Imagine a beach or forest area ~ and use all of your senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. What do you see? Big, tall pine trees. Lots of pine needles and cones on the ground. Some boulders here and there.

It is very quiet. Just the sound of your footsteps breaking pine needles on the ground, and some blue jays barking a little ways away.

The pine trees smell so fresh. You take a deep sniff, and then another. It smells so good, it's refreshing! You keep walking through the forest, and then you can hear the sound of water nearby.

Soon, you see a small stream. You walk over to it ~ feel the cold water on your fingers as you dip your hand in the stream. You cup your hand and take a drink of the water. Brrrr....So cold! but the water tastes crisp and refreshing. You then decide to sit on top of the small hill, beside the stream. Just sitting peacefully. Listening to the stream pass through the mountain. It's quiet and relaxing. Slow deep breaths continue, taking in that smell of pine needles. Then, slowly come back to the present moment.

You can go back to that relaxing and safe place in your mind anytime you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, miserable, or just for the heck of it! Getting yourself into that mindset is easier to more often you try. It also becomes easier to come up with your own ideal imaginary space the more often you use the technique.

~Sorry it's taken me SOOO long to get back to you with this technique. ~