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

"Seek not the good in external things; seek it in yourselves."

Epictetus, ancient Greek philosopher

Wherever You Go, There You Are is a book written by Jon Kabat Zinn, the founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts and an Associate Professor of Medicine. The book is neither spiritual nor scientific but, it is rather a manual for everyday living. Its key theme is mindfulness, a word which nowadays is so casually used. Yet, what is mindfulness exactly? In this book the author gives clear and practical guidelines on what it truly means to be mindful. The book is divided into three parts, The Bloom of the Present Moment, The Heart of Practice and In the Spirit of Mindfulness. Each chapter illuminates a different angle of the mindfulness- diamond. In the first one the professor provides definitions and ideas on the various expressions of mindfulness. On the second part, he offers a practical toolkit regarding different meditation practices and poses that usher the way of mindfulness. In the last chapter, he presents a more personal viewpoint of mindfulness, exuding examples from his own life. In this article, I will focus on the importance of mindfulness and in the second article I will analyze the ways one can practice mindfulness as illustrated by the author.

Starting off, there is a question that anyone could pose, ׄ why is mindfulness important for one’s life? According to the author,

Mindfulness provides a simple but powerful route for getting ourselves unstuck, back into our own wisdom and vitality. It is a way to take charge of the direction and quality of our own lives, including our relationships within the family, our relationship to work and to the larger world and planet, and most fundamentally, our relationship within ourself as a person.

In other words, mindfulness is an act of awakening to our own existence at any present moment. Similarly to psychotherapy, mindfulness is another form of sculpting one’s best version of selfhood by conscious effort. It’s about becoming aware of the forces that delve within each individual, forces mostly unknown and unnoticed. Hence, this way of being, allows one to flinch and awaken to the unconscious habits that form one’s life. Don Miguel Ruiz the author of The Four Agreements illustrated (based on the Toltec wisdom) how every person lives in a Dream, a "world of illusion" that clouds the truth of reality. Likewise, the Hindu tradition talks about the illusionary state of existence called Maya which separates one from one’s true self.* Also, the ancient Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus stated, "∆εν είνε τα πράγµατα που ταράττουν τους ανθρώπους, αλλ' αι γνώµαί των περί των πραγµάτων ", which translates into, "people are not shaken by the things themselves but, by their opinion about these things". It all comes back to one’s conscious responsibility of shaping and filtering life. People have always stated the gravity of observing one’s imprisonment to self- deceptive mechanisms. Otherwise, there lies the threat of living a life in a comatose- like state; not dead but, not truly alive either. Therefore, mindfulness is a tool that can bring one’s consciousness into light and provide one with the private power of purposeful living.

I exist as I am, that is enough,

If no other in the world be aware I sit content,

And if each and all be aware I sit content.

One world is aware, and by far the largest to me, and

that is myself.

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass as cited by Jon Kabat- Zinn in the book