A small Zen garden or desk Japanese meditation garden can be used to engage all 5 senses for effective zen meditation in order to destress, relax and calm your mind. These benefits of Zen meditation are very profound. They are easy to achieve if you set up your desk Zen sand garden correctly to appeal to all 5 human senses. Today we will discuss how to use a Zen garden in such a way that they stimulate our senses of sight, sound, smell, feel, and sound. This will relax better and really inspire your imagination and creativity and also create a serene meditative atmosphere
Sense of Sight
Some of the most interesting features of a Zen garden for desk lie in the aesthetics or the visual beauty of one. You could rake the Zen sand by drawing a variety of patterns like waves, spirals, circles, straight lines, and the ripple effect. This doesn’t only help to clear your mind but also provides visually appealing looks great for tabletop decors.
Moreover, a desk Zen garden kit comes with a good number of accessories like plants, rocks, bridges, and so on. With these miniature Zen elements, you could make endless creative designs and arrangements in the Zen tray. You can appreciate a very eye-catchy mini desk zen garden arrangement at a glance. Most commonly by the balanced color distribution of the accessories and by the clean patterns on the sand. These make the Zen garden stimulate the sense of sight which is an important benefit in the world of Japanese gardens.
Sense of Sound
Sounds in an outdoor zen garden can vary depending on what is present in the garden. For example:
- The sounds of a running water feature or a waterfall can provide a calming presence.
- The sounds of stones being rearranged can provide a sense of satisfaction.
- The sounds of birds chirping can provide a sense of peace.
- The sounds of gravel crunching underfoot are also common.
- Wind chimes may be used to create a gentle, calming sound as well.
- The sounds from raking the sand or gravel in the garden can be soothing.
All these sounds can create a calming and relaxing effect that appeals to the sense of sound in a backyard Zen garden.
While on a desk Zen garden, some of these sounds can be created. For instance raking the sand, and sound from the stones, rocks, and other elements during arrangements can be used to create a soothing effect as well as a sense of satisfaction.
Sense of Touch
The feel of the different Zen elements or components that come in a Zen garden kit can appeal to the sense of touch. For instance:
- The hardness of the rocks and stones.
- The crunchy feel of the mosses.
- The soft feel of the sand
- The hardness of the bamboo rakes when you create sand patterns.
- The hardness of the bamboo rakes when you create sand patterns.
These are felt when touching the items during a desk Zen meditation session making designs on the tray.
Smell
Certainly, the smell can come from many different elements of a Japanese garden like water, air, and plants. Some common sources of smell in a Zen garden are the fragrances emitted by flowery plants. The smell of a Zen garden can be quite meditative, and often relaxing. Many people believe that the smell can help to improve mental health during meditation in the garden.
In desk Zen meditation, you can add an incense of your choice to your desk to convey the sense of smell. It sure will make you relax better.
Taste
Since mindfulness and Zen meditation practice involve relaxation. Treat yourself to a nice cup of coffee or drink of your choice. This is a tabletop Zen meditation so your drink can be placed by your side.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed how the five human senses can be stimulated by simply using a desk Zen garden for effective meditation and relaxation. We hope this gives you a better understanding of how useful a simple Japanese garden kit can be in improving your well-being and your mental health through meditation.
