Grace Cho

“Staying occupied is a socially sanctioned way of remaining distant from our pain.”
― Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance: Awakening the Love that Heals Fear and Shame

“One tool of mindfulness that can cut through our numbing trance is inquiry. As we ask ourselves questions about our experience, our attention gets engaged. We might begin by scanning our body, noticing what we are feeling, especially in the throat, chest, abdomen and stomach, and then asking, “What is happening?” We might also ask, “What wants my attention right now?” or, “What is asking for acceptance?” Then we attend, with genuine interest and care, listening to our heart, body and mind. Inquiry is not a kind of analytic digging—we are not trying to figure out, “Why do I feel this sadness?” This would only stir up more thoughts. In contrast to the approach of Western psychology, in which we might delve into further stories in order to understand what caused a current situation, the intention of inquiry is to awaken to our experience exactly as it is in this present moment. While inquiry may expose judgments and thoughts about what we feel is wrong, it focuses on our immediate feelings and sensations. I might be feeling like a bad mother”
― Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha

“If you are like most people, then like most people, you don't know you're like most people.”
― Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness

“Among life’s cruellest truths is this one: wonderful things are especially wonderful the first time they happen, but their wonderfulness wanes with repetition.”
― Daniel M. Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness: An insightful neuroscience self-help psychology book on cognitive enhancement and human behavior