Water the Plants
Watering the plants can put the mind in a state of Zen-like relaxation. The trick to it is to use water at low pressure from the garden hose. When the water pressure is too fast it won’t work. Today I was watering the plants in the front of the house and I had the pressure pretty low. And I was using my thumb to regulate the water flow. That way I was able to control the sounds that the water was making. Then when I held the hose over the plants, the droplets hit the dirt and plants in a repetitive pattern. This pattern of sounds is both randomized and familiar. It made a certain type of white noise, that when I focused on the sound of the water, my mind was able to concentrate and relax at the same time. The part about watering plants that I sometimes forget is that when I water, I am standing still for a few minutes at a time. This standing still is perfect for initiating a Zen Relaxation state. In many relaxation gardens people have expensive fountains that make certain sounds. These sounds are supposed to help you slip into the relaxed state of mind. They aren’t the actual purpose of the experience.
If relaxation is the destination, then the water sounds are the roads. Let them take you there.
Another thing to remember is breathing. My best results when watering the plants and reaching Zen is to breathe slowly and easily through the nose and exhale through the mouth. After breathing and standing still for a while I mosey on to the next plant. After a while I get in this chilled state of relaxation that isn’t really concentrating yet it is daydreaming either. It is just being in the moment without needing the moment. Appreciating the serenity and tranquility without trying. Slipping into relaxation like stepping into a luke-warm bath after being out in the snow.
-Tyler