Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness

“Unawareness can keep us from being in touch with our own body, its signals and messages. This in turn can create many physical problems for us, problems we don’t even know we are generating ourselves. And living in a chronic state of unawareness can cause us to miss much of what is most beautiful and meaningful in our live—and, as a consequence, to be significantly less happy than we might be otherwise.”

The author persuades the reader of the importance of awareness, which he believes is cultivated through meditation. This quotation highlights how being out of touch with one’s body can create long-term dysfunction for people’s health. By mentioning how people may be “generating” such issues, Kabat-Zinn challenges the reader to consider how they might check in with their own minds and bodies and take more responsibility for their self-care.

“To see the richness of the present moment, we need to cultivate what has been called ‘beginner’s mind,’ a mind that is willing to see everything as if for the first time…An open ‘beginner’s’ mind allows us to be receptive to new possibilities and prevents us from getting stuck in a rut of our own expertise, which often thinks it knows more than it does.”

The author encourages the reader to shed their existing preconceptions, whether about meditation or other events in their life, and to embrace “beginner’s mind.” This mindset is one of Kabat-Zinn’s seven attitudes which form a foundation for a beneficial meditation practice. This quotation emphasizes how applying past experiences or assuming to understand a subject can inhibit learning and personal development.

“It is the very simplicity of the practice of mindfulness of breathing that gives it its power to disentangle us from the compulsive and habitual hold of the mind’s many preoccupations. Yogis have known this for centuries. Breathing is the universal foundation for meditation practice.”

Kabat-Zinn regards breathing as a crucial tool for meditators, since it is something they can also pay attention to at any time. This quotation emphasizes how this elemental action is powerful because of, not despite, its “simplicity.” The author also hints that by tuning into their more primal instincts, people can better harness their busy and “compulsive” minds.

“Meditation is really a non-doing. It is the only human endeavor I know of that does not involve trying to get somewhere else, but, rather, emphasizes being where you already are. Much of the time we are so carried away by the doing, the striving, the planning, the reacting, the busyness—that when we stop just to feel where we are, it can seem a little peculiar at first.”

The author expands on his theme which claims that meditation constitutes a particular kind of thought and awareness which people otherwise neglect in everyday life. This quotation highlights meditation’s focus on the present moment since it encourages people to stop “striving” and “planning” and consider their present reality.

“The idea in scanning your body is to actually feel and inhabit each region you focus on and linger in it in the timeless present as best you can…As you let go of the sensations you find in each region and of any of the thoughts and images you may have found associated with that part of the body, the muscles in that region literally let go too, lengthening and releasing much of the tension they may have accumulated.”

Kabat-Zinn explains the purpose of the “Body Scan” practice, which he claims has both mental and physical benefits. This quotation emphasizes how meditation promotes the mind-body relationship by using thought to influence physical health.

“Time and again our patients with pain problems report that their physical therapy sessions go much better when they use mindfulness of breathing as they perform their exercises. It’s as if a whole new dimension of what they are being asked to do is revealed to them.”

The author persuades the reader that incorporating mindful breathing into their exercises, such as yoga, will help them make the most of their physical therapy. This quotation revisits Kabat-Zinn’s claim that breathing is foundational to meditation, exercise, and healing.

“Because we tend to live so unconsciously, we take things such as the ability to walk very much for granted. When you start paying more attention to it, you will appreciate that it is an amazing balancing act, given the small surface area of our two feet.”

The author argues that walking meditation helps meditators appreciate this basic act by actively considering all the body’s efforts. This quotation highlights how meditation can help foster a sense of wonder or gratitude for aspects of daily life which people would usually take for granted.

“The image of the mountain sitting sometimes helps us to remember and feel our own strength and intentionality…It reminds us that we might look upon some of the changes we are experiencing in our own minds and bodies as internal weather patterns. The mountain reminds us that we can remain stable and balanced in our sitting and in our lives in the face of the storms that sometimes arise within our minds and bodies.”

In the mountain pose, people sit up cross-legged with their arms sloping down to their legs. The author uses this pose to help meditators have a positive image of themselves despite the changing conditions of their meditation, or their lives. By using meditation as a microcosm of people’s lives, Kabat-Zinn emphasizes that meditators can apply the lessons they learn through meditating to the rest of their lives.

“If you are able to be present in the routine daily activities of your life, if you are willing to remember that those moments can be moments of calm and alert attention as well as times of doing things that have to be done, you may find that not only do you enjoy the process more but you are also more likely to have insights into yourself and your life while you are engaged in these routine activities.”

The author encourages the reader to apply mindfulness to everyday life activities to remain in the present moment and find an appreciation for even the most mundane aspects of their lives. This quotation reminds the reader that mindfulness is not limited to formal meditation but is a lens people can employ at any time in their lives.

“The most important thing is to practice every day. Even if you can make only five minutes to practice during your day, five minutes of mindfulness can be very restorative and healing. Nobody has an extra hour a day lying around, especially to devote to non-doing, which looks an awful lot like nothing to our thinking mind, but turns out to positively influence just about everything in our lives.”

Kabat-Zinn urges the reader to make their meditation practice a regular fixture in their lives. This quotation acknowledges that many people find it challenging to learn how to meditate and to get in the habit of doing it; Kabat-Zinn’s solution is to really “practice” it as a skill. By italicizing this reminder, the author makes his advice stand out for the reader as especially important.

“Unless we are practicing mindfulness, we rarely observe our inner dialogue with any clarity and ponder its validity, especially as it concerns our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves. For instance, if you have the habit of saying to yourself, “I could never do that” when you encounter some kind of problem or dilemma, such as learning to use a tool, or fixing a mechanical device, or speaking up for yourself in front of a group of people, one thing is pretty certain—you won’t be able to do it.”

The author asks the reader to consider their own inner monologue and how often they question their own thoughts about themselves. This relatable example challenges the reader to consider their own self-imposed limitations and how they might learn to think differently.

“We are not meditating to make anything go away, any more than we are meditating to attain some special state or feeling. Whether we are basically healthy at the moment or have a terminal illness, none of us knows how long we have to live. Life only unfolds in moments.”

According to Kabat-Zinn’s interpretation, meditation is not meant to be an escape from reality or a destination-oriented practice. Instead, it is meant to help practitioners overcome compulsive thinking to be able to live in the moment. This quotation helps dispel stereotypes which characterize meditation as a mystical practice, instead grounding it in a pragmatic awareness of each moment.

“Emotional disposition and support from family and friends can make a big difference in how people do in the face of serious illness and also in the face of aging. Yet until recently, doctors did not receive much, if any, training in how to help patients make use of their inner resources for healing, or even how to recognize when they themselves might be unwittingly undermining the very resources that are the patient’s best allies in the healing process.”

Kabat-Zinn emphasizes the importance of the mind-body relationship in the healing process; psychological factors such as outlook, personality, and social support are proven to play a role in people’s recovery. This quotation reiterates the author’s desire to see mindfulness tools integrated into medical training for doctors.

“Dr. Seligman and his colleagues have shown that people who have a highly pessimistic attributional style are at significantly higher risk for becoming depressed when they encounter a bad event than are people who have an optimistic way of thinking. Pessimists are also more likely than optimists to come down with physical symptoms and show hormonal and immune system changes characteristic of increased susceptibility to disease following a bad event.”

Kabat-Zinn points to scientific studies which have demonstrated the relationship between attitude and perception and one’s physical health. This quotation supports the author’s argument that changing one’s mind, through meditation or other practices, can have a measurable effect on one’s body, too.

“From a transactional perspective, the way we see, appraise, and evaluate our problems will determine how we respond to them and how much distress we will experience. It implies we may have much more influence over things that potentially cause us stress than we might ordinarily think.”

Kabat-Zinn argues that while some form of stress is inherent in life, people have some control over how they react to it. This quotation helps the author deepen his theme on the relationship between psychological and physical health and encourages the reader to consider their own perspective on life and the stressors they are confronting.

“We never would have survived as a species without it. What is problematic is when we can’t control it and don’t know how to modulate it, or when we use its energies across a range of situations where there is no immediate and acute threat to life or well-being, but we act as if there were. Then it starts to control us.”

Kabat-Zinn acknowledges the evolutionary importance of stress in the form of fight or flight reactions, but suggests that, when left unchecked, these reactions can harm people more than they help them. According to the author, without proper coping strategies and self-reflection, stress responses no longer serve people. This passage helps the reader consider how their biology may not be well suited to their modern lifestyle, and the kinds of situations which prompt high stress in their own lives.

“Non-doing is a radical stance to adopt, even for one moment. It means letting go of our attachment to everything. Above all, it means seeing and letting go of your thoughts as they come and go. It means letting yourself be. If you feel trapped in time, non-doing is a way for you to step out of all the time on your hands by stepping into timelessness.”

Kabat-Zinn laments the busy nature of modern culture, and the way in which work, obligations, and entertainment can distract people from becoming in touch with themselves and learning to observe their own thoughts. For this reason, embracing non-doing is a “radical” act, one which may help people question their attachments to certain things and feel less “trapped” in having too much or too little time on their hands.

“This practice of immediately going for a drug to relieve a symptom reflects a widespread attitude that symptoms are inconvenient, useless threats to our ability to live life the way we want to live it and that they should be suppressed or eliminated if at all possible. The problem with this attitude is that what we call symptoms are often the body’s way of telling us that something is out of balance.”

The author argues that the conventional approach to dulling pain and masking symptoms with medicine or painkillers is not always the best path to real recovery. Kabat-Zinn asks the reader to view symptoms as messages from the body which should be carefully listened to and acted upon to relieve the root cause of the problem.

“Bringing mindfulness to your daily activities is particularly valuable, in fact indispensable, when you have a back condition and lower back pain…the more you are aware of what you are doing while you are doing it, the better. Doing things on automatic pilot can lead to serious setbacks.”

The author reminds the reader of the pragmatic benefits of mindfulness, such as avoiding further injury by being aware of one’s own actions. This quotation reiterates Kabat-Zinn’s contrast of mindful versus “automatic pilot” thinking.

“Many men grew up in a world in which there was an overriding message that ‘real men’ don’t have—and therefore should not show—certain kinds of feelings. This social conditioning makes it very difficult for boys and men to be aware of their true feelings a lot of the time because their feelings are ‘unacceptable’ and therefore very quickly edited out, denied, or repressed.”

The author considers how reflecting on, and learning to express, one’s own feelings may be more difficult for men to learn due to a stigma around male self-expression. This passage assures male readers that this is a common problem, and one that mindfulness may play a role in fixing.

“To have a positive effect on the problems of the larger environment, we will need continually to tune and return to our own center, to our own hearts, cultivating awareness and harmony in our individual lives and in our families and communities. Information itself is not the problem. What we must learn is to bring wise attention to the information that is at our disposal and to contemplate it and discern order and connectedness within it so that we can put it to use in the service of our health and healing, individual, collective, and planetary.”

The author emphasizes the difference between gaining information, which people are bombarded with in modern life, and gaining wisdom. He argues that more information can be useless, or even negative, if people do not have good intentions towards themselves and others. By highlighting the need for “wise attention,” Kabat-Zinn suggests that mindful practices can help people learn to engage with the world and its stressors in an intentional and constructive way.

“Walking the path of awareness, which means living a life of awareness, requires that you keep up the meditation practice. If you don’t, the Way tends to get overgrown and obscured. It becomes less accessible even though, at any moment that you choose, you can come back to it again because it is always right there.”

The author urges the reader to practice their meditation daily to keep their awareness sharp and accessible. His analogy of awareness being like a well-trodden path helps the reader envision the benefits of practicing mindfulness regularly and creates an appealing and romantic picture in the reader’s mind.

“Do you find yourself reacting during the body scan, or the yoga, or the sitting meditation? If so, hold those moments in awareness as best you can. The formal practices cultivate a very rich soil for discerning reactivity in the mind and cultivating alternative responses.”

In addition to applying mindfulness in their everyday life, the author recommends that the reader maintain a formal practice to observe their thoughts and reactions. This quotation reminds the reader that meditation provides a chance to change their thinking patterns as negative reactions can be observed and replaced with new thoughts.