Meditation is the mind’s way of remembering its own nature. It’s a powerful reframing that shifts the goal from emptying your mind to rediscovering its fundamental clarity and peace. This perspective makes the practice feel less like a chore and more like a homecoming.
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Meaning
At its core, this quote suggests that meditation isn’t about acquiring something new, but about uncovering what was already there. It’s a process of recollection, not collection.
Explanation
Okay, let me break this down. Think about your mind like a sky. Most of the time, it’s full of clouds—thoughts, worries, to-do lists, that song you can’t get out of your head. We get so identified with the clouds, we forget the sky itself is always there, vast and clear. Meditation, in this beautiful analogy, isn’t about fighting the clouds. It’s the process of sitting back and remembering the sky. You’re not trying to create peace; you’re allowing yourself to return to the innate peace that is your mind’s fundamental nature, which gets obscured by all the mental chatter. It’s a subtle but massive shift in intention.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Spiritual (229) |
| Topics | mind (39), nature (3), self (15) |
| Literary Style | poetic (635) |
| Emotion / Mood | introspective (55), serene (54) |
| Overall Quote Score | 86 (262) |
Origin & Factcheck
This gem comes directly from Daniel Goleman’s 1988 book, The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience. It’s a key concept from his early work, long before he became a household name with Emotional Intelligence. You sometimes see it misattributed to random spiritual teachers, but its home is firmly in Goleman’s scholarly yet accessible exploration of meditation.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Goleman (125) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience (60) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Modern (530) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Daniel Goleman is a psychologist and bestselling author whose journalism at The New York Times brought brain and behavior science to a wide audience. He earned a BA from Amherst and a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and studied in India on a Harvard fellowship. Goleman’s research and writing helped mainstream emotional intelligence, leadership competencies, attention, and contemplative science. He co-founded CASEL and a leading research consortium on EI at work. The Daniel Goleman book list includes Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Primal Leadership, Social Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Meditation is the mind’s way of remembering its own nature |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 1977 (originally as The Varieties of Meditative Experience, revised 1988 as The Meditative Mind); ISBN: 9780874778335; Last Edition: Tarcher/Putnam 1988; Number of pages: 320. |
| Where is it? | Approximate page from 1988 edition, Chapter 7: Paths and Goals |