Forget about Enlightenment by John Welwood (Mindfulness Poetry)

John Welwood is an American psychologist and author, widely known for integrating Western psychology with Eastern wisdom. He has authored several books, including The Meeting of the Ways: Explorations in East/West Psychology, Love and Awakening and Imperfect Relationships.

Forget about Enlightenment is a short poem by John Welwood which is used in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Classes at UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Sit down wherever you are
And listen to the wind singing in your veins. 
Feel the love, the longing, the fear in your bones. 
Open your heart to who you are, right now, 
Not who you would like to be, 
Not the saint you are striving to become, 
But the being right here before you, inside you, around you. 
All of you is holy. 
You are already more and less 
Than whatever you can know. 
Breathe out, 
Touch in, 
Let go.

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• The Guest House by Rumi and Its Correlation to Mindfulness
• Happiness and Prosperity: The Zen View
• Song of the Soul by Adi Shankaracharya