TRY IT: Breathing colors.

Almost as good as smoking a Nat Sherman Fantasia.

1. Sit back / lie down and relax. Preferably someplace quiet. And peaceful. Keep your breathing deep and regular, as you would during any other meditative exercise.

2. Imagine your body engulfed by a bright, white light that comes down from the heavens and spreads, like oil, from your head down to your toes, seeping in through your pores and filling you with warmth. Keep this image for about two minutes.

3. Next, imagine yourself surrounded by a different color, one of your choosing. Red, yellow and orange should be visualized as coming up from the ground and moving up, around and through your body. Blue, violet and indigo should follow the same pattern as the original white light. Green should be seen as entering the body through the navel and spreading into each of the different limbs. As you exhale, imagine the color changing into its complementary color (its opposite on the color wheel).

4. When finished, relax for two more minutes while imagining the white light again. Then get ready to face the world.