Zen garden in your apartment
If you live in a small apartment and you want to have a bit of space for yourself to relax, making a Zen garden might be a good choice to do so. You might even have a few pots of plants in your apartment but that does not fit as a garden, and there are Zen gardens people make in their backyards but that takes a lot of space. We are talking about a small Zen garden that will fulfill you and put you in a relaxed state every time you look at it or rearrange it.
Zen garden represents a microcosm, a universe on a small scale. It is a type of dry garden, so it contains no water at all. Instead, sand replaces it because here sand is the symbol for water. Shells and pebbles are also there, as they represent mountains.
It is recommended to turn off your phone and TV for 15 minutes while you rearrange your Zen garden because the whole point is in grasping a moment of peace, and it is very beneficial to attend to your Zen garden before sleep because it makes you calm.
How to start?
The foundation: The smallest recommended dimensions for a Zen garden are those of a piece of A4 paper – 30 x 50 cm and 5 cm in depth. You will need a rectangle box or bowl that will be your foundation. Anything of that size and shape can do, presumably you don’t need it for other things.
Sand: All Zen gardens contain white or gray sand, and river sand is the best. You will need at least 4 ½ pounds of sand to fill the box of minimal recommended dimensions, and it is obvious that, if you want a larger box, you will need more sand. Make sure that the box is clean and dry before you pour the sand in it, but if you manage to get quartz sand you do not need to do the cleaning and drying.
Pebbles, rocks, shells: These are very important. You will need at least 3 natural stones for your garden, but shells are also welcomed for decoration. If, however you cannot find pretty natural stones nearby, they can be replaced with quartz crystals, semi-precious or even precious stones.
Small rake: This is your equipment for attending the garden and usually small rake are not so easy to be found. You can make your own out of wood panels, or purchase them from the manufacturer. You use rake to make waves, circles and lines in the sand, let your artistic spirit be expressed while you simultaneously relax. After 15 minutes of a childlike but creative play, you should start feeling deep peace that surrounds you. Try it, it costs almost nothing, demands no effort and makes the stress disappear!
