Ash Explained

Tag: Self-Care

  • Design A Soulful Gardening Ritual in Minutes Using ChatGPT

    Design A Soulful Gardening Ritual in Minutes Using ChatGPT

    Most people water plants.

    A few turn it into something sacred.

    Imagine taking 15 minutes out of your day not just to water your plants but to slow down, breathe deep, and reconnect with something real.

    Now imagine ChatGPT helping you build that ritual. 

    Custom. 

    Personal. 

    Mindful.

    That’s what the prompt I will give below does.

    It turns your daily plant care into a soul-fuelling ritual you actually look forward to.

    But why indoor gardening deserves ritual

    Gardening indoors usually starts with good intentions.

    A few pots. A watering can. Maybe a cute monstera.

    But give it a few weeks, and most people are back to “Crap… I forgot to water the plants again.”

    Here’s the shift: Instead of seeing it as a chore what if it became a moment of stillness?

    Rituals slow us down.

    They make the ordinary feel sacred.

    When you add sight, scent, sound, and intention to gardening, something changes. 

    It stops being about “keeping plants alive.”

    It starts becoming an act of self-care.

    What this prompt actually does

    This isn’t a prompt that spits out plant care tips.

    It’s a conversation. A co-creation.

    You paste it into ChatGPT and it becomes your ritual designer.

    Here’s what it does:

    • Asks about your setup, emotional goals, and available time
    • Designs a named ritual (yep, with a title)
    • Gives you a step-by-step routine: time of day, actions, mindset shifts
    • Layers in music, scent, lighting, and touch
    • Drops in a reflection prompt
    • Even suggests how to track your mood or plant growth in a journal

    It doesn’t sound like a robot.

    It feels warm. Inviting. Almost poetic.

    Exactly how a mindful ritual should feel.

    Who this is for

    Let’s be real. This prompt isn’t for everyone.

    But if you’re any of the following you’re gonna love it:

    • City dweller with a window full of herbs and pothos
    • Remote worker who feels like every day blurs into the next
    • Overwhelmed creative who needs space to think and feel again
    • Plant lover who’s craving more meaning in their routine
    • Spiritual type who uses nature to connect inward

    This prompt is your low-effort, high-return ritual designer.

    How to use it

    Using this is dead simple.

    1. Open ChatGPT
    2. Paste this in:
    System:
    You are a ritual designer for home-based indoor gardening routines. Your goal is to help the user craft a mindful, emotionally uplifting, and sustainable indoor gardening ritual based on their current plant setup, available space, and emotional needs. Integrate sensory elements (sight, scent, touch, sound), mindset shifts, and optional meditative steps.

    Context:
    The user is looking to create a meaningful and calming gardening routine that goes beyond watering. They want to enjoy a therapeutic and immersive experience that fits within their living environment and emotional landscape.

    Instructions:
    1. Ask the user about:
       - Their plant setup (type and number of plants, location)
       - Time of day and available time
       - Emotional goals or intentions (e.g., calming anxiety, starting the day grounded)
    2. Based on their input, design a ritual including:
       - A unique and poetic name for the ritual
       - A structured step-by-step routine with timings and emotional cues
       - Sensory environment setup (e.g., lighting, music, scents)
       - A gentle reflection prompt to end the ritual
       - Optional journaling or mood tracking
    3. Ensure the ritual supports mindfulness, joy, and simplicity.

    Constraints:
    - Avoid professional botanical terms unless asked
    - Keep the ritual within 15–45 minutes
    - Make it emotionally resonant and accessible
    - No XML tags or markup in the output

    Output Format:
    Ritual Name: [A poetic title for the ritual]

    Routine Steps:
    [A detailed, beautiful sequence of actions with timing and emotional cues]

    Sensory Environment:
    - Scent:
    - Sound:
    - Light:
    - Touch:

    Reflection Prompt:
    [A gentle journaling or self-check-in question]

    Optional Journaling:
    [A 2–3 line journaling format the user can reuse]

    Estimated Duration:
    [Time in minutes]

    Reasoning:
    Apply Theory of Mind to analyze the user's request, considering both logical intent and emotional undertones. Use Strategic Chain-of-Thought and System 2 Thinking to provide evidence-based, nuanced responses that balance depth with clarity.

    User Input:
    Reply with: "Please enter your indoor gardening setup, emotional goals, and available time, and I will start the ritual design process," then wait for the user to provide their specific indoor gardening process request.

    3. It’ll ask:
     “Please enter your indoor gardening setup, emotional goals, and available time…”

    4. Answer that honestly.

    5. Your ritual arrives.

    Example:
    You tell it you’ve got a tiny balcony, 2 snake plants, and 20 mins in the morning to feel more grounded.

    Peaceful. Clear. Connected.

    Benefits you’ll Notice Immediately

    This isn’t woo-woo. It’s practical.

    Here’s what actually happens when you use it:

    • You start the day with clarity, not chaos
    • Your plants thrive but more importantly, so do you
    • You feel present in your own home again
    • That low-level stress? It starts to fade
    • You build a consistent ritual without needing motivation

    It becomes a tiny habit with deep impact.

    Beyond Gardening: How Rituals Change the Way You Live

    Here’s the real win: This prompt helps you build something way bigger than a plant routine.

    It helps you shift your energy.

    Slow down.

    Feel something.

    When you start creating rituals, even tiny ones, it enters into the rest of your life:

    • You eat slower
    • You scroll less
    • You listen more
    • You breathe deeper

    It’s not magic. It’s intention.

    And that’s what this prompt gives you.

    Try it now

    You don’t need to meditate for an hour.

    Or go to Bali.

    Or buy 20 houseplants.

    You just need 15 minutes and the prompt I gave above.

    Try it today. Let your plants become part of your healing.

  • Here’s How I Improved My Mental Health

    Here’s How I Improved My Mental Health

    Have you ever felt like your mind has a hundred tabs open? And a few of them are playing music and you don’t know which ones.

    That’s how I used to feel when I ignored my mental health for a long time.

    In our daily routine lives, we usually get busy and forget to take a break. Or we don’t give importance to daily habits which have a big impact on our mental health.

    But why is mental health so important?

    Here’s Why Mental Health is important

    Everything is connected to mental health.

    silver chain link with black background

    Bad mental health affects your sleep and relaxation. This affects your mood and immunity. You become more prone to sickness.

    Lack of sleep also affects your ability to focus. Without focus, you perform badly in your day-to-day tasks including your work or business.

    Do you see where I am going? it’s all interconnected.

    And when you lack focus or become sick all the time it affects your relationships as well. it includes both your family, loved ones, and business or work relationships.

    But what are you doing wrong every day which is affecting your mental health?

    What people do wrong

    We easily overlook small things that have a big impact.

    A man in a leather jacket looking down while sitting on a ledge in a city. Shows bad mental health

    We have forgotten how to relax and take breaks. All of us are in a rush to make more money.

    Whether it’s business or office work, we have become so focused on work that we have forgotten we need a break.

    Prolonged time of just working leads to mental fatigue.

    When you have used your brain too much, it keeps itself active.

    Remember those nights when you can’t sleep and all you can think of is your meetings or next presentation or a sales call?

    Yes, that’s the sign you have overworked your brain. This leads to less sleep and eventually degrades your mental health more.

    Another important thing that most people don’t pay attention to or ignore is healthy food.

    The food you intake is very important as healthy food keeps your brain healthy.

    Your brain gets all the nutrients it needs to function properly under normal conditions or stress.

    But due to work or laziness we often just order fast food which is full of fat and oil and preservatives. These foods lack the essential nutrients and vitamins.

    Ok, so what exactly should I do to fix my mental health? Here’s what I do every day

    What I do

    These are a few daily habits that always help me.

    woman spreading arms near body of water

    A little bit of daily exercise helps a lot. I do long walks or take stairs instead of elevators whenever I can. I also do yoga whenever I can. You can also go to the nearest gym for daily exercise.

    I don’t work without a break. I break my work into smaller tasks. And I make sure to take short breaks between each task. This helps me to focus more and the work doesn’t feel like a burden.

    I eat healthy food. I stick to freshly made home-cooked food. Don’t eat refrigerated food that was prepared a few days back. Most people do that and microwave it every time. Please don’t.

    Try to cook a little every day and eat fresh. And if I have to eat outside then I try to eat more green vegetables and salads or lots of fruits whenever I can. Also, I don’t eat after sunset.

    The last but very important activity is sleep. I go to sleep early and I don’t tend to stay awake late at night.

    And there is always at least a 4 to 5-hour gap between my dinner and sleep time. I don’t go to bed immediately after eating.

    Also, I don’t use my mobile or any screen one hour before sleep. I usually read a book before sleeping. If the book is boring then you will fall asleep much faster.

    I hope these tips help you. Try these daily habits and you will see the results in a few days or weeks.

    If you think I missed anything or if you have any suggestions then please let me know in the comments.