Meditative Painting

One of the most difficult training in my Birankai Aikido practice is meditation. Until now, sitting doing nothing seems completely crazy to me. And I’ve read many newspaper articles on the contribution of meditation to the mental and physical health. I simply cannot bring myself to do it on a regular basis.

On the other hand, I wish I could find more peace and quietness inside of me. I think it’s quite related to the subject of my paintings. The flowers for me represent peace and harmony. And the news are the hysterical noise that doesn’t let me calm down and concentrate. Really everybody should be worried by the news lately. But I long for the serenity of a japanese tea ceremony.

A few days ago, I read this post: http://earthweareone.com/7-morning-rituals-that-will-change-your-life/. Though I knew I couldn’t do what the writer describes (waking up at 5 o’clock every morning and meditate for 30 minutes), I decided to make a small change. For at least thirty minutes, everyday I shall paint with no music, no radio, no podcast, no telephone, nothing! Only me and the brush. Though it was not easy for me, it definitively had a soothing influence.

Another way to practice a little bit of meditation, is the “line drawing”. I’m not the first one to discover the meditative mood of lines. But I was surprised it worked on me!

We all need a break sometime, and there are different ways to meditation. You can find your own!