Ethan Nichtern quotes

Ethan Nichtern is a prominent Buddhist teacher, author, and social activist based in New York City. He is the founder of the Interdependence Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to personal transformation and collective awakening. Ethan is the author of several books, including "The Road Home" and "The Dharma of The Princess Bride." He is a sought-after speaker on mindfulness, meditation, and Buddhism, and has been featured in publications such as The New York Times and Lion's Roar. Follow Ethan Nichtern for insightful teachings and guidance on navigating the complexities of modern life with wisdom and compassion. #EthanNichtern #BuddhistTeacher #Mindfulness #Meditation

When we are mindful, we experience our social presence as a series of momentary connections with one other being. These moments of interpersonal connection are like the Lego building blocks of our social awareness.

- Ethan Nichtern

Visualization is not just some spiritual event—it’s a basic cognitive process.

- Ethan Nichtern

The point of dharma practice is not to try to live without any narrative. The point is to see how all narratives have a holographic nature.

- Ethan Nichtern

Our personal journey is rarely easy, and our global journey is even less so. Because everything is interdependent, we have to work on both of these levels at once. Trying to change society without deeply understanding our heartmind won’t work. Your own road home can never be separated from society’s journey. We need a unifying theory and language that allow us to link the lessons of our personal journey with the situation facing our world. The important question then, a question laced with a gorgeous irony, is, How do we get home from here? Or, maybe more appropriate, How do we get here from here?

- Ethan Nichtern

I often find that when I fall into the trap of speaking too harshly, it is because I don’t have enough confidence in the power of my own voice to carry sufficient strength on its own. When you realize that your speech can be powerful, you don’t need to amplify that power by making personal attacks that overgeneralize the specific feedback you are trying to give.

- Ethan Nichtern

Here’s my personal definition of a Buddhist: someone who prioritizes cultivating her relationship to her own heartmind—and her relationship to other sentient beings—above whatever else she might achieve in life.

- Ethan Nichtern