Create a tiny garden place for calm reflection. It’s a gentle reminder to take a break and breathe – even if just for moment in the middle of your busy day.
Miniature Mediation Gardens: Create Your Own Peace
I wrote about about miniature prayer gardens back in September, 2011, and since then, we have enjoyed having a miniature buddha garden and a miniature gratitude garden in our office as a reminder to stop, breathe and say thanks.
Prayer, thoughtfulness, meditation, personal reflection, deep thought or quiet time – whatever your preference – are activities that seem to get missed in our busy lives. Having a simple reminder or a “place to go” can help nudge you to take a moment or two out of your day and align your thoughts and emotions so you can carry on with a clearer purpose.
Add a little love to your meditation garden with a simple miniature heart rock. Click the picture to take you to the details in the online store.
And a miniature garden is the perfect idea to help you do that.
Prayer garden, meditation garden, gratitude garden and peace garden are some of the general names that have come up. Miniature grotto, miniature altar, miniature zen garden start to get more specific as will the individual dieties that you can include in your mini garden, Madonna garden, Buddha garden. A candle, heart or a flower can also stand in for the focal point and symbolize whatever is needed. You can rotate the accessories in and out of your mini garden whenever you want so, as with all things miniature garden, never feel that it is a permanent, undoable decision. Give yourself some freedom to play with your different ideas.
We went over some general guidelines in the previous blog that will help you create a wee sanctuary to evoke peaceful mindedness and calm. Here’s a quick review:
- Lots of plants.
- Minimum clutter.
- Pathways can evoke flow. (Of breath, of calm flowing in, for example.)
- Focal point can help keep your thoughts focused.
- Include a spot to visually sit or kneel to inject yourself into the mini space.
Now you can start to go into a bit more detail as you now that you’ve spent some quality time with your little garden
Our mini gratitude garden. A simple reminder to be grateful can change your thought process in a heart beat.
altars:
6. Tend to the garden. Maintain the health of your plants. Snip off any brown leaves or dead branches. Gently wash off the branches with a soft rag. Or give it a tepid shower with water* then gently wipe the leaves. (If you don’t wipe the leaves, you won’t get rid of the dust. Yes, I know, you may have a lot of leaves but this task in itself is very meditative. ;o)
7. Aerate the soil. Use a fork to break up the top layer of soil if it is crusty. Use a skinny dowel to poke into the soil, going right down into the pot, around the plant’s roots, to get some air down into the soil.
8. Wash and clean. Give your rocks, patios and accessories a wash or wipe. Use an old toothbrush and mild dish soap and give your accessories and furniture a bath. Sweep off the patio area or fluff and flatten out the gravel on the path and patio.
9. Water well. Put it all it all back together and water* until the water comes out of the drainage hole on the bottom. If you are miniature gardening indoors, put the miniature garden in the sink or tub to do this and let it drain before placing it back. (Make sure you have a sink filter/screen to catch and prevent any chunks of dirt from clogging up your plumbing.)
Remember that you can swap out your focal point if you want to focus on another aspect of your life. You can change or add to it at any time. Click the picture to go to our Etsy store and see the possibilities.
10. Get specific. Use a direct symbol, figure, representation or icon that will direct your focus and attention exactly where you want it to go. Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, would direct your thoughts to clearing away your mental clutter. A pretty rock that says, “Thanks” is a direct reminder be grateful. A small figure of St. Francis will keep the Prayer of St. Francis in your thoughts. Interchange or swap out the accessories whenever you feel the need or to get refocused.
Miniature gardening is a very adaptable hobby that can be very personal, or shared and explored with others too. Arrange a workshop for your group or club to create a miniature garden altars, gratitude gardens or apply any of your group’s purpose to it. It’s a fun way to connect with others and you’ll get something purposeful and meaningful from it.
*Water from your taps – Let your tap water sit for a couple of hours before using it to water your plants so the chlorine can evaporate. Let the water come to room temperature too – as opposed to freezing cold water from outside. Your plants will thank you.
Here are some more ideas to get you started. The links will take you to either our online Miniature Garden Center or to
Miniature Madonna Figure for your prayer garden. Click the picture to see her up in the store.
our Etsy One of a Kind Store. Also visit the previous blog post on Miniature Prayer Gardens here.
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Miniature Mediation Gardens: Create Your Own Peace | Natural Soil Nutrients | Scoop.it said
[...] Miniature Mediation Gardens: Create Your Own Peace I wrote about about miniature prayer gardens back in September, 2011, and since then, we have enjoyed having a miniature buddha garden and a minia… [...]
richardhustonart said
As a practicing Buddhist that just moved into a new situation I have been wondering how I could set up my own shrine in such a way as to not offend my Christian roomies. This is the perfect solution…Thank you