Mindfulness in the Garden : Zen Tools for Digging in the Dirt

Mindfulness in the Garden offers simple mindfulness verses (gathas) composed to connect the mind and body and to bring the reader/gardener’s awareness to the details of the present moment as they work in the garden. These gathas are signposts leading to nature, to the present, and ultimately to one’s self through the love and understanding they evoke. The gathas offered with each gardening activity serves to water the seeds of mindfulness within us, and softening and preparing the ground for our ability to be present.
Mindfulness in the Garden values weeds as important messengers seeking to bring into close communion our spiritual nature with that of the environment. It likens spiritual practice to cultivating a garden and inspires each person to accept themselves and start where they are, weeds and all. Through the practice of mindful gardening, we invite not only the thriving of the natural world but also the flowering and beauty of the pure land of our true self to emerge.

Features black and white botanical illustrations throughout by Jason DeAntonis.
Introduction by Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Present Moment Wonderful Moment

Zachiah Laurann Murray is a Registered Landscape Architect whose vision and passion is to collaborate and consult with Landscape Architects, Architects, Civil Engineers, and environmental organizations in the creative, instinctive, and most ecologically sensitive approach to designing and developing our land. As a steward of the land, she encourages the preservation and restoration of the environment to ensure future generations a quality of life enriched through their ability to make a connection to Mother Earth that is unique to themselves. Zachiah is a Masters in Divinity candidate at the Interfaith Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. She teaches meditation and is a member of the Order of Interbeing in the lineage of Thich Nhat Hanh. She presently lives in Santa Cruz, California.
Jason DeAntonis is an award-winning sculptor and visual artist. His illustrations have appeared in many children's books including Making Space: Creating a Home Meditation Practice by Thich Nhat Hanh and Little Pilgrim by Ko Un (both from Parallax Press). He lives in Berkeley, CA.