 Meditation Gardens: Essential Information To Help You Build Your Own
People everywhere are looking for ways to balance their inner selves with their daily lives and with good reason. With so many stresses and strains placed on people it is no wonder that this is the case. As such, there are some new ideas filtering through the world of meditation, one of which happens to be meditation gardens. If you are a film fan and have watched various films featuring Buddhist monks then you probably have a clouded view of what meditation gardens actually are. As such, the rest of this article is not only an introduction but also advice as to how to make your own!
Although films may show meditation gardens as being thousands of years old, they are in fact really new to the world of meditation and have been created as a modern tool to help people deal with stress. The primary idea behind them is providing an environment for individuals to retreat to in order to forget their stress and allow their minds, bodies and souls to recuperate and heal. As such, meditation gardens are about as far from the real world as you get in terms of their composition and general atmosphere.
Although meditation gardens can be created inside to help create the ambience conducive to revitalizing and promoting positive thought whilst removing negativity, most are ideally created outside. Outdoor meditation gardens are often used for meditation sessions so you take in fresh air and encourage peace and harmony by being at one with nature. Nature is obviously incredibly important when you are trying to get back to a stress free state. The idea is to help you to reflect. Whether they are indoor or outdoor meditation gardens though, they have very specific principles governing their design.
All successful meditation gardens are very simple in their design. They are not cluttered or busy in any way, shape or form because clutter actually encourages rather than removes stress. They should have a very clear path but the overall shape of meditation gardens depends on your personal choice. Circular gardens are popular because they actively represent the cycle of life but square gardens are also popular because they symbolise universal order. Another common shape is the Celtic knot because it represents the journey of life.
No matter what shaped meditation gardens you choose, you should look into the essential elements that should be present in them. For example, the majority of meditation gardens have water features that almost seem to be like a bubbling brook. The flow of the water is soothing and can help to provide a little focus. There should also be certain flowers, such as lilies and lotuses. Cool colored flowers are advisable because they are easier on the eye and encourage reflection, but a range of seasonal plants should be grown to ensure that the garden blooms all year round.
Meditation gardens are full of symbolism, such as the meandering pathways that are symbolic of the roads we choose to travel through life. However, they should also be full of peace and serve as a welcome retreat from the stresses and strains of everyday life. After all, if you cannot find peace in beautiful and harmonic gardens then where are you going to find it?
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