Try mindful meditation in the garden to calm your mind

Mindfulness helps me focus on the ordinary, small things that are happening around me – I try to embrace and notice tiny things. I try to get outside every day for an hour whether it’s for a walk, to sit in the garden or a park.  Often I try this mindful meditation in the garden.  Also, most days I try to pick flowers from the garden, for us to enjoy inside.  I pick flowers because it is often raining in Manchester.  

Today, for my Vase I picked lavender – it’s my favourite scent and flower.  It brings back so many memories when I smell the scent.  I photographed it by our huge rosemary bush; the scent reminds me of my Dad, my friend Steve who were fabulous cooks – and roast lamb Sunday dinners too ;-).  The scents got me thinking about ‘how’ I’m mindful in the garden, so I thought I’d write a little about what I do when I’m out in the garden, the park or waiting somewhere.

‘and into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul’ John Muir (1838-1914) Scottish/American explorer and an early advocate of saving Wilderness places in US.

Here’s a suggestion of how to be more mindful in the garden.

A way to be mindful in the garden:

• Go outside, leave your phone behind too.
• Listen to the wind, the birdsong – what can you hear? can you feel the wind?
• If it is dry (and you want to do this) – take your shoes (and socks off) and stand on the grass – feel the grass – is it tickly? feel the ground under your feet, feel yourself standing firmly on the ground.
• Or sit on a bench – again feel yourself sitting firmly, feel the wood/mental under your body, focus on how connected you are to the ground.
• Think about what is growing around you – notice what season it is, what can you hear that tell you the season?
• Look at the clouds, is the sky blue? Are there clouds, what shape are they?
  Is the sky darker? Is rain coming or has it passed by?
• Notice the surrounding plants, look carefully at the leaves, and flowers, look at the colours, and their variation
• can you see any insects or bees?
• what scent is there? Focus on the different scents.
• Let the thoughts drift in and out of your head, acknowledge them, and bring your thoughts back to the flowers, plants and noises of nature. Focus again on the 
• Breathe evenly, focus on your breath, in and out,
• close your eyes and count your breath slowly and evenly. Can you visualise the surrounding scene?
• Be thankful for the plants and wildlife around you.
• Be thankful that you can experience all this today, in this moment, and this place.
• Open your eyes, move on and explore the next place you visit.

Let me know if you try this and how you get on… it takes a little practise to let the thoughts flow, let go and re-focus on what is around you. But, trust me, it’s worth it.  

It’s possible to bring mindful attention to many things; placing plants in the soil, watering your flowers, deadheading, picking up leaves or weeding, etc.  Just give it a go. Don’t get hung up on the word ‘meditation’; you need not be still to be mindful, nor do you need to chant or have a candle. Just give it a go.  

I’ve written before about mindfulness a few times – have a look, lots of ideas and suggestions 😉   I’ll write more posts soon – as it has made such a difference to my life these last few years – and has helped me with my daily arthritis pain.

• My ‘Mindful’ Garden – I’m in the moment
• My mental health care kit – ideas for self-care
• 3 vases 3 goals in 2019 

Lavender in my hand – the smell is heady

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In a Vase on Monday – lavender, sweetpea, campion, sweet william

I picked lavender for my ‘In a Vase on Monday’ I photographed it in my hand, as I often pick lavender stalks and bring some into the house – and plonk in an existing vase 🙂 I picked some more flowers to go with the lavender too.  I picked sweetpeas, rose campion (it’s a vivid pink) and some Sweet William. It smells gorgeous 🙂 and it has reminded me to make sure I grow more sweet peas next year.

and now to find a vase from my large collection… 😉

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I’m joining Cathy from Rambling in the Garden – In a Vase on Monday – on a slow gravy boat to China She has a blue and white theme in a gravy boat – proving that ‘vases’ can be just about anything.  I’m loving her dalhias, cornflowers and Echinops, there’s much more in the vase than this so have a look.   For ‘In a Vase on Monday’  pick what’s growing around where you are, a garden, the countryside, where ever, it doesn’t have to be flowers either.
The In a Vase on Monday crew all around the world have been picking and presenting plants in Vases for four years now.  It’s a fabulous expereince to dive into the photos on the blog, giving me ideas of plants to grow in my garden, lifts my mood in deepest winter and everyone is so friendly and helpful.  Huge thanks as usual to Cathy for hosting it all 🙂

I haven’t joined in for a long time as life has been full on here (in a good way). I’d picked and photographed flowers, but hadn’t quite got around to writing about them – oops.  I’ve got my eye on some flowers for next week already.

Looking carefully at these flowers helps my mindful meditation in the garden

I am with John Muir and Albert Einstein, time in nature helps me understand and find my soul.  I guess I’ve been an advocate of ‘Forest bathing’ for a while 😉

‘Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better’ Albert Einstein

Try this mindful meditation in the garden to calm your mind.  Have you got a favourite meditation or mantra? Does being in nature help you? Let me know in the comments.

Carpe Diem

love Bec xx xx xx

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