How To Unwind By Doing Mindful Yard Work

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Science, Social Sciences

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2024

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everyday activities, such as cleaning and gardening, can be sources of joy and opportunities for mindfulness. This week, our guest shares his experience practicing mindful sweeping on the temple stairs in Kyoto, Japan with Shoukei Matsumoto, a Buddhist monk.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3r6ju2wh

Episode summary:

Many of us see yard work as a chore. But what if we shift our perspective and instead see it as an opportunity to practice mindfulness? This week on The Science of Happiness, our guest shares his experience of sweeping the steps of a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and the mindfulness and mental processes involved in the practice. Then, we hear from Shoukei Matsumoto, a Buddhist monk and author, about the practice of cleaning as a form of mindfulness.

Practice:
The next time you’re tending to your garden, picking up trash on your sidewalk, watering the plants, or doing other chores, spend a few minutes practicing mindfulness by slowing down and really being present with the activity and your own body's movements while you do it.

Today’s guests:

Matt Heron is a Canadian who has been living and working in Japan for five years.

Shoukei Matsumoto is a Buddhist monk and cleaning enthusiast in Kyoto, Japan. He is the author of “A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind,” which has been translated into 18 languages, including English

Follow Shoukei on instagram: https://tinyurl.com/4e2jk7xt
Follow Shoukei on Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/48xkr9ew
Learn more about Interbeing: https://www.interbeing.co.jp/en
Read “A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind” : https://tinyurl.com/7u3zhvcz

More episodes like this one:

How to Make Work More Satisfying: https://tinyurl.com/3fa925yf
Why We Should Seek Beauty in the Everyday Life: https://tinyurl.com/26dskv38

Related Happiness Breaks (a short, guided practice by The Science of Happiness)

Contemplating Our Interdependence With Nature, With Dekila Chungyalpa: https://tinyurl.com/erz2f5de
Happiness Break: How to Be in Harmony in Nature—Wherever You Are, With Yuria Celidwen: https://tinyurl.com/ynxeeb7a

Tell us about your mindful gardening experiences! Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is sponsored by Tiananran Culture, whose vision is one health, one wellness.
0:06.0	Learn more in our show notes.
0:08.0	Hi, I'm Dacker Keltner, and this is the Science of Happiness Podcast.
0:12.0	As a lot of you know, we're based out of UC. And this is the Science of Happiness Podcast.
0:16.6	As a lot of you know, we're based out of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center and we've been sharing our episodes on Greater Good Social Media Platforms.
0:21.1	But now we have our own Science of Happiness Instagram and we'd love for you to follow us. You can
0:27.1	find us at Science of Happiness Pod all one word. We're going to go behind the scenes of our episodes and share how to do the
0:35.2	practices we talk about on the show. The first 100 followers will be included in
0:40.0	a raffle to win a signed copy of my new book,
0:43.0	A The New Science of Everyday Wonder,
0:45.2	and how it can transform your life.
0:47.1	That Science of Happiness, P-O-D on Instagram.
0:51.2	We'll also have a link in our show notes.
0:54.1	Enjoy this week's episode.
0:59.3	When I was living in Canada, I felt like I didn't necessarily have that much stress in my life and now that I'm here in Japan
1:06.8	that's not the case for various reasons. I'm teaching English and that's every evening usually starting at five maybe finishing
1:16.2	at nine or ten so that's a little stressful because it takes away from a lot of the time I would
1:21.1	generally spend at home with my wife and I now own six properties,
1:26.6	all of which are these abandoned old houses that require a lot of renovation work, and I'm trying
1:32.4	to do myself. I feel very stressed out a lot of the time.
1:37.6	It feels like it's you know 24 hours a day and occasionally I find myself not necessarily lashing out at other people but not
1:47.6	being as happy as I want to be or as open in the moment as I want to be.
	...

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