PP: Besides the techniques [you teach to your patients], what else do people come away with?
JK: A lot of people drop the formal practice but maintain the mindfulness in daily living. They've developed it as a life skill. In times of great stress or pain, they know how to go to their breathing, to use it to calm down and broaden the field of perception, so that they can see with a larger perspective.
PP: People somehow internalize, not simply the technique, but where it's coming from.
JK: Exactly. And that's our emphasis. We don't want a group of imitators when we get through with them, nor a group of super-meditators who are all tripped out about meditation. What we want are people who are basically strong, flexible, and balanced, and have a perspective on their own inner being that is accepting and generous.
-- Mindful Medicine - An Interview with Jon Kabat-Zinn
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