Meditate, meditate, meditate. Books and teachers stress the importance of meditation but many find it hard to set aside the time and find it difficult to “just sit there”. I know I did.

Creating a separate space in which to mediate and setting aside the same time each day are both said to help the brain recognize what is expected of it and to slip into a relaxed, open state of awareness.

With these two nuggets of information in mind, I decided to create an outdoor meditation nook to see if this would help me keep my commitment to begin every day with a few minutes of quiet meditation. Because this space was to be outside, I was limited in the obviously metaphysical tools that I could use so it was time to use ordinary objects that would not rouse the attention of my neighbors but still possessed meaning for me.

A Tour:

An orange and cream jade statue of Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion, became the centerpiece of my space.

The statue depicts her holding a jug, from which the waters of compassion pour, so the offering dish beneath the statue is often filled with water as if it is pouring from her jug.

Since the growing season has moved on, morning glory vines have made their way over to wind around Kuan Yin. In the morning, deep purple and cornflower blue flowers break open and fill the space with color for a few hours. By pure chance, the colors of the flowers compliment the use of the area; purple is associated with mysticism and blue with compassion.

The weeping fig in the background is native to southeast Asia and is the official tree of Thailand where Kuan Yin is venerated as Kuan Eim or Prah Mae Kuan Eim. It was also by chance that I discovered that I even had a weeping fig tree, since I had been calling it by its other common name, ficus.

I burn jasmine incense in the space because of its association with water and compassion, but since I prefer a soft, lingering smell to a plume of drifting smoke, it is burned on a small stand tucked inside the bird feeder.

The space has yet to draw the attention of my neighbors, except for one who commented the day 23 morning glory flowers opened at once. It is not an obviously spiritual place, though it does draw me outside in the morning to spend a few quiet moments in meditation under the rising sun before beginning my day.