The more we practice looking deeply, the more light is present, the more flowers there are, the more oceans, space, parasols, jewels, and clouds there are. It depends on us. When you emit light, you help people see because your light wakes them up.
As you well know, not everyone (very few perhaps) can sit still long enough to achieve a meditative state. The longer you sit the more difficult it is to push passing thoughts out of your mind and maintain focus. Before you know it you are fretting over work, planning a dinner menu, or just giving up. Our action-oriented, multi-tasking, Western society simply doesn’t mesh with traditional Eastern meditation techniques. This is where active meditation comes to the rescue.Active meditation, sometimes called moving meditation, is easier to learn, but just as powerful as the Eastern techniques you may be more familiar with. When practicing active meditation you will chose a simple movement, like coloring, drawing, or even walking, to give you stronger focus. The repetitive motions act as a constant reminder allowing you to easily shift your attention back to the meditation, back to the moment, before any fleeting thoughts take hold. Negative images, past regrets and future worries are simply pushed aside as you take the time to enjoy the present. When is the last time you’ve done that? Or, have you ever done that?In my book and in my workshops, I use coloring as the primary active meditation technique. After all, it’s easy, inexpensive, fun and allows you to open up your creative side, something that most adults rarely do. Below are basic step-by-step instructions on how to effectively meditate while coloring. If you are ready, grab your supplies and find a quiet space to enjoy this peaceful pastime.Step One: Start the session with a smile. Don’t skip this step just because it sounds a little silly. Holding a light smile on your face will help put you in a receptive mood for the meditation. In fact, studies have proven that smiling, even when you are not happy, can raise the level of endorphins (mood enhancing chemicals) in your brain. So, start smiling!
Step Two: Flip through a coloring book and pick the first design that peaks your interest. There are a lot of beautiful adult coloring books available in bookstores and online. Some authors, myself included, offer free coloring pages on their websites.
Step Three: Choose your first pencil or marker and then begin to color. No need to over-think this, in fact I’m always amazed at the color combinations I come up with during a meditation and how wonderful they look together. I often find myself using colors I would normally ignore and then loving the end result. Whenever possible let the colors chose themselves.
Step Four: Watch the design take life with every stroke. Allow yourself to experience the movements, hear the sounds of the pencils on paper, or feel the markers as they glide across the page. As thoughts or pictures pop into your head (and they will) simply acknowledge them and then return your focus to the coloring. The coloring will always bring you back. With a little practice you will find it increasingly easy to get into a deeply relaxed, almost detached state.
Coloring is a peaceful pastime used by a variety of peoples, religions, and institutions to heal the mind and the body. To learn more about active meditation, explore the topic of color interpretation, or download a free mandala design, please visit my website at www.30minutemandalas.com.
Michelle Normand is a graphic designer and author of 30-Minute Mandalas coloring book. She also works as a Mind-Body Fitness Specialist, teaching workshops on the subject in her new home in Dublin, Ohio. Michelle’s second book, 30-Minute Celtic Mandalas will be out later this winter. For more information about Michelle and the healing power of coloring therapy visit her website at http://www.30minutemandalas.com.
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According to TEDxTalks: “Stop. Breathe. Pay attention. Our mental health and well-being are profoundly affected by where and how we place our attention”. In this enlightening talk, Richard guides through a short mindfulness meditation, and shares his experience of teaching mindfulness in schools. He reveals some of the amazing benefits being mindful can bring to the classroom and inspires the audience with simple ways to bring more awareness to how we respond to our everyday experiences.”
“Richard Burnett is co-founder of the Mindfulness in Schools Project. With Chris Cullen and Chris O’Neill, Richard wrote the highly-acclaimed 9 week mindfulness course, .b (pronounced dot-b), designed to engage adolescents in the classroom. He is a teacher and Housemaster at Tonbridge School, the first school in the UK to put mindfulness on the curriculum, an event covered by press, TV and radio in early 2010. Since then, thousands of young people have been taught .b in a wide range of educational contexts, from independent girls’ schools like St Pauls to Young People’s Support Services for those excluded from school. .b is now being taught in the UK, USA, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, Holland and Thailand. For more information on the Mindfulness in Schools Project go to www.mindfulnessinschools.org”
Enjoy!
For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com:
“TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”
“In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)”
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I look forward to your thoughts and comments!
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