Valerie Mason-John Quotes
Breaking down does not have to mean reaching a catastrophe.

-Valerie Mason-John
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The challenge for human beings is not how to avoid suffering, but how to face the pain that is inherent in our lives, and how not to create more suffering by our desperate attempt to avoid pain. Addiction is, perhaps, the most desperate measure we employ to escape suffering.

-Valerie Mason-John
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We need to pick ourselves up out of the relapse, give ourselves a gentle, firm, kind talking to, and move on. Beating ourselves up and dwelling on the past keeps us stuck and overfocused on ourselves.

-Valerie Mason-John
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In Tibet, the word for meditation is gom, which means “to become familiar with one’s self.

-Valerie Mason-John
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When we crave something, we are holding on to the desire for the pleasurable aspects of an experience, while denying or ignoring its painful and unpleasant aspects. Craving is inextricably linked to suffering. We can be abstinent and still crave the experience we have abstained from, . . . Read more

-Valerie Mason-John
Step One: accepting that this human life will bring suffering    Step Two: seeing how we create extra suffering in our lives    Step Three: embracing impermanence to show us that our suffering can end    Step Four: being willing to step onto the path of recovery and discover . . . Read more

-Valerie Mason-John
Learning to be with our experience is not easy. It can feel counterintuitive, like the last thing one should sensibly do. Hearing our thoughts can be even scarier. It can help to recognize that we are not our thoughts, and that we don’t have to act out our thoughts. We don’t have . . . Read more

-Valerie Mason-John
We can easily take the thoughts that appear in our minds for granted. We assume that they are true and believe that we must act on them. With mindfulness, we are trying to relate to our thoughts differently – not take them so seriously or buy into the stories they are telling us. To . . . Read more

-Valerie Mason-John