DOLLHOUSE MINIATURES AND MINDFULNESS
     (Or - How meditation and miniatures helped me become a                                      more centered person)

Introduction
     As a psychologist, I used "mindfulness" training in my practice.  For me,  mindfulness is the  conscious focusing of  thought on the present, while integrating awareness of total being, including the past and the future.  I have made use of various tactics to accomplish this... meditation, visualization, breathing exercises, etc.  
     Here's a new one!  I will tell you how I construct miniature structures, and use them to achieve a novel state of mindfulness.

Meaningful Miniatures
     I'm a portrait and nontraditional ethnic artist.  I love to draw and paint and sculpt.
     But I have an artistic pursuit that doesn't really fit into any of those categories, yet it is among the most soothing, engaging and satisfying pursuits I have.
     I make miniature houses, businesses and other structures.  But there's more to it than that!  Let me begin to explain...
     In the past, I have made, then sold or given away many such miniatures. Examples include a vintage teddy bear shop for a bear collector, a one-room schoolhouse for a teacher, a hardware shop for a hardware vendor.  You get the idea --- meaningful, special little places for special people.

My Personal Miniatures
     I have just begun a set of miniatures for myself.  For lack of a better term, I'm calling it "Gail Town" (my first name).   It is special to me in that I'm building a tangible little world to aid in shoring up and sheltering my private mental world.  I use a lot of meditation and visualization in my daily life, especially as I manage symptoms and treatments of a couple of very challenging diseases I have.   So far among my miniatures in Gail Town, I have chosen to include a Gallery for my art, a bicycle shop for my cycle-crazy husband, and a Choctaw chukka (Native American dwelling) as an homage to my heritage.  Currently, I'm constructing a Town Plaza.  My miniatures are set Out West in a vintage time gone by.  I just like that, but you can set your stage anywhere and anytime you like.
     I enjoy constructing Gail Town at home, and then I enjoy it, in my mind, as I wander and go about my duties and appointments.  How, exactly?
     As I'm lying in an MRI machine trying to relax, I wander a favorite area in the gallery, admiring my paintings. and planning new ones.  As I'm riding in a car towards a stressful meeting (I no longer drive) I close my eyes and visit the bike shop, whie steadying my business sense.  As I meditate on Native American symbolism in pursuit of hope and strength, I sit cross-legged in the Choctaw chukka, seeking peace and beauty, even in chaos and decay. If I feel like lifting a few glasses of wine with my dear friend Marie, I'll invite her to the Plaza (when I finish it)!
     Thus, with "miniature mindfulness", I achieve a happy, comfortable mindfulness... merging past heritage/experience, present peacefulness, and future transcendence.  Traveling and enjoying my miniatures (in my mind) helps me integrate and accept past, present, and future.  I can be at peace.
  I enjoy putting a lot of tedious effort into my miniatures.  For me, it's pure relaxation.  I make furniture out of clay, miniatures of my actual paintings and sculptures, little animals, cardboard and styrofoam walls.  I also love using 'found objects' to re-purpose: a tiny fuse is re-worked into a hummingbird feeder --- a bottle cap becomes a bowl --- twigs become shrubs and trees --- I'm always keeping my eyes open for re-purposeable miniature furnishings and landscaping.
     I'll add a note about authenticity and detail.  I also enjoy researching my miniatures.  For example, in the Choctaw Chukka,  I modeled traditional foods, bottles, symbol-hides, basket patterns, types of herbs collected and dried, even internal teepee design.   The Internet makes it easy, and I find it strengthens my visualizing and meditating amongst my miniature creations.  If that sounds like fun to you, you could do something similar.  And speaking of YOU and MINIATURES...

Your Miniature(s)?
     You could do a miniature  all from scratch, as I do, making everything from clay, paper, and painting or sculpting every little element.  Or, if your skill/time/vision isn't there, you could buy and construct dollhouse stuff from the hobby store.  It could take the shape of a diorama, a pre-fabricated dollhouse, or an all-original construction like mine.  The point is to establish and enjoy a little private space and place just for you.  Building miniatures is hands on and therapeutic, like occupational therapy. 
     Your miniature could be any combination of pre-fab and scratch-made.
     Those of you who have dabbled in miniatures before will know that the most common scale (in pre-fab miniatures) is 1:12 (one inch to one foot).  I discovered that my miniatures seem to fall in the 1:24 (a half inch to one foot) scale... easily found in pre-fabs, too.  I love the tiny look, plus it's space-saving.
     What miniature (or town) would YOU want to make?  Something that is dear to you, something that brings to life an important  pursuit, something that focuses your love of something or someone, someplace that celebrates your hobby,  your passion, or your faith.  You'll enjoy the actual construction, and then later you'll treasure and savor the private contemplation of your miniature mental retreat.

The Future
     What's my next miniature in Gail Town?  I don't know yet!
     I've taken over the diningroom table for Gail Town.  It could just as easily be a bureau top  in a guest bedroom, a shelf in laundry room, a card-table in a basement... you get the idea.

     Annnnnnnd... that's how dollhouse miniatures can help develop mindfulness!

I PLAN TO UPLOAD PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE THREE BUILDINGS IN GAIL TOWN SO FAR... THE GALLERY. THE CYCLE SHOP, AND THE TEEPEE. 
NEXT, I'M BUILDING A PLAZA/GAZEBO.  I HOPE TO SHOW THE STEPWISE JOURNEY OF CONSTRUCTION AND  MINDFULNESS ENHANCEMENT IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND COMMENTS. 
STAY TUNED!