180 Amazing Meditation Quotes That Will Enlighten You

Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak. Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Learn to be calm and you will always be happy. Paramahansa Yogananda

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. Buddha

Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. James Allen

Whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. What is soft is strong. Lao Tzu

When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a candle in a windless place. Bhagavad Gita

When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace. Unknown

Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul. Marcus Aurelius

Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. So relax. Bryant McGill

When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Lao Tzu

Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality. Thich Nhat Hanh

The best meditation is effortless. The best meditation is a gentle awareness. Maxime Lagacé

Learn to slow down. Get lost intentionally. Observe how you judge both yourself and those around you. Tim Ferriss

Suffering is due to our disconnection with the inner soul. Meditation is establishing that connection. Amit Ray

The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. James Allen

See also: zen quotes, inner peace quotes, solitude quotes

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1 Year of Meditation: What I’ve Learned

The Best Meditation Quotes And Thoughts

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Whatever state I am in, I see it as a state of mind to be accepted as it is. Nisargadatta Maharaj

Meditation is the art of doing nothing. Naval Ravikant Click to tweet

Praying is talking to the Universe. Meditation is listening to it. Paulo Coelho

You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible. Deepak Chopra

A few conscious-hearted, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century. Swami Vivekananda

To really do nothing, with perfection, is as difficult as doing everything. Alan Watts

You have a treasure within you that is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer. Eckhart Tolle

Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and listen. No more is needed. Eckhart Tolle

Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated? David M. Bader

Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life. Thich Nhat Hanh Click to tweet

Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax. Osho Click to tweet

The mind is definitely something that can be transformed, and meditation is a means to transform it. 14th Dalai Lama

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. Pema Chödrön

In practicing meditation, we’re not trying to live up to some kind of ideal – quite the opposite. We’re just being with our experience, whatever it is. Pema Chödrön

Buddha spent six years meditating on the essence, causes, and cures for human anguish. In the end, he came to the realization that suffering is not caused by ill fortune, by social injustice, or by divine whims. Rather, suffering is caused by the behavior patterns of one’s minds. Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens)

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere. Francois de La Rochefoucauld

You are more than just your mind. You are more than just your habits. You are more than just your preferences. You’re a level of awareness. Naval Ravikant

To be concentrated means to live fully in the present. Erich Fromm

Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment. Alan Watts

Paradise is not a place, it’s a state of consciousness. Sri Chinmoy

What Is Meditation?

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Meditation is all about connecting with your soul. Deepak Chopra Click to tweet

Meditation is the soul’s perspective glass. Owen Feltham

Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively. Sharon Salzberg

Meditation is intermittent fasting for the mind. Too much sugar leads to a heavy body, and too many distractions lead to a heavy mind. Time spent undistracted and alone, in self-examination, journaling, meditation, resolves the unresolved and takes us from mentally fat to fit. Naval Ravikant

Meditation is to be aware of every thought and of every feeling, never to say it is right or wrong but just to watch it and move with it. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Meditation is freedom from thought and a movement in the ecstasy of truth. Meditation is explosion of intelligence. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Meditation is not a withdrawal from life. Meditation is a process of understanding oneself. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Meditation is a death – death of all that you are now. Of course there will be a resurrection, but that will be a totally new, fresh original being which you are not even aware is hidden in you. Osho

Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divine within you. Amit Ray

Meditation is not spacing-out or running away. In fact, it is being totally honest with ourselves. Kathleen McDonald

Mindfulness meditation is the embrace of any and all mind states in awareness, without preferring one to another. Jon Kabat-Zinn

That’s an essential survival thing. Jerry Seinfeld

Part 2. Mediation Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Meditation Quotes (Dalai Lama, Bruce Lee, Carl Jung, etc.)

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Confine yourself to the present. Marcus Aurelius

Sleep is the best meditation. 14th Dalai Lama Click to tweet

All of man’s difficulties are caused by his inability to sit, quietly, in a room by himself. Blaise Pascal

On what meditation did for him: Everything. You know, one of the great things of meditation is it makes stress very easy to get rid of. It just kind of floats away instead of like finding a home in your mind. You learn how to just let go of things. Jerry Seinfeld

If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there’s room to hear more subtle things – that’s when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. Steve Jobs

The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness. Lao Tzu

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. Carl Jung

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. Mother Teresa

Through meditation, the higher self is experienced. Bhagavad Gita

One hour of contemplation surpasses sixty years of worship. Muhammad

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. Swami Vivekananda

I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind. Antoine de Saint-Exupery Click to tweet

Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself. Hermann Hesse

Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man. Benjamin Franklin

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. Bruce Lee

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few. Shunryu Suzuki

Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity. Voltaire

The best cure for the body is a quiet mind. Napoleon Bonaparte

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Short Meditation Quotes

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One-liners, short meditation quotes, sayings, phrases, thoughts and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds.

Meditate. Slow down. There’s no rush. Maxime Lagacé

Meditation is the action of silence. Jiddu Krishnamurti Click to tweet

Life is available only in the present moment. Thich Nhat Hanh

Breathe and let be. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Wherever you go, there you are. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Meditation is the act of stopping to deny what is. Sven Schnieders

Meditation is waiting on God. Mahatma Gandhi

Self-observation is the first step of inner unfolding. Amit Ray

Be present above all else. Naval Ravikant Click to tweet

Mind only thinks, meditation lives. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

The act of meditation is being spacious. Sogyal Rinpoche

Do your practice and all is coming. K. Pattabhi Jois

Turn off your mind and get to know yourself. Thibaut

The quiet mind is richer than a crown. Robert Greene

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Inspirational And Positive Meditation Quotes

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Whatever anyone does or says, I must be emerald and keep my colour. Marcus Aurelius Click to tweet

Truth is the offspring of silence and meditation. Isaac Newton

Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within, once you find your center, you are sure to win. David Zippel

Whenever we attain a higher vision, the lower vision disappears of itself. Swami Vivekananda

One morning, you’ll hit mental inbox zero, and that is a pretty amazing feeling. It’s a state somewhere between joy, bliss, and peace. Once you have that, you won’t want to give that up. If you can get a free hour of bliss every morning, just by closing your eyes…that’s worth its weight in gold. That will change your life. Naval Ravikant

If every eight year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation. 14th Dalai Lama

By the practice of meditation, you will find that you are carrying within your heart a portable paradise. Paramahansa Yogananda

He who is persistent will realize God. So try your best to make meditation a regular experience in your life. Paramahansa Yogananda

If you meditate regularly, even when you don’t feel like it, you will make great gains, for it will allow you to see how your thoughts impose limits on you. Your resistances to meditation are your mental prisons in miniature. Ram Dass

Every heart has a divine intelligence and natural guidance system. With every prayer, every meditation and every thought of love, we tune in to ours. Marianne Williamson

To be calm is the highest achievement of the self. Zen proverb Click to tweet

Don’t worry about whether you are making progress or not. Just keep your attention on the Self twenty-four hours a day. Meditation is not something that should be done in a particular position at a particular time. It is an awareness and an attitude that must persist through the day. Annamalai Swami

Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice. Your mindfulness will only be as robust as the capacity of your mind to be calm and stable. Without calmness, the mirror of mindfulness will have an agitated and choppy surface and will not be able to reflect things with any accuracy. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it. Rene Descartes

Sitting like a mountain let your mind rise, fly and soar. Sogyal Rinpoche

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather. Pema Chödrön

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Funny And Surprising Meditation Quotes

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If it weren’t for my mind, my meditation would be excellent. Pema Chödrön Click to tweet

It’s like having a charger for your whole body and mind. Jerry Seinfeld

Meditation is a way to be narcissistic without hurting anyone. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Meditation is the weight room for the mind. Ed Latimore

To earn the trust of your meditation, you have to visit it every day. It’s like having a puppy. Chelsea Richer

It feels good. Kinda like when you have to shut your computer down, just sometimes when it goes crazy, you just shut it down and when you turn it on, it’s okay again. That’s what meditation is to me. Ellen DeGeneres

SEX! Now that I have your attention… Please try to meditate at least 15 minutes, every day. You know it’s good for you. Marcelo Alves

A few hours of meditation were enough to show me that I hardly had any control of myself. I was not the CEO – I was barely the gatekeeper. Yuval Noah Harari

So what is a good meditator? The one who meditates. Allan Lokos

You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes a day, unless you are too busy — then you should sit for an hour. Zen proverb

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Deep And Profound Meditation Quotes

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A quiet mind is more important than a positive mind. Deepak Chopra Click to tweet

The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Only the individual transcends. Steve Maxwell

Busy is a drug that a lot of people are addicted to. Rob Bell

Meditation is not you going through thoughts – it’s letting thoughts go through you. Naval Ravikant

If meditation was easy, you’d do nothing else. Naval Ravikant

Modern man is too impatient and wants to master the art of meditation immediately. Swami Rama

Life is a mystery – mystery of beauty, bliss and divinity. Meditation is the art of unfolding that mystery. Amit Ray

Observe your thoughts, instead of being constantly the victim of your thoughts. Tim Ferriss

A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Sam Harris

You are not controlling the storm, and you are not lost in it. You are the storm. Sam Harris

While meditating we are simply seeing what the mind has been doing all along. Allan Lokos

Practicing austerities such as yoga, mindfulness, and meditation will give you a front row seat to that which you will never attain and in the process make you an expert at forever seeking them. Kapil Gupta

The challenge of our time is relearning how to concentrate. The past decade has seen an unparalleled assault on our capacity to fix our minds steadily on anything. To sit still and think, without succumbing to an anxious reach for a machine, has become almost impossible. Thibaut

People have original thoughts in the shower because it is one of the only places in modern life that offers refuge from entertainment, compulsive workaholism, and social hyperconnectedness. The isolation allows you to hear yourself think. Morning meditation for the masses. The Stoic Emperor

The beauty of meditation is that you never know where you are, where you are going, what the end is. Jiddu Krishnamurti

I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect… The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. Jiddu Krishnamurti

If there is no meditation, then you are like a blind man in a world of great beauty, light and colour. Jiddu Krishnamurti

We carry about us the burden of what thousands of people have said and the memories of all our misfortunes. To abandon all that is to be alone, and the mind that is alone is not only innocent but young – not in time or age, but young, innocent, alive at whatever age – and only such a mind can see that which is truth and that which is not measurable by words. Jiddu Krishnamurti

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently. Pema Chödrön

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves. Jack Kornfield

Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it. Anthony De Mello

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed. Thich Nhat Hanh

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet. Thich Nhat Hanh

Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts. Allan Lokos Click to tweet

Perhaps ultimately, spiritual simply means experiencing wholeness and interconnectedness directly, a seeing that individuality and the totality are interwoven, that nothing is separate or extraneous. If you see in this way, then everything becomes spiritual in its deepest sense. Doing science is spiritual. So is washing the dishes. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive. Thich Nhat Hanh

In the beginning you will fall into the gaps in between thoughts – after practicing for years, you become the gap. J. Kleykamp

You’re actually in deep meditation all the time. It’s just covered up by all the noise, and all the thoughts, and all the emotional things that are running through you. It’s always there underneath. Naval Ravikant

Doing nothing is really hard for us, since we’re such a productivity-driven culture and species. Naval Ravikant

You can have the mind or you can have the moment. Naval Ravikant

When you’re centered, your emotions are not hijacking you. Ray Dalio

The game is not about becoming somebody, it’s about becoming nobody. Ram Dass

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See also: Why Meditate? | Change your Brain’s Default Mode (YouTube video)

Wise Meditation Quotes (Words Of Wisdom And Proverbs)

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To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are. Eric Hoffer

Be the master of mind rather than mastered by mind. Japanese proverb Click to tweet

Be the witness of your thoughts. You are what observes, not what you observe. Buddhist proverb

Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one’s awareness of one’s ignorance. Anthony de Mello

The whole life is a succession of dreams. My ambition is to be a conscious dreamer, that is all. Swami Vivekananda

The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it. Sydney J. Harris

Even in the midst of disturbance, the stillness of the mind can offer sanctuary. Stephen Richards

Meditation is turning off society and listening to yourself. It only “works” when done for its own sake. Hiking is walking meditation. Journaling is writing meditation. Praying is gratitude meditation. Showering is accidental meditation. Sitting quietly is direct meditation. Naval Ravikant

The advantage of meditation is recognizing just how out of control your mind is. Naval Ravikant

The only difference between meditation and ordinary social interaction is that the friend you’re gradually coming to know is yourself. Mingyur Rinpoche

Like water which can clearly mirror the sky and the trees only so long as its surface is undisturbed, the mind can only reflect the true image of the Self when it is tranquil and wholly relaxed. Indra Devi

Meditation could be said to be the Art of Simplicity: simply sitting, simply breathing and simply being. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Instead of “Let it go,” we should probably say “Let it be”; this recognizes that the mind won’t let go and the problem may not go away, and it allows you to form a healthier relationship with what’s bothering you. Jon Kabat-Zinn

What would it be like if I could accept life – accept this moment – exactly as it is? Tara Brach Click to tweet

Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Eckhart Tolle

Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”. You have 24 to chop every day. Sleep, exercise, meditation, reading – those are some of your sharpening tools. Do not chop for 18 hours with a blunt axe. Johnny Uzan

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation. Milarepa

Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end. Jiddu Krishnamurti

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. Alan Watts

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See also: 10 lessons from 100 days of meditation

Part 3. How To Meditate? Tips And Steps

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One conscious breath in and out is a meditation. Eckhart Tolle

Don’t try to solve anything, just “be”. Maxime Lagacé

I just started with watching my breath and evolved from there. Naval Ravikant

No intentions, just be. There can’t be any formula. It’s available to everyone or not at all. Naval Ravikant

No apps, no noise, no guidance. Sit in a comfortable position first thing in the morning, back upright, but ok to use cushions etc.. One hour at a time, no less. Just surrender to and accept whatever happens. No energy for and no energy against. Resist and reject nothing. Naval Ravikant

No effort. You’re just going to sit there and let whatever happens happen. Naval Ravikant

If you have thoughts that’s perfectly ok. Let the thoughts happen. The key word is Surrender (to whatever is happening). Naval Ravikant

Tell yourself when you sit down, “my job is to do nothing. I’m taking a well deserved break from myself.

It’s hard to recommend a routine as it’s the ultimate single-player game. Try them all and see which one works for you. Naval Ravikant (Try routine 1, routine 2, routine 3)

This will summon a horde of angry people but I would skip TM [Transcendental Meditation] and apps. No systems, no interference. Pick a dark, quiet place, first thing in the morning, just sit and observe (your breath). Let everything go, surrender to what happens. One hour per day for one week straight. Naval Ravikant

Sit down, close your eyes, get in a comfortable position, and whatever happens, happens. If you think, you think. If you don’t think, you don’t think. Don’t put any effort into it. Naval Ravikant

Please, when you practice meditation, don’t make any effort. Allow yourself to be like a pebble at rest. The pebble is resting at the bottom of a river, and the pebble does not have to do anything. While you are a walking, you are resting. While you were sitting, you are resting. Thich Nhat Hanh

When sitting in meditation, say, “That’s not my business!” with every thought that comes by. Ajahn Chah

When you begin to meditate you may notice changes right away. Or nothing much may seem to change. Don’t count on anything dramatic. Most changes happen slowly. Ram Dass

Meditate every single day. Not once in a while. Every single day. Khensu

8 Steps from Sam Harris (Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion)

1. Sit comfortably, with your spine erect, either in a chair or cross-legged on a cushion.

2. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and feel the points of contact between your body and the chair or the floor. Notice the sensations associated with sitting — feelings of pressure, warmth, tingling, vibration, etc.

3. Gradually become aware of the process of breathing. Pay attention to wherever you feel the breath most distinctly — either at your nostrils or in the rising and falling of your abdomen.

4. Allow your attention to rest in the mere sensation of breathing. (You don’t have to control your breath. Just let it come and go naturally.)

5. Every time your mind wanders in thought, gently return it to the breath.

6. As you focus on the process of breathing, you will also perceive sounds, bodily sensations, or emotions. Simply observe these phenomena as they appear in consciousness and then return to the breath.

7. The moment you notice that you have been lost in thought, observe the present thought itself as an object of consciousness. Then return your attention to the breath — or to any sounds or sensations arising in the next moment.

8. Continue in this way until you can merely witness all objects of consciousness — sights, sounds, sensations, emotions, even thoughts themselves — as they arise, change, and pass away.

See also: How To Meditate (Beautiful guide from mindful.org)

See also: Headspace: Meditation and Sleep Made Simple (meditation app)

Part 4. Conclusion

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To pray and work in the morning and to labor and rest in the afternoon, and to sit still again in meditation in the evening when night falls upon that land and when the silence fills itself with darkness and with stars. This is a true and special vocation. There are few who are willing to belong completely to such silence, to let it soak into their bones, to breathe nothing but silence, to feed on silence, and to turn the very substance of their life into a living and vigilant silence. Thomas Merton

Just sit, breathe, and pay attention to what it’s like to be you. Nothing to add. Nothing to take away. Nothing to fix, or change or do. Just you – sitting, breathing, paying attention. You are welcome here. Here you belong. Here you are enough. Breathe. Jason Garner Click to tweet

Call to action: Watch The Scientific Power of Meditation (YouTube video) or check out 50 Best Meditation Books of All Time (positivepsychology.com)