Meditation unveils the difference is a game-changer. It’s not about adding another task to your day. It’s about discovering a whole new way to exist, shifting from constant striving to simply being present. This is the core of what makes mindfulness so powerful.
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Meaning
It’s the realization that your “doing” self—the one that’s always busy, achieving, and problem-solving—is just one part of you. Your “being” self is the deeper, quieter awareness that exists beneath all that activity.
Explanation
Let me break this down for you. In our world, we’re rewarded for *doing*. Checking off lists, hitting targets, constantly moving. It’s exhausting, right? Meditation pulls back the curtain on that. It shows you that there’s a part of you that doesn’t need to *do* anything to be valid. It just *is*. It’s the awareness that watches your thoughts without getting tangled in them. That’s the “being” mode. And once you taste that, it changes everything. You realize you can engage with life from a place of calm, not just constant reaction.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Wisdom (385) |
| Topics | awareness (126), being (3) |
| Literary Style | philosophical (434) |
| Emotion / Mood | reflective (382) |
| Overall Quote Score | 79 (243) |
Origin & Factcheck
This gem comes straight from Daniel Goleman’s 1988 book, The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience. People often misattribute deep meditation quotes to ancient texts or gurus, but this one is firmly rooted in Goleman’s early work, long before he became famous for Emotional Intelligence.
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.
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Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Meditation unveils the difference between doing and being |
| 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 4: Insight Meditation |