--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is a single definition of…" description: "\"If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we have withdrawn in ju..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/stephen-levine-6949_awareness_if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-heali_184671.jpg" --- # If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter… ![“If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we have withdrawn in judgment and dismay. (48)” quote by Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/stephen-levine-6949_awareness_if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-heali_184671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/stephen-levine-6949_awareness_if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-heali_184671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/stephen-levine-6949_awareness_if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-heali_184671.jpg) > “If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we have withdrawn in judgment and dismay. (48)” [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Healing involves consciously acknowledging both mental and physical pain with compassion, rather than judging or avoiding it. **In simple terms:** Face pain with compassion instead of judgment. Key Takeaway Practice mindful compassion toward your suffering. Themes healing compassion mindfulness psychology Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal crises - chronic illness - stress management Key Concepts self-awareness empathy integrative health Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate compassion for your own pain? - What barriers prevent you from facing discomfort? A Different Perspective Compassion alone may not resolve severe trauma without professional help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Dismay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dismay/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Physical health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-health/) ## Related quotes > [Healing is bringing mercy and Awareness into that which we have held in judgment and fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/healing-is-bringing-mercy-and-awareness-into-that-which-we-have-held/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [I will raise up prophets to make conflicting pronouncements that inevitably will be garbled in transcription, resulting in mutually exclusive definitions of orthodoxy from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/i-will-raise-up-prophets-to-make-conflicting-pronouncements-that/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [God rest you merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay, For Jesus Christ, our Saviour, Was born upon this day, To save us all from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/god-rest-you-merry-gentlemen-let-nothing-you-dismay-for-jesus-christ/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [ ... \[a\] girl one day flared out and told the principal "the only mission opening before a girl in his school was to marry… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/a-girl-one-day-flared-out-and-told-the-principal-the-only-mission/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [For death betimes is comfort, not dismay, and who can rightly die needs no delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/for-death-betimes-is-comfort-not-dismay-and-who-can-rightly-die-needs/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [What is instinct? It is the natural tendency in one when filled with dismay to turn to his wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finley-peter-dunne/what-is-instinct-it-is-the-natural-tendency-in-one-when-filled-with/) [Finley Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finley-peter-dunne/) > [Carmen sat up when she heard a familiar trill from her computer. It was an instant message from Bee. Beezy3: Packing. Do you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/carmen-sat-up-when-she-heard-a-familiar-trill-from-her-computer-it/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [But to go to school in a summer morn, O! It drives all joy away; Under a cruel eye outworn, The little ones spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/but-to-go-to-school-in-a-summer-morn-o-it-drives-all-joy-away-under-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [We can choose to gather to our hearts the thorns of disappointment, failure, loneliness, and dismay in our present situation. Or we can gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/we-can-choose-to-gather-to-our-hearts-the-thorns-of-disappointment/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [I don't have any children. I just have a cat, to my parents' dismay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bush/i-don-t-have-any-children-i-just-have-a-cat-to-my-parents-dismay/) [Jenna Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bush/) > [I enjoy the hell out of writing but don't like what follows: promotion and publicity, which I always strive to keep to a minimum,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-enjoy-the-hell-out-of-writing-but-don-t-like-what-follows-promotion/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [There was no mistaking her sincerity--it breathed in every tone of her voice. Both Marilla and Mrs. Lynde recognized its unmistakable ring. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-no-mistaking-her-sincerity-it-breathed-in-every-tone-of-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To his dismay, it sounded as out of place in this somber laboratory as the book looked out of place, and he found himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/to-his-dismay-it-sounded-as-out-of-place-in-this-somber-laboratory-as/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-really-frightens-and-dismays-us-is-not-external-events/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“My body is a temple. A temple of decay. Yet I shan't give in to the dismay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narcissismus-decimus-maximus/my-body-is-a-temple-a-temple-of-decay-yet-i-shan-t-give-in-to-the/) [Narcissismus Decimus Maximus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narcissismus-decimus-maximus/) ## More by Stephen Levine > [ “\[T\]hose who insist they've got their 'shit together' are usually standing in it at the time. (16)” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/t-hose-who-insist-they-ve-got-their-shit-together-are-usually/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [“When you can accept discomfort, doing so allows a balance of mind. That surrender, that letting go of wanting anything to be other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/when-you-can-accept-discomfort-doing-so-allows-a-balance-of-mind-that/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Forgiveness is mental floss! Build the capacity to forgive slowly - start with little unkind acts, otherwise you'll sabotage yourself. When we forgive, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/forgiveness-is-mental-floss-build-the-capacity-to-forgive-slowly/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-you-were-going-to-die-soon-and-had-only-one-phone-call-you-could/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Relate to the fear, not just from it. (50)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/relate-to-the-fear-not-just-from-it-50/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Love is not what we become, but what we already are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/love-is-not-what-we-become-but-what-we-already-are/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [...healing comes not from being loving but from being itself. It is not a case of being clear but of clear being. This healing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/healing-comes-not-from-being-loving-but-from-being-itself-it-is-not-a/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [If you want the other person more than anything else in the world, you're in major trouble and the relationship is a wobbly pivot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-you-want-the-other-person-more-than-anything-else-in-the-world-you/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Letting the last breath come. Letting the last breath go. Dissolving, dissolving into vast space, the light body released from its heavier form. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/letting-the-last-breath-come-letting-the-last-breath-go-dissolving/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [“A drop of pond water under the microscope just like in science class but now your are the pond & the microscope is mindfulness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/a-drop-of-pond-water-under-the-microscope-just-like-in-science-class/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [If sequestered pain made a sound, the atmosphere would be humming all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-sequestered-pain-made-a-sound-the-atmosphere-would-be-humming-all/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [In all serious disease states we find a concomitant low oxygen state... Low oxygen in the body tissues is a sure indicator for disease...Hypoxia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/in-all-serious-disease-states-we-find-a-concomitant-low-oxygen-state/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Clearly, all fear has an element of resistance and a leaning away from the moment. Its dynamic is not unlike that of strong desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/clearly-all-fear-has-an-element-of-resistance-and-a-leaning-away-from/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [The saddest part about being human is not paying attention. Presence is the gift of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/the-saddest-part-about-being-human-is-not-paying-attention-presence/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [Until we find out who was born this time around, it seems irrelevant to seek earlier identities. I have heard many people speak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/until-we-find-out-who-was-born-this-time-around-it-seems-irrelevant/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) [Explore all 96 Stephen Levine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) ## More Awareness quotes > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/) [Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seeking-means-to-have-a-goal-but-finding-means-to-be-free-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 4,768 Awareness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and physical, from which we have withdrawn in judgment and dismay. (48)", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Levine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-healing-it-is-to-enter-with-mercy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awareness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-healing-it-is-to-enter-with-mercy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/stephen-levine-6949_awareness_if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-heali_184671.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/stephen-levine-6949_awareness_if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-heali_184671.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/stephen-levine-6949_awareness_if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-heali_184671.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there is a single definition of healing it is to enter with mercy and awareness those pains, mental and…” — Stephen Levine", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Levine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If there is a single definition...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-healing-it-is-to-enter-with-mercy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/if-there-is-a-single-definition-of-healing-it-is-to-enter-with-mercy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```