# Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn - Blinkist

What’s in it for me? Experience life to the fullest.

A note to readers: This Blink was especially written for audio. If you’re trying to decide whether to listen or to read, we highly recommend listening!

Stop. 

Take a deep breath in through your nose, and breathe out fully. 

How do you feel? 

When we feel stressed or threatened, our hypothalamus releases stress hormones that make our heart pump faster and our muscles tense up. This “fight or flight” reaction is natural, but can be quite harmful when experienced in situations where there is no immediate danger. 

Mindfulness – that entails meditation and being present in the moment – cannot cure the effects of stress. It can only help us to come to terms with what simply is, and to pay attention to where our stress comes from. Mindfulness helps us understand that we have no control over what’s happening to us, but we can decide how to react to it.

This is Robyn. I live in Berlin, Germany, and started working for Blinkist in 2015—the same year in which I started meditating. I’m here to take you through the main ideas of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s bestselling work Wherever You Go, There You Are (1994). Together, we will explore what it means to be fully present in the moment, and also do some actual meditation exercises – but no worries, they’re not going to take longer than a couple of minutes. I hope they can show you how mindfulness can help you live a more peaceful, balanced, and satisfied life. Let’s begin with our first short meditation.

Blink 1

Sit down comfortably and close your eyes. Think about your mind as the surface of an ocean. It’s vast and beautiful, and there are always waves on the water—some are small, some are big. Sometimes, those waves get churned up by the winds of stress and anxiety, and become very turbulent. Observe these waves. Look at them with curiosity while taking a deep breath. Watch how the ocean’s surface slowly calms down again, and in your own time, open your eyes.

Many people think that mindfulness aims at eradicating the waves on our mind’s surface in order to create calm and tranquility, but this belief couldn’t be further from the truth. All of us face obstacles in our lives over which we have little or no control – but that doesn’t mean we have to see ourselves as victims to the winds that agitate the big waves within our mind. Mindfulness meditation can help us find shelter and learn how to surf these waves.

Okay, all of this was a bit abstract and symbolic. Let’s explore the concept of mindfulness in more detail before we’re doing another practice together.

An ancient Buddhist practice, mindfulness is about overriding our automatic approach to life. We often do things unconsciously, without being fully present in the moment. Mindfulness can teach us how to pay attention to what’s happening right now, purposefully and non-judgmentally. 

The cultivation of mindfulness and meditation are often confused with things like relaxation, stress relief, or self-development. However, mindfulness isn’t about aiming for a particular feeling, nor is it about getting somewhere or becoming a particular kind of person. It’s about emptying the mind, becoming still, and allowing ourselves to realize who and where we already are.

You can see it as a tool that helps us reunite with aspects of ourselves that we often overlook. When I started meditating, it opened up entirely new ways of existing, both in my own skin and in this world. It helped me realize the richness and possibility of the present moment, and led me to richer and deeper experiences of joy and happiness, but also difficult emotions like anger and fear. 

Let’s take a closer look at how mindfulness and meditation can help you deal with such difficult emotions.

Blink 2

Yes, I’m still here. Did this long pause irritate you? Maybe you felt some sort of impatience? Let’s stay with this feeling of frustration for a moment. Observe it. Where in your body do you feel it the strongest? Take a closer look inside. Once you think you got a hold of what you feel, ask yourself: What do these feelings of impatience and frustration want to tell me? 

Patience and mindfulness are deeply connected. Patience means that you accept things as they are, that you realize events always unfold in their own good time. You cannot hurry spring to come or the grass to grow. Being in a hurry usually doesn’t help—in fact, it often ends up making things worse. (Think of that day when you were late for a meeting and spilled take-away coffee all over yourself because you bumped into someone whilst trying to catch the bus.)

You’re probably thinking: “That’s all well and good, but how do I actually manage my impatience and anger?” Let’s take an example from the life of the Dalai Lama. 

Although the Chinese government committed horrendous acts of genocide against the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama seems not to be angry with them. When asked about this, he responded: “They have taken everything from us; should I let them take my mind as well?” Instead of putting his energy toward feelings of anger, he uses it to promote understanding and patience.

Another quality that sets a strong foundation for mindfulness is generosity. All of us want to believe that we are generous, but are we really? Notice how you might resist the impulse to give—to share your love and excitement, to be open and vulnerable. We’re often held back from giving by an irrational fear of giving too much or reversely, not giving enough. We’re scared of rejection or our generosity going unappreciated. 

Consider the possibility that none of these fears are actually true. By sharing your full attention, care, and trust with those around you, you will start to slowly transform and discover expanded versions of yourself. Generosity is something you should have for others and for yourself. Don’t wait for someone to ask, but initiate giving. Observe what it does to you and how it makes you feel.

And don’t forget: Be patient with yourself.

Blink 3

Speaking of observing how you feel: Have you ever noticed that there is no running away from anything? That problems and difficulties will always catch up with you, no matter how much you want to escape them? If only you lived on a beautiful beach or had more money, your life would be happier… Think again. We often tend to look outward to find either the cause or the solution to our problems, because we are scared to take responsibility. But what if you accepted your reality, without trying to change it?

Meditation is not about self-improvement. In fact, that’s the opposite of being mindful. Mindfulness is about accepting life as it is, accepting yourself as you are.

Our modern culture is focused on doing. All of us are doing something all the time: we take lots of notes whilst listening to a presentation, we run from one meeting to another, respond to a friend’s text, do the laundry, cook dinner, watch TV, run some errands … But we leave very little room for us to just be. Rather than doing, begin shifting yourself into being mode. Let’s do a short meditation together, right now.

Either sit or lie down and, once in that position, think of yourself as timeless. Observe the present moment without trying to change anything. Engage your senses and focus on what you see, hear, feel, or on whatever is happening for you. Try to completely embrace and accept this moment.

Along with accepting the moment, voluntary simplicity is another valuable tool on your path to mindfulness. You can interpret voluntary simplicity as a kind of intentional single-tasking. It means slowing down, going fewer places in one day rather than more, doing less now so you can do more long-term, controlling less in order to live more. Try to only engage in one activity, or with one thought, at a time. If you’re having dinner with a friend, for instance, and you get a text. Why not deliberately ignore your phone and instead bring your full attention to enjoying the time with your friend?

It’s important not to confuse non-doing with doing nothing. Non-doing in the Buddhist sense means consciously stopping, with the intention of cultivating stillness and appreciation. It’s actually quite easy—you can do it right now. Before continuing with this Blink, briefly stop. Put the phone aside, and become aware of your breathing. Don’t try to achieve anything, or change anything about your current experience. Just breathe and let be. Hit the pause button, take your time to stop for a couple of breaths, and when you’re back, we explore some profound effects that non-doing can have on your life.

Blink 4

Welcome back. I promised to talk a bit about the beautiful ways in which practicing non-doing can change your life. In order to unlock this potential, we have to understand that non-doing is inherently linked to inquiry. The easiest way to get from doing to being is through asking yourself questions such as:  Am I currently doing something? If so, what is it? Can I stop it for a bit? Do I even have to do this? 

No worries, you don’t need to find answers to all of these questions. It’s quite the opposite! Mindful inquiry is about asking questions without expecting answers; it’s about questioning the very question itself. At its core, it is about noticing when you’re in a state of mindless doing, and guiding yourself to mindful being.

If you’re anything like me, you might find non-doing much harder than it sounds. I sometimes tend to overthink things and really enjoy the feeling of being busy. I love doing! However, mindfulness has helped me understand that these are mechanisms and behaviors my mind came up with to distract itself from actually connecting with what’s going on inside. Instead of mulling over certain things and events in my life, I learned to bring curiosity to my body and mind. Now when I find myself starting to overthink something that’s keeping me awake at night, I don’t think: “Ugh, there’s no solution to this. I feel so frustrated!” but I take a deep breath and say to myself: “A sense of frustration is present in my body and mind. Where does it come from? How does it show up? What is its shape?” Through imagining myself as an audience rather than identifying with the feeling immediately, it’s much easier to explore and eventually let go of it.

Thankfully, there truly is no right or wrong way of practicing: you can do it whenever and wherever you want. That said, most people find that the early morning is ideal for establishing a meditation habit. It’s a wondrous time and great for grounding yourself. If you’re thinking about setting up a mindfulness routine for yourself, why don’t you try to make a commitment to get up earlier than you usually do for the next 10 days. Use this time for non-doing, being present with yourself, or a formal practice.

Blink 5

Apropos formal practice: You might already know that mindfulness can be practiced both formally and informally, but we haven’t spent much time explaining what the differences are. Let’s take a look at what makes a practice “formal” before we explore how you can practice mindfulness informally in your everyday life. 

Formal meditation basically means that you make sure to reserve specific periods of time for the development of mindfulness and concentration; think of going to a meditation retreat or introducing a mindfulness habit to your morning routine. In this dedicated time, all other activities are put on hold. However, the length of time you commit to formal meditation is entirely up to you. Just be sure to come out of your meditation mindfully. As a general guideline, Jon Kabat-Zinn finds 45 minutes per day to be a good standard practice; for him, that was enough time to achieve stillness and sustain attention. I have to admit that I find it difficult on some days to meditate for 45 minutes or an hour, so my goal is to spend at least 25 minutes meditating every day. That’s the minimum amount of time I feel comfortable dedicating to my practice on a busy day, but for example on weekends and more relaxed days, I would sit for up to an hour. 

Personally, I prefer to practice formal meditation in a sitting position. At home, I usually sit on a beautiful dark green meditation cushion, but a chair is totally fine as well. (In case sitting for a long stretch of time is difficult for you, lying on your back is a good alternative.) 

When sitting down to meditate formally, your posture is extremely important. Of course there is no right or wrong, but try to sit in a way that displays dignity. For most people this means sitting up straight, without being too stiff, and with your shoulders and face relaxed.

My favorite sitting practice is the mountain meditation. Would you be up for trying it together? Great! Then sit down on a chair or a cushion and close your eyes. 

Think of a beautiful, prominent mountain – that mountain could be any shape or form, as long as it resonates with you. As you envision the image of this mountain in your mind’s eye, note how big and still it is. Maybe your mountain is covered by trees or has a shiny snowy top. When you feel ready, bring the image of the mountain into your own body, and become one with the image. Your legs become the mountain base, your head becomes the lofty peak, your spine is straight. Sit like a mountain: calm, strong, and observing. Whether there are birds singing in the trees or freezing rain is pouring down onto the earth – it’s all the same to the mountain. The weather is just happening. The mountain doesn’t take it personally. In the same way, you can simply experience and honor the emotional storms, preoccupations, and strong feelings within yourself, without taking them personally. Slowly, open your eyes again. How did this meditation make you feel?

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Exercises like the mountain meditation can be extended, too. If you do, however, find the idea of sitting still for an extended period of time too challenging, or if you want to complement your formal meditation practice through some informal ones, you can try a walking or lying down meditation instead.

When it comes to walking meditations, their purpose isn’t to try to get anywhere. You could even choose to walk in a circle or back and forth.

The key is to slow down, taking one step at a time, with the goal of increasing presence and awareness. There truly is no place you need to be right now, except for being fully present in your own body. Bring your attention to every movement you make: each footstep and how you raise, move, and place your feet. If you’re walking in nature, listen to your surroundings and feel the presence of the trees, birds, and other humans. Try to hold onto this appreciation for Mother Nature and keep walking with dignity. 

Everyday activities like climbing the stairs provide more opportunities to practice informally. If you focus on all the intricate movements your body makes as you go up the stairs, you’ll increase your awareness of the present moment and, when you get to the top, you’ll be calmer and more connected to the next activity you engage in.

In addition to walking, lying down provides another informal way of meditating. If you’re in a comfortable and familiar environment, feel free to lie down for the following mini meditation. 

As you lie on the floor, consciously release your muscles. This will help your mind to open and release any pressing thoughts. Now, imagine that you’re sinking into the floor and feel your breath moving in your body. You can choose to focus on your body as a whole or follow the breath to different parts of your body such as the feet, the pelvis, or the hands. Allow yourself to simply feel what’s currently present. Feel how your spine connects with the floor. Stay with one more full inbreath as it comes in, and one full outbreath as it goes out. 

Jon Kabat-Zinn advises to get your body down on the floor at least once a day. When I do this, I gently stretch my entire body and observe what the change of perspective does to me. 

No matter how you’re meditating, there will at some point be an impulse to end the meditation. When this arises, recognize first where it’s coming from. Is it fatigue, impatience, discomfort, or is it just time to stop?

Blink 7

Mindfulness can become lax with the anticipation of finishing. The transition out of your meditation practice can sometimes feel very blurry or bumpy, but even this experience can be met with mindfulness. Bring genuine curiosity to the impulses which tell you it’s time to stop your practice, and try to put the ego aside that’s rushing through the last moments of your practice.

It probably comes as no surprise that your ego is the biggest obstacle you’ll face on your path to mindfulness. For instance, when you experience a significant moment during meditation, you might start congratulating yourself on doing so well. But be wary of such feelings as they may be your ego giving you a false sense of having “made it” to a higher level in your practice.

If this happens, and you feel like the I is taking over, try asking yourself where exactly you’re supposed to get to. Remember that meditation is not about arriving at a particular destination. It’s about understanding and appreciating the present moment to the fullest. In such moments, Jon Kabat-Zinn suggests we ask ourselves: “Who is the I who is asking who I am?” The ego, he says, is merely a construct.

 

That being said, mindfulness isn’t about ridding ourselves of our sense of self. It’s about balancing it, mitigating its impact, seeing things as they are, and understanding that everything is connected and constantly changing. 

When we realize that everything is interdependent, we discover that there is no isolated, independent me. The only me that exists is me in relation to all other forces in the world. This becomes very apparent through loving-kindness meditation. I would love to do a short session with you before we’re coming to an end. So sit or lie down comfortably, and center yourself.

When doing loving kindness meditation, focus on helping others and yourself by using and extending your heart-centered presence. For this, from your heart or your belly, invite feelings of kindness, love, and acceptance into your body. Let these feelings grow until they fill your whole being. Once you feel them radiating within you, you can stay in the moment and relish it, or direct these feelings outward to wherever or whoever you please. This can be a family member, a friend, or even someone you don’t know. Picture them, and repeat:

May you be free from suffering. May you be happy. 

Now, focus the kindness and acceptance you feel in your body towards yourself, and repeat after me:May I be free from suffering. May I be happy.

Final summary

Final summary

This is Robyn. Thank you so much for listening. I hope that you enjoyed our ride through Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are as much as I did! No matter where you are on your journey to mindfulness, always remember: You are already whole. W. H. O. L. E. Mindfulness is not about improving yourself – there is no improving the deepness and richness of who you are as a person. You're already good enough. Don’t forget: The only thing you have is who you are, right now. Fully appreciate being in this very moment.