Arranging Your Zen Garden

A Miniature Zen Garden Arrangement

A calming place used to soothe the mind and spirit is what a Zen garden should be about. Zen gardens are being studied by neoroscientists because the simple designs are pleasing to the subconscious parts of our brains. Arranging your own Zen garden is easy when you keep two things in mind: simplicity and minimalism. You can make a miniature zen garden to keep inside before creating a large one outside.

Things You'll Need

• Shallow plate Sand 3 to 5 small rocks 5 toothpicks Rubberband

Instructions

1. Make a small rake with toothpicks. Take all 5 of the toothpicks and hold them together. Wrap the rubberband around the top end and spread the bottom ends with your fingers.

2. Add sand to a shallow plate. Think about where you want to place the rocks inside this area. A zen garden should be something pleasing, calming and soothing to look at from at least one perspective.

3. Place rocks in the sand base. Look at them from different angles either by spinning the plate or by moving to view it from different positions. The layout of the rocks should be simple. If you find having all 5 rocks in your miniature zen garden is too much, take a few out.

4. Make soft ripples and swirls using the rake. The sand is representative of sea ripples and the rocks represent land or trees.

Tips & Warnings

• You can change the design, but remember to keep it simple.

• Take a minimalist approach when arranging your zen garden.

Resources

• Zen Secrets