we can put our minds into a place of surrender, we will have an easier time feeling the contours of the land. We do not have to break our way through as much as we have to find our way around the major obstacles. We do not have to cure every neurosis, we just have to learn how not to be caught by them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the journey of self-discovery and the importance of navigating through personal challenges with awareness and acceptance.
Mark Epstein's quote highlights the intricate process of self-exploration and the necessity to approach our inner struggles with mindfulness and surrender. Instead of aggressively confronting every problem or neurosis we face, it suggests that we can find more serenity by acknowledging and working around these obstacles, allowing us to maintain a greater awareness of our emotional landscape and personal growth.
Themes
Self-DiscoveryAwarenessSurrenderNeurosisMindfulness
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on personal growth, this quote can inspire participants to embrace their inner challenges.
More from Mark Epstein
All quotes →While 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.
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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
It is exceedingly difficult to maintain a sense of absence without turning that absence into some kind of presence
Mark EpsteinRead
It’s one of my theories that when people give you advice, they’re really just talking to themselves in the past.
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