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.
Share Image Quote: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.
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.
| 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) |
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.
| 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) |
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
| 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 |
Goleman wasn’t just writing a self-help book here. He was a Harvard-trained psychologist cataloging different meditation traditions from around the world. He was making a scholarly observation: across all these diverse practices, a universal shift occurs—the practitioner starts to disentangle from the frantic “doing” mind and rests in a state of pure “being.”
This quote is incredibly versatile. I use it all the time.
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Theme | Meaning (164) |
| Audiences | educators (295), psychologists (197), seekers (406), students (3111) |
| Usage Context/Scenario | classroom discussions (12), leadership seminars (97), spiritual talks (76), therapy reflections (13) |
Question: Is “being” the same as being lazy or passive?
Answer: Not at all. It’s the opposite. True “being” is an alert, receptive state. It’s like the difference between a frantic, churning ocean (doing) and a deep, still lake (being). Action that comes from “being” is often more focused and effective.
Question: How long does it take to experience this difference?
Answer: It can happen in glimpses from the very beginning. You might get a fleeting second where you’re just aware of your breath, without any mental commentary. That’s it. That’s the crack of light. It’s not about a final destination; it’s about noticing those moments more and more.
Question: Can you be in “being” mode all the time?
Answer: Honestly, no. And you wouldn’t want to. The “doing” mind is essential for navigating daily life. The goal is fluidity—to be able to access that “being” quality at will, so your “doing” comes from a place of choice, not compulsion.
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