Continuing last week’s theme, the book "The Lantern of Lost Memories" invited me to think about the memories I might want to relive and take with me on my journey to the afterlife.

In the book, recently deceased souls enter a photo studio where a guide invites them to pick specific photos that represent key moments in their lives, one for every year lived. The pictures then get assembled into a lantern and lighted, so that the souls get to relive their most cherished moments as they move on to the next stage.

The Japanese rock garden is such an icon that most people have this image in mind when they think of Japan. For me, the idea behind karesansui offers many options to be mindful so I wanted to share how I use them with you.

In connection with last week's article about New Year cleaning or Ōsōji, this week I wanted to write about the practice of Samu (作務). Samu more formally embodies the principles of mindfulness and meditation through work.