100 Positive Mindfulness Quotes To Be Present In Life

When it comes to being more mindful in life using positive mindfulness quotes is an easy way to get in the practice of being more mindful every day. 

These inspiring quotes provide wisdom and inspiration to live each day fully in the present moment, which allows you to experience and feel what is presented to you each day.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a practice originating from Buddhist principles where the main goal is to direct one’s attention to the present moment through one’s thoughts, emotions, sensory experiences and environment.

I also like to think of mindfulness as living an intentional life by mindfully choosing to do things that make you feel good and also bringing you one step closer to reaching your goals. 

There are many ways to practice mindfulness such as meditation, mindfulness walks, journaling. However today I want to share these mindfulness quotes for some inspiration (and a reminder) that you can start small just by reading some inspiring words that will connect you with the meaning of mindfulness.

100 of the Best Positive Mindfulness Quotes To Be Present

Explore these positive mindfulness quotes to help you be present in the moment and live your life with intention, every day.

The first two mindfulness quotes below nicely describe the meaning of mindfulness…

1. “Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you-in your body, heart and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment.” – Jan Chozen Bays

2. “Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” – James Baraz”

3. “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

5. “Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what’s happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s happening, stories that get in the way of direct experience. Often such stories treat a fleeting state of mind as if it were our entire and permanent self.” – Sharon Salzberg

6. “As we encounter new experiences with a mindful and wise attention, we discover that one of three things will happen to our new experience: it will go away, it will stay the same, or it will get more intense. whatever happens does not really matter.” – Jack Kornfield

7. “Our life stories are largely constructed and without mindfulness can prove destructive.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru

8. Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain. – Eckhart Tolle

9. We cannot overstate our debt to the past, but the moment has the supreme claim. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

10. “The natural quality of mind is clear, awake, alert, and knowing. Free from fixation. By training in being present, we come to know the nature of our mind. So the more you train in being present – being right here – the more you begin to feel like your mind is sharpening up. The mind that can come back to the present is clearer and more refreshed, and it can better weather all the ambiguities, pains, and paradoxes of life.” – Pema Chödrön

11. “Mindfulness cultivates our ability to do things knowing that we’re doing them.” – Mark Williams

13. “We need never be bound by the limitations of our previous or current thinking, nor are we ever locked into being the person we used to be, or think we are.” – Allan Lokos

14. “Happiness, not in another place but this place… not for another hour, but this hour.” – Walt Whitman
15. “Mindfulness is a quality that’s always there. It’s an illusion that there’s a meditation and post-meditation period, which I always find amusing, because you’re either mindful or you’re not.” – Richard Gere

16. “The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

17. “Look past your thoughts, so you may drink the pure nectar of this moment.” – Rumi

18. “Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand melting like a snowflake.” – Francis Bacon Sr.

19. “Training your mind to be the present moment is the number one key to making healthier choices.” – Susan Albers

20. “The goal of mindfulness is to become fully aware of the thoughts one is having, and of the emotions one is experiencing.” – Larry Shapiro

21. “While focusing on the present moment, we soothe our minds and construe our intuition and inner wisdom. 

22. “Mindfulness clears the windshield of the mind so that we can see things as they really are.” – Travis Eliot

23. “Mindfulness is a simple practice, but not an easy one … but you are worth doing hard things.” – Nicole Davis

👉 Related: 70 Mindfulness Questions for Self-Reflection 

Mindfulness quotes about life

When we are mindful in all aspects of life this brings us peace and harmony we didn’t know was within us.

24. “Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.” – Amit Ray

25. “Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the small uncaring ways.” – Stephen Vincent Benet

26. “This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” – Alan Watts

27. “Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.” – Marcus Aurelius

28. “There will never be a time when your life is not this moment.” – Deepak Chopra

29. “When you focus on what works for you and what doesn’t, you step out of that comparison cycle and spiral into your real, beautiful life.” – Robyn Conley Downs

30. “A few simple tips for life: feet on the ground, head to the skies, heart open…quiet mind.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru

31. “Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.” – Wayne Dyer

32. “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” – Eckhart Tolle

33. “Mindfulness meditation doesn’t change life. Life remains as fragile and unpredictable as ever. Meditation changes the heart’s capacity to accept life as it is.” – Sylvia Boorstein

34. “The present is life – all else is either memory or imagination.” – Abhijit Naskar

35. “Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment.” – Deepak Chopra

36. “The answer to having a better life is not about getting a better life, it’s just about changing how we see the one we have right now.” Angel Kyodo Williams

37. ​​“It takes a little bit of mindfulness and a little bit of attention to others to be a good listener, which helps cultivate emotional nurturing and engagement.” – Deepak Chopra

38. “The great benefit of practicing mindfulness … is presence of mind within a storm of emotions.” – Phillip Moffitt

39. “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha

40. “The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind” – Caroline Myss

41. “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” – Dalai Lama

42. “Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” – Roy T. Bennett

43. “Mindfulness does not reject experience. It lets experience be the teacher.” – Jack Kornfield

44. “Mindfulness encourages you to respond to your experience rather than react to thoughts.” – Shamash Alidina

Daily Mindfulness Quotes

Mindfulness quotes to remind you that there is a lot to live for today, in this very moment. 

45. “No matter how difficult the past, you can always begin again today.”

– Jack Kornfield

46. “Practicing a mindful moment in the middle of the day, helps to bring you back to center, reset, and move into the rest of your day with greater clarity and focus.” – Christine Agro

47. “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.” – Dalai Lama

48. “In today’s rush, we all think too much — seek too much — want too much — and forget about the joy of just being.” – Eckhart Tolle

49. “Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” – Buddha

50. “Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

51. “This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before.” Maya Angelou

52. “It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -– that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.” Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

53. “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

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

55. You are not your thoughts; you are the awareness behind them. – Eckhart Tolle

56. “Mindfulness helps us to live in harmony with our thoughts, words, and actions.” – Amit Ray

57. With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

58. “Paradise is not a place; it’s a state of consciousness.” – Sri Chinmoy

Mindfulness Meditation Quotes

59. “Meditation goes in. Prayer goes out. But both aim for the same place of union between you and the Divine.”

– Lisa Jones

60. “Mindfulness meditation should be more than just watching what you are doing. What you really need to watch is your motivation.” – Thubten Zopa Rinpoche

61. “Mindfulness meditation doesn’t change life. Life remains as fragile and unpredictable as ever. Meditation changes the heart’s capacity to accept life as it is.” – Sylvia Boorstein

62. “Altogether, the idea of meditation is not to create states of ecstasy or absorption, but to experience being.” – Chogyam Trungpa

63. “Think about the practice of meditation as zoning in, as opposed to spacing out.” – Susie Levan

64. “As we practice meditation, we get used to stillness and eventually are able to make friends with the quietness of our sensations.” – Sharon Salzberg

65. “In meditation and in our daily lives there are three qualities that we can nurture, cultivate, and bring out. We already possess these, but they can be ripened: precision, gentleness, and the ability to let go.” – Jack Kornfield

66. “The journey of meditation isn’t to reach a certain destination – the journey is the destination.” – Shamash Alidina

67. “Thus, little by little, through training the mind, you can change your habitual way of being.” – Matthieu Ricard

68. “A little rest and meditation often saves a lot of riding over rough country.” – Louis Lamour

69. “Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance.” – Buddha

70. “The real meditation is how you live your life” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

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

72. “Meditation means dissolving the invisible walls that unawareness has built” – Sadhguru

Practicing Mindfulness Quotes

These mindfulness quotes provide inspiration and tips to start your mindfulness practice.

73. “Let go of your mind and then be mindful. Close your ears and listen!” – Rumi

74. “The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.”

– Jon Kabat-Zinn

75. “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” – Henry David Thoreau

76. Look past your thoughts so you may drink the pure nectar of this moment – Rumi

77. “Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence.” – Marcus Aurelius

78. “Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

79. “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

80. “When you’re feeling frazzled, put all of your attention on the breath. It’s a portal into the present moment, the best remedy for stress.” – Ellen Barrett

81. “Ask yourself: Where am I? Answer: Here. Ask yourself: What time is it? Answer: Now. Say it until you can hear it.” – Ram Dass

Short Mindfulness Quotes

82. “Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.” – Robin Sharma
83. “Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh
84. “Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life.” – Buddha
85. “All work done mindfully rounds us out, helps complete us as persons.” – Marsha Sinetar
86. “The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
87. “Wherever you are, be there totally.” – Eckhart Tolle
88. “Who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung
89. “To a mind that is still, a whole universe surrenders.” – Lao Tzu
90. “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it isn’t open.” – Frank Zappa
91. “Mindfulness, the Root of Happiness” – Joseph Goldstein
92. “Reality is only an agreement – today is always today.”– Zen Proverb
93. “Sit, be still, and listen.” – Rumi
94. “The quieter you become, the more you can hear” – Ram Dass
95. “Breathe and let be” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
96. “Mindfulness helps you to be where you are when you’re there.” – Tim Ryan
97. “Wherever you are, be all there.” – Jim Elliot
98. “Be – don’t try to become” – Osho
99. “When we allow ourselves to embrace the moment, we allow ourselves to live.” — Lisa Bien
100. “Forever is composed of nows.” – Emily Dickinson

5 Ways To Use These Inspirational Quotes To Practice Mindfulness

1. Mindfulness Journaling

Write a meaningful mindfulness quote in your journal each day and then think about what the particular quote means to you. Does it teach you anything new? Is it a good reminder of something?

Next, write down what it means and how you can use the quote to practice mindfulness every day.

2. Mindfulness Affirmations

Use some inspiring mindfulness quotes as an affirmation to start your day. You can use the original quote or customize a quote to make it more relevant in your life.

The easiest way to do this is by adding ‘I am’ in the quote.

For example:

Quote: “Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” – Buddha

Affirmation: Each morning I am born again. What I do today is what matters to me most.

3. Share on Social Media

Inspire yourself and your friends/followers by sharing some of these mindfulness quotes on social media.

You can save an image (like the below) on Pinterest for example.

4. Daily Planner

Write a new quote every day in your daily planner and think about the meaning of this quote and what you can learn from it during various points in the day.

5. Frame It

Create a mindfulness graphic in Canva. Then you can print and frame. This can be a beautiful DIY gift idea or a nice way to decorate your bedroom or office.

What’s your favorite Mindfulness Quote and What Does it Mean to You?

Share in the comments below to inspire others!

More Mindfulness Resources To Inspire You:

• 65 Inspiring Live in the Present Moment Quotes
• 70 Mindfulness Questions for Self-Reflection 
• How To Practice Mindfulness: 14 Techniques
• 25 Tips To Live In The Present Moment