LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
After experiencing devastating losses and midlife malaise, Japanologist Beth Kempton embarked on a monumentally transformative journey that’s here shared in enlightening style. Positing answers to life’s big questions through the lens of kokoro — a word that’s “been alive in the Japanese language since before there was a system to write it down” — it’s a beautiful book, and might just change the way you think about life, death, and time.
Kokoro is pithily summed up by this statement: “When we approach life heart-mindfully, we experience the joy of arranging flowers, while understanding we are never really just arranging flowers.” In essence, kokoro “is the intelligent heart, which communicates our innate wisdom and responds to the world in the present moment”. Or, in the words of a wise nun the author encounters during her journey: “your job is to take care of now, as well as you can."
Encompassing three mountains (Hagurosan, mountain of the present and earthly desires; Gassan, mountain of death and the past; and Yudonosan, mountain of rebirth and the future), this shares the sublime power of stillness and living in the moment. As such, Kokoro comes hugely recommended for readers who are looking to lead more fulfilling lives through living with intentionality, gratitude and a mindful heart, free from societal pressure and expectations.
Joanne Owen
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Kokoro Japanese Wisdom for a Life Well Lived Synopsis
kokoro [n.] intelligent heart, feeling mind
One year. Two devastating losses. Three sacred Japanese mountains. A major life transition, a heart full of grief and a revelation that changes everything.
Join Japanologist Beth Kempton on a pilgrimage through rural Japan in search of answers to some of life's biggest questions: How do we find calm in the chaos and beauty in the darkness? How do we let go of the past and stop worrying about the future? What can an awareness of impermanence teach us about living well?
Together you will journey to the deep north of Japan, hike ancient forests, watch the moon rise over mountains of myth and encounter a host of wise teachers along the way - Noh actors, chefs, taxi drivers, coffee shop owners, poets, philosophers and the spirits that inhabit the land. You will contemplate the true nature of time at one of the world's strictest Zen temples and nothing will be quite the same again.
This book is an invitation to cultivate stillness and contentment in an ever-changing, uncertain world. It all begins with the kokoro, a profound Japanese term which represents the intelligent heart, the feeling mind and the embodied spirit of every human being.
To explore the kokoro is to explore the very essence of what it means to be human in this tough yet devastatingly beautiful world. When you learn to live guided by the light in your kokoro, everything changes, and anything is possible.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780349425580 |
| Publication date: |
4th April 2024 |
| Author: |
Beth Kempton |
| Publisher: |
Piatkus Books an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
272 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Health & Fitness
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| Other Genres: |
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Author
About Beth Kempton
Beth Kempton is an award-winning entrepreneur and the bestselling author of Wabi Sabi: Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life, Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year, We Are in This Together and Freedom Seeker. Beth's books have been translated into 24 languages, chosen as an Apple USA 'must listen' audiobook on iTunes, and recommended in TIME Magazine, British Vogue, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Style and Psychologies Magazine among others.
Beth has two degrees in Japanese and has spent many years living and working in Japan, which she considers her second home. She is also a qualified yoga teacher and a Reiki Master trained in the Japanese tradition in Tokyo. As Founder of Do What You Love, Beth has produced and taught online courses and workshops that have helped tens of thousands of people all over the world to discover their passion, explore their creativity and live a more inspired life. She describes herself as a wanderer, an adventurer and a seeker of beauty.
Beth is the mother of two small girls who fill her with joy every single day.
More About Beth Kempton
