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Meditating outdoors in Meditation Gardens is well worth trying out! Does it really matter where you meditate? I think it does matter, for all sorts of reasons. For some, being outside makes for not just a different meditation experience, but a more profound one. There are some good reasons for this. Perhaps meditating in a quiet room with no sounds and nothing to distract you is the easiest form of meditation, especially for beginners. It's hard enough to quiet your mind without constant input from your surroundings. On the other hand,however,life is constantly producing stimuli, so if you want the peacefulness and calmeness that comes from meditation, perhaps learning to meditate despite all the surrounding sounds and movement is just what you need. Meditating Outdoors There's a secluded and shady spot at the far end of my garden. I call it my Meditation Garden. There's a level grassy spot where I can feel at peace with the world. That is where I would go to sit. I go out in all weathers and can often feel the breeze on my skin. It is not really quiet there. I can hear the wind in the surrounding trees. I also hear the water in the fountain of the ornamental pond nearby. I can smell the leaves, grass and soil around me. I can hear the birds and the distant noise of children playing at the nearby school. Meditating there isn't only pleasurable because of the outside environment, but also different from meditating in the silence of my home. There is more of a sense of experiencing the world without thought, without over-analysing it. Why? Perhaps simply because there was more to experience. There were the sounds, the smells and the sensations on my skin of the breeze albeit sometimes hot or sometimes cold!. I usually close my eyes when I meditate, because I am a very visually-oriented person, and find it easier to meditate this way. When I finished my meditation, in my meditation garden, I would open my eyes, but what I saw was always different from what was there when I started. Of course it was the same, but I was seeing it differently, as if for the first time. While difficult to explain, this is easy to recognise if you have had the experience. It's wonderful to look around as if seeing for the first time. You are seeing without preconception. The sounds and sensations were also "new." I think this more direct experience of life is a profound demonstration of how much we normally "live" through our thoughts, somewhat detached from reality and generally take everything we see, hear and smell for granted. If you haven't already tried it, why not get outside for your next meditation? Sit in your garden or even a public park when you next meditate. The view will be wonderful when you open your eyes. There is nothing quite like meditating in meditation gardens. For more info go to fountains for gardens Mike Matthews
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