by Harmony Kent
It’s never too late to be who you were meant to be, and your history doesn’t have to keep you trapped. This book, with its pithy teachings based in Zen, will help you find the jewel in the inevitable mud of life rather than wallowing in that mud.
Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It relies solely on what you think.
Have you ever felt angry? Upset? Hurt? Overwhelmed? Not up to it?
This book, with its pithy teachings based in Zen, will help you find the jewel in the inevitable mud of life rather than wallowing in that mud.
Not only does each day offer us a new start, a chance to press reset, but so does each and every breath. It’s never too late to be who you were meant to be, and your history doesn’t have to keep you trapped. And nor do you have to waste endless energy on worrying about all that the future may bring.
Written in an engaging manner, Jewel in the Mud invites you to search within and make your world the way you want it to be. It doesn’t give you strict instructions or homework, but instead, invites you to dive deeper, search further, and question your assumptions.
The book has handy thoughts for the week, and can be read in one go, weekly, or dipped into at random. In short, it has been designed to fit in with you and your needs.
Learn how to take control of your life with these Zen Musings.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! I have read other books by this author and have enjoyed them all. This one was very different. The author pulls from her experience in a Zen Buddhist Temple for thirteen years. For fifty two weeks, she shared a different Zen musing on her blog. She chose to compile them and create a book with the year's collection, and I loved it. Each chapter covers one Zen musing/lesson. I love how she breaks it down into easy to absorb ideas. I read the book from cover to cover and have no doubt I will be reading it again. Actually, I'm pretty sure I will end up buying the physical book so I can flip through it and find the lesson I was to reread at certain moments in my life (and may even gift it to my son when he graduates from high school). Each lesson is valuable and presents such a pure way of approaching life. I love how she starts each chapter with a statement that encompasses the lesson, explains the lesson, and then ends with the Zen saying, which truly ties it all together. As someone who has been focused on self-care for the past few years, this book truly hit home for me. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to live a life of harmony and self-love.
JUST WHAT I NEEDED! Jewel in the Mud: Zen Musings, by Harmony Kent is one of those books that affected my life in a positive way. It's a daily reading of zen philosophy broken down into relatable passages. Kent "unpacks" the messages. I bought the Audible version and listen to one a day as I begin to drive. They are a reminder to slow down in life, think, receive, and appreciate life's treasures. We ALL take life and people for granted, and this book reminds us to reflect. We also live stressful lives and demand much of ourselves... often too much, which is unhealthy. Jewel makes a difference in my life because it's a moment of reflection for me. Sometimes the day gets crazy and I forget the day's lesson, but other days the message works a little magic. Five HUGE Stars for this gem.
HUMBLE BRILLIANCE Author Harmony Kent's collection of reflections is masterful. Always humble, she approaches complex psychological and philosophical issues with disarming simplicity. Her Musing Four (Mirror of Our Lives) is truly brilliant. "Any time we judge a thing or another being, we actually show more about ourselves. Our judgments hold up a huge mirror in front of us and show us exactly who we are." About forgiveness, Kent recounts her struggles over a doctor's mistake that led to the amputation of her leg. Good grief!! Her story of how she embraced compassion and forgiveness is a stunning story of freedom. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about personal growth and happiness. One person found this helpful
A TRUE GEM! Helps you navigate the path of daily life. I found it very interesting. I'm a CHristian but that didn't stop me from getting the most out of it. It's life lessons are universal.
HARMONY BY NAME, HARMONY BY NATURE This is an inspirational book that made me stop and think about my life and the way I lead it. Jewel in the Mud is written in a very straightforward way and makes difficult concepts easy to understand. Harmony Kent originally wrote these musings on her blog over a period of a year, publishing one each Monday. Having read it twice from cover to cover I now have it on my phone and read selected musings when I have a spare few minutes. Sometimes I learn something new. Other times I reinforce a lesson already learned. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Zen Buddhism teachings or is interested in spirituality and mindfulness generally.
THIS BOOK ISN'T A JEWEL. IT'S A DIAMOND! Harmony Kent has done the incredible (Made Zen understandable for the average person) allow me a minute to explain the title. Science says our bodies are mostly minerals and water. Combine the two and you get mud. the jewel is the mind. however the jewel must be faceted before it expresses its true beauty. practicing Zen and other mental training allows your true nature to shine into the world. Zen isnt about sitting in painful positions. it doesn't matter what position you sit in. its ALL ABOUT TRAINING YOUR MIND! Through her words I must say that Ms Kent is closer to enlightenment (Kensho, Satori, or Nirvana) than many of the Zen masters I have known over the last 50 years. If you get only two things from this book i would suggest they be the following. Week 2 "It doesn't matter what other people think do or say." as long as you are doing the best you can and you respect yourself. Other people's thoughts about you are irrelevant. Page 37 "Rule your mind or it will rule you" if you can only get one thing out of this book. This should be it! I am of the opinion that practicing mindfulness in your daily life is far more important than practicing Zazen once a day. in the beginning it will be difficult to stay mindful for even a minute at a time. when you catch yourself dwelling on the past or plans for the future gently bring yourself back to the present. I had been practicing Zen for 35 years and I still wasn't happy with my level of of enlightenment. then I read Kristen Zambucka (SP) the "Ana Ana trilogy " in this book she gave me one hint that is like Buddhist Mindfulness on steroids! the simple hint was "Think of your mind as a garden." it means to plant good thoughts, and rip out the bad ones. So I was mindful of my thoughts, and when I realized I was thinking bad thoughts I pulled myself out of it and thought several things such as gratitude I have enough to meet my needs, I have good friends in my life, that I'm healthy, thankful it isnt too cold or raining. it doesn't matter what those good thoughts are or you can think of only one or two good thoughts or you can think of 50 good thoughts. the whole idea is to get out of that habit of negative self talk going around and around in circles. I practiced pulling up bad thoughts and replacing them with good thoughts, and in 5-6 months ; all of that negative chatter fell away and my true nature started to shine through. Not sure if I realized Kensho or Satori. but I definitely reached the mental state Buddhists call the state of no mind. In Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy" The masterpiece by Katsuki Sekida. He calls this state "Forgetting the Ox". he described training the mind as if your mind as a willful and unruly ox. Many Zen teachers refer to the untrained mind as the monkey mind. because it is always jumping from thought to thought instead of being in the present. there are a lot of Good Zen books out there. I have about 30-40 of them. in my opinion you should have at Least the following three books in your Zen library. "Jewel In The Mud" Harmony Kent "Taking The Path Of Zen" Robert Aitken These two books will offer great mental training and start thinking from a different point of view. OF COURSE ANY ZEN LIBRARY IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT "Zen Training: Methods And Philosophy" Katsuki Sekida I called Katsuki Sekida's book a masterpiece because it is. It is almost like having your own Zen Master in a book that you can read and re read until you get it.
