The following narrative belongs to the relaxation imagery portion of the website
You find yourself in a lush zen garden. Around you are long bamboo plants, a small stream winding its way over pebbles, and several stacks of smooth rocks sitting at various places along the stream. As you close your eyes and breath calmly, you feel a positive energy flow through your body. On the ground sits a green stick of bamboo with a small stream flowing from it. The sound of trickling water catches your ear and reminds you of the calm of nature. You take a seat by the stream and bamboo plants. There is a stack of polished rocks in front of you, balancing perfectly. You watch the rocks and think about balance and harmony. You wish to have more harmony in your life, and realize any negative thoughts you keep deep inside must find a way out. The smell of fresh air and bamboo leaves catches your nose, relaxing your mind. With each slow breath you feel the negative energy escape, the dark thoughts leave you. With each breath you feel lighter. After a few minutes you begin to feel balanced; you feel like the stack of rocks. When you stand up, your body feels lighter and your mind at ease. Any sadness you had is now gone. Your desire is to be in harmony, to be the essence of balance. In the zen garden, nothing can push you to anger, and nothing can bring you to sorrow. You realize loss is a part of nature. All things have a beginning and an end, which lead to another beginning, leading to another end, forever in this cycle. You are a part of the cycle of life. Feeling anger or sadness means you do not accept a momentary loss that is a mere part of the cycle. To everything is a Yin and a Yang. For the next 10 minutes you walk around the zen garden. There are many beautiful bamboo structures and hidden places by the stream to see…