Being with Busyness – New Book Release of Brother Phap Huu & Jo Confino

A Mindful Path to Rediscover Balance and Inner Joy

In the rush of modern life, where to-do lists seem endless and time feels scarce, burnout and overwhelm have become common experiences. Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnout by Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino offers a gentle yet powerful invitation to pause, reflect, and reconnect with yourself through mindfulness, compassion, and stress-relieving practices.

Whether you’re navigating workplace challenges, relationship stress, or simply trying to balance the demands of daily life, this transformative guide provides tools and insights to help you live with greater peace, clarity, and joy.

Gatha for Reflection:
Breathing in, I know this moment is precious.
Breathing out, I release the weight of busyness.

Transform Burnout into Balance with Mindfulness and Compassion

Finding Balance in the Midst of Overwhelm

Burnout arises when we’re pulled in too many directions, leaving us drained and disconnected. This book explores the core causes of overwhelm and burnout, offering practical guidance on how to regain balance. Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino draw on the teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh to present stress management practical tips, mindfulness exercises, and compassionate approaches to help you reconnect with your inner resources.

Through relatable stories, you’ll learn how to:

• Identify and process stress effectively.
• Set boundaries that honor your energy.
• Cultivate moments of stillness amidst a busy life.

The teachings shared are accessible and deeply healing, offering stress management and coping strategies that are both profound and easy to integrate into your daily routine.

Stress Management Techniques for Work and Relationships

Work and relationships are two of the most common sources of stress in life. The authors provide thoughtful advice and mindfulness-based practices to navigate these challenges with grace. By practicing mindful breathing, walking meditation, and compassionate communication, you can create harmony both within yourself and in your interactions with others.

Key stress management examples include:

• Breathing practices to calm your mind during a critical incident at work.
• Mindful listening techniques to ease relationship stress management.
• Loving speech as a way to transform conflict into connection.

These practices support a shift in perspective, helping you transform stress into an opportunity for growth and understanding.

Practical Tips to Nourish Joy and Build Resilience

Mindfulness for stress management isn’t just about solving problems—it’s about cultivating joy and resilience in daily life. Being with Busyness reminds us that even in our most hectic moments, we can choose to pause, breathe, and return to ourselves.

The book also provides a comprehensive stress management technique list, offering concrete practices to enhance your well-being:

• Meditation for stress management to help calm the mind.
• Relaxation techniques to restore energy and inner balance.
• Mindful walking to stay grounded, even on your busiest days.

By integrating these stress management and relaxation techniques, you’ll discover that life’s challenges can be met with presence, ease, and joy.

Review

“In a world where 24 hours are never enough, to-do lists never end, and pain points never diminish, this delicious book offers a much-needed and profound respite for heart and mind.”
—Christiana Figueres, coauthor of The Future We Choose and founding partner of Global Optimism

“It feels especially hard to switch off as an activist when there’s a never-ending tide of problems to solve. Yet the mindfulness teachings of Plum Village have helped me find stillness. Practicing mindfulness has brought me back from the brink of burnout and helped me rediscover the joy in my work. I am especially indebted to Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino, who are gifted teachers and communicators. Their podcast has transformed countless lives, and so will this book. If your first thought is ‘I’m too busy to read this,’ then this is precisely the book for you!”
—Clover Hogan, climate activist and founder of Force of Nature