Your own piece of Zen

Zen....ah, the very word speaks of relaxation, of quiet, the art of switching of from the outside world with all its tensions and stress, and finding that moment of inner peace.

Lets face it....life today can be pretty stressful, as we struggle to maintain some sort of balance between work and home, finances and family, the need to compete, the need to rise to the top and be number one....to be the perfect employee, parent , partner. We are faced with a huge number of stressors everyday and experts firmly believe the stress is one of the highest causes of illnesses today - it places an attack on our immune system making us subseptible to viruses, infections, and direct attacks on our bodies such as migranes and even strokes! In fact, stress is one of the largest costs to employers in terms of reduced productivity, sickness and employee loss. So the fact is, we need to manage our stress levels and find that little means of escape!

That escape should be in our downtime - our home could be our retreat...yes this is rarely the case. Home can be busy, between keeping up the home, being the perfect parents and  / or partner, running here, there and everywhere as we struggle to maintain our current lifestyle. Home life has been reduced further by advances in technology...we have email , cell phones, Blackberries......we are accessible to others more than ever...and have less time for ourselves.

Now is a better time that ever to redress that balance. "ME" time is not a guilty indulgence, but a MUCH needed part of our life. Taking that little moment for yourself will make you a better person in all other areas of life! A burnt out person is not a useful person to anyone....and you need to find a way to prevent this occuring...hence, making your own Zen retreat to call your own...that place you can escape to and throw away the tensions of the day!

Zen???

When  the word Zen comes to mind....we may interpret the term in a number of ways...sure it means peaceful, quiet, mellow...but may also conjur up images of Buddhas, Meditation, Yoga, Zen gardens. For the purposes of this guide....ZEN is whatever creates peace for you, as in creating your own Zen retreat, you will want to cater to those icons that make you feel mellow and relaxed. Though it is also worth touching on the basis of the term - Zen which derives from a Sanskirt word that can be loosely defined as 'mediation', and in the Western World is seen as a form of Buddhism practice. To achieve the mindset of zen we need to clear our minds, and attachments from our though process - we need to leave the day behind...forget that project that needs to be completed, the closet that needs organising, the friend that needs calling back...those things can all wait....so those thoughts can be let go even if for a short period of time AND THAT IS WHERE THE CONCEPT OF CREATING OUR OWN ZEN SPACE COMES INTO PLAY....we need to remove all TRIGGERS of things to do, to allow ourselves to relax and let go!

Creating your own retreat!

What room to choose?

You want to chose a place that can offer you peace, quiet and an escape from the everyday distrations of life. You can chose to set up a spare space as a retreat if you have that option....but the obvious choice may be a bedroom. The modern bedroom today has become just another room in which our never ending multitasking occurs - some have computers in the room, not allowing us to escape from news, entertainment, or communication with others including the workplace...it is a never ending symbol of things to do, see and read.  Televisions are also comon place - distracting, maybe, but peaceful - rarely! Clutter....pictures, excessive furniture, clothing, to do lists, paperwork, kids toys, treadmills....you name it, bedrooms contain it.....little pieces of our life that do not allow us to fully switch off!

Creating your space.

Next consider what would be peaceful to you....some people prefer light airy rooms so you will want ot choose a color that is soothing to you an dreflective of your likes. Others prefer a dark room that allow them to fully switch off, but either way you will want to chose something plain that does not allow you to become distracted. In the practice of Feng Shui  the color spectrum ranges as follows:

From reds through oranges and yellows - the infrared. Then greens, blues and ending in violet black - the ultraviolet

The color spectrum is all though to represent different concepts:

• Red is seen as a vibrant symbol of life, of energy, or strength and is also an aggressive color.
• White is seen is western terms as pure and untouched, a symbol also of declining energy, at the end of the infrared spectrum, it does not create a vibe of warmth, relaxation or renewed spirits
• Green is thought of as a symbol of nature, renewal, youth. A color of balance, it is also seen as representing energy growth so some shades of this may create a good sense of Zen for some.
• Blue is often seen as a relaxing, tranquil color, it is also used in the practice of color therapy to represent health. its place on the color spectrum does however respresent energy of the decline - which is why is may be an aid to relaxation.
• Black - a color thar represents solitude, oten also seen as an evil color and one often steered away from in the art of feng shui

The next thing you will want to do, is remove clutter. Clutter is distrating and reminds us of things we need to do. It saps energy and this is something we want to preserve and grow. You room should contain only the essentials - in the case of your bedroom - a bed, a dresser a nightstand or two and a chair. Nothing that reminds us of everyday life, this is your retreat!

HOWEVER in removing clutter you can add symbols that indulge the senses.  A popular distration in brining nature indoors, something simple such as rocks, pebbles or you can be more eleborate  - a water feature for example, in the form of a smaller fountain that can be places tabletop or a larger indoor water feature: water fountain

The sound created by the movement of water has long been thought of as having healing power  and can help remove some of the sources that zap our energy levels - for example, many modern household items emit postive ions - our televisions, the computer we use, even our air conditionin systems. These ions that we breath in, cna drain our energy levels and help contribute to overall feelings of stress and tiredness. However, water and its flow which are said to produce negative ions can help fight against the many polutants and help give us energy and a feeling of being more refreshed. More than just theory, the fact that the energy produced by the water flow can trap indoor pollutants such as dust and dirt, can help you see why it takes the negative out of our life and helps us feel better.

If scent is a powerful element to you then indulge your Zen space with candles and / or incense.

Chose scents that helps relax you or help envoke warm memories.  Lavender of course is a powerful essential oil that aids relaxation and sleep. Sage is a highly aromatic scent that is thought to have cleansing properties and aid one in attaining a deeper meditation state - try burning it in the form of an essentail oil or smudge. Scents that bring nature indoors may also help you achieve the Zen like state you crave - the key is indulging yourself and your own particular tastes.

Another commom aid to getting you into a relaxed Zen like state may be music or sounds of nature - of course, there are those that may prefer silence, but if you do enjoy music you could try CDs that mimic sounds of nature - the Ocean, Rainforests, Rainfall to take you into another world! Books that help relax or provide clairty may also be another source of comfort:

Symbols of Zen, Meditation and Buddhism may also be a powerful tool in making your space something that is unique to you and indulges whatever your tastes may be:

You can use sources like local World stores, off the beaten track Global shops, markets you come across in your travels and of course ebay to bring pieces that hold meaning to you into your retreat. This is all about creating a retreat that will soothe YOUR senses, and to do that, you need to be able to identify those areas of your life that are stressors for you - and those that hold the key to relaxation, and work on creating that balance in your life.

What all is done......

RELAX!!!!! When you have creating that space that represents YOUR own zen - you can say goodbye to the day and relax....play your music, light your scents, close the blinds, the door and unplug the phone....say goodbye to all the modern stressors -this is YOUR RETREAT - that little way to shut the world out and let you in....our time to do this is certainly limited, so understand that this is your time to indulge you and you do not need ANY reminders of life to creep into this space. EVERYONE needs that little space to forget about the day and unwind.....it maybe time  - precious time away from that never ending to-do list, but it is valuable time that will give you the peace of mind and clairity to get that list tackled at another time - in a more effective manner! A relaxed individual with time for themselves is a happier, more producive member of society....as opposed to another victim of stress related illness..go ahead and enjoy!!