Book notes: Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn 

Get the audiobook on Audible 👇 (affiliate link)

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD 

Synopsis:

“Find quiet reflective moments in your life—and reduce your stress levels drastically—with this classic bestselling guide updated and featuring a new introduction and afterword.

When Wherever You Go, There You Are was first published in 1994, no one could have predicted that the book would launch itself onto bestseller lists nationwide and sell over 1 million copies to date. Thirty years later, Wherever You Go, There You Are remains a foundational guide to mindfulness and meditation, introducing readers to the practice and guiding them through the process. The author of over half a dozen books on mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn combines his research and medical background with his spiritual knowledge to help readers find peace and change their lives.

In this new edition, listeners will find a new introduction and afterword from Kabat-Zinn, as well as factual updates throughout to address changes in research and knowledge since it was originally published. After the special tumult of the last few years, as well as the promise of more unrest in the future, Wherever You Go, There You Are serves as an anchor for a whole new generation of listeners looking to find their center and achieve their true self.” -Audible

---

~If you enjoy my summary, please consider buying me a coffee via my Ko-Fi link (click the button below) or support this blog in one of several ways! 📖 🎓

I appreciate every donation as it goes directly to the maintenance costs of my blog and creation of new content. 😊

Opening thoughts:

I don’t remember where I got this book recommendation from, either Audible itself or from the Tim Ferriss podcast. But I felt like I needed some mental/spiritual centering for the month, so I figured this would be a good book. It’s always good to revisit ideas and best practices for mindfulness and being present, which I feel improves happiness.

---

Key notes:

Part One: The Bloom of the Present Moment

What Is Mindfulness?

• Mindfulness is a presence and awareness in the current moment
• Buddhism is fundamentally being in touch with your own deepest nature and letting it flow out of you unimpeded
  • It has to do with waking up and seeing things as they are 

Simple but Not Easy

Stopping

• Meditation is about stopping and being present
  • By stopping, you realize this moment is the only one available to you, or anyone, ever 

This Is It – The Meaning of Authentic Acceptance

• Meditation is not so much a doing as it is a being
  • In meditation, the best way to get somewhere is to let go of trying to get anywhere at all

Capturing Your Moments

• The best way to capture moments is to pay attention

Keeping the Breath in Mind

Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice Does Not Mean Rehearsal

• The practice is just to take each moment as it comes. No judgements, and welcome whatever arises from it

You Don’t Have to Go Out of Your Way to Practice

Waking Up

• Ask yourself: if you’re really seeing the people around you or just your own thoughts and opinions about them

Keeping It Simple

• Don’t talk about your meditation practice, just keep it for yourself

You Can’t Stop the Waves but You Can Learn to Surf

Can Anybody Meditate?

• Everyone can, but it does take some degree of training
• Meditation is about letting the mind be as it is, and knowing something about how it is in this moment
  • It’s not about getting somewhere else or pursuing a mindful state. It’s allowing yourself to be as and where you are and letting that be enough for now
• Consciousness and intentionality are key
  • Non-Doing is different from doing nothing

In Praise of Non-Doing

• Try recognizing the bloom of your life in the present moment
• The joy of the doing is that nothing else needs to happen for this moment to be complete

The Non-Doing Paradox

Non-Doing in Action

Doing Non-Doing

• Non-doing is both the work of a lifetime and no work at all
• The doing mode is so strong in us that the cultivation of non-doing takes considerable effort

Patience

• Ethics definition: obedience to the unenforceable 

Letting Go

• Try letting go when a part of yourself wants to hold on, and experience a deeper satisfaction

Non-Judging Invites Discernment

• Meditation involves intentionally cultivating a non-judgmental attitude toward whatever arises in the mind
• Discernment is the ability to see the whole picture
  • Being discerning is a sign of wisdom and a respect for reality because we are taking note of subtleties as well as the gross outline of things

Trust

Generosity

• Give more than you think you can, trusting you are richer than you think
  • Perhaps you need to give to yourself a bit more first, then more to others

You Have to Be Strong Enough to Be Weak

• Allow yourself to feel whatever you may be feeling

Voluntary Simplicity

• Voluntarily choosing simplicity whenever possible adds to life an element of deepest freedom

Concentration

Vision

• Our vision has to do with our deepest longing
  • Our values and personal aspirations of what is most important in life

Meditation Develops Full Human Beings

Practice as a Path

Meditation: Not to Be Confused with Positive Thinking

• Awareness is not thought
  • It is more like a boundless container that can hold our thinking, thereby helping us to see and know our thoughts rather than getting caught up in them as reality
• View the process of thinking as a waterfall, a continual cascading of thoughts, one right after another
  • In cultivating mindfulness, you’re settling in behind your thinking. You still see and hear the water, but you are safely out of the torrent

Going Inside

• Make room for yourself to just be in the moment instead of looking for a distraction

Part Two: The Heart of Practice

Sitting Meditation

Taking Your Seat

Dignity

• When meditating, take a sitting posture of wakefulness and dignity

Posture

• Invoking the spirit of a mountain in its elevation, massive, stability, etc. will help you assume the correct state of being

What to Do with Your Hands

• What we do with our hands can symbolize or embody our emotions or our intent going into meditation
• Being more mindful of our body can improve our overall mindfulness 

Coming Out of Meditation

How Long to Practice?

• Try sitting for various lengths of clock time during your practices and see how it affects you

No One Right Way

A What-Is-My-Way? Meditation

The Mountain Mediation

The Lake Meditation

Walking Meditation

• When walking, center yourself in the present moment and in your body
• Appreciate the fact that you are able to walk which many people cannot
  • Don’t take for granted that your body works so wonderfully
• Walk with dignity and confidence

Standing Meditation

Lying-Down Mediation

Getting Your Body Down on the Floor at Least Once a Day

Not Practicing Is Practicing

Lovingkindness Meditation

• In changing ourselves, we change the world

Part Three: In the Spirit of Mindfulness

Sitting by Fire

Harmony – and Its Fleetingness

Early Morning

• Mindfulness is the opposite of routine

Direct Contact

Is There Anything Else You Would Like to Tell Me?

Your Own Authority

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Going Upstairs

Cleaning the Stove While Listening to Bobby McFerrin

What Is My Job on the Planet with a Capital J?

• Insist on yourself, never imitate
  • Do that which is assigned to you

Mount Analogue

Interconnectedness and Impermanence

• Everything is related to everything else, and in a way, simultaneously contains everything else and is contained by everything else

Non-Harming – Ahimsa

Karma

• You can change your karma, and the idea is basically an accumulation of tendencies 

Wholeness and Oneness

Eachness and Suchness

What Is This?

• Do we have the courage to inquire and think deeply?

Selfing

Anger Flashback

Cat-Food Lessons

• Try watching your reactions in situations that give you intense emotions

Parenting as Practice

• The deep and constantly changing needs of children are all perfect opportunities for parents to be full present rather than to operate in autopilot mode
  • To relate consciously rather than mechanically
• Parenting is a mirror that forces you to look at yourself 

Parenting Two

Some Pitfalls Along the Path

Is Mindfulness Spiritual?

Afterward

---

Closing thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book, though it did seem a bit longer than I was expecting. Like most personal development books, there is a decent amount of fluff to fill the pages. However, there were some really good nuggets of wisdom for anyone who either wants to learn about mindfulness or a refresher on the main principles.

For me, it was a good reminder on what I should be focusing on if I want to be more mindful and practice awareness more intentionally. I feel like it’s a good reminder as I feel like I need to incorporate more mindfulness in my daily life instead of constantly going on autopilot.

---

One Takeaway / Putting into practice:

There were a hanful of great takeaways, or one-liners that I thought encapsulated these ideas really well. However, I think my choice for favorite takeaway would be:

• View the process of thinking as a waterfall, a continual cascading of thoughts, one right after another. In cultivating mindfulness, you’re settling in behind your thinking. You still see and hear the water, but you are safely out of the torrent

I think this is a great metaphor to approach meditation and our thinking while in our practice.

---

Nutshell:

A foundational guide to mindfulness and meditation.

---

Similar books:

• Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty
• Awareness by Anthony de Mello
• Striking Thoughts by Bruce Lee
• The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life by Boyd Varty
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• The Tao of Seneca by Seneca
• Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday

---

Rating:

3.5/5

Subscribe for More Summaries👇

---

Try Audible for audiobooks 📚🎧

Personal recommendation: For the last 10 years, I’ve used Audible to listen to all of my favorite books. It’s easy to use, cost-effective, and they have the best library of audiobooks.

If you use my affiliate links below, not only will you get a special offer, but it’ll help support the costs to maintain this blog! 😊👇

Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

Audible Gift Memberships 

---