Coloring Mandalas as Meditation

KEY #1 SET INTENTION

Coloring mandalas as meditation, it’s best to set an intention before coloring to determine what insight you hope to gain while coloring. How is it you want to feel? Is there something (someone) you need to have a different perspective about so as to better understand it (them)? Maybe you want to process some emotion your feeling: guilt, stuckness, confusion, forgiveness, grief, resistance, etc).

Whatever it is, consciously declare it (internally or out loud)…for example: “I want to color this mandala with the intention of receiving any insight into why I’m feeling stuck right now.”

You may also want to explore any health issues…not so much for cures but for an understanding from your body as to what message it has for you. For instance when I had a cataract in my left eye, before my surgery I “connected” with it to find out if it had a message for me and realized that when I was a child I had never been allowed to grieve the lost of a pet that I accidentally watched die. Once I learned that, I was able to finally grieve and then had successful cataract surgery. Again this is not so much about “fixing” as it is about helping to heal or understand any emotional or psychological issues related to the health issue(s).

KEY #2 LET GO OF THE OUTCOME

Coloring mandalas as meditation is about letting our True Self express itself in whatever way best helps us to understand it. This means, that the resulting mandala coloring may look like crap when it’s done. Actually, I find that the crappier it looks, the more information there is to be gained.

We are encouraged to let go of the outcome, let go of how it looks in the end. This is more about self-expression than about creating art. If it looks beautiful when it’s done? consider it a bonus…but let go of that as the objective.

KEY #3 MEDITATION

You can keep it simple by declaring your intention, taking a few deep breaths with you eyes closed, (maybe visualize your intention) and then open your eyes to begin coloring. You may find that playing some of you favorite music can help.

You may want to explore some short guided meditations on youtube or on some meditation apps. I personally like the app “Insight Timer”. It’s free with thousands of meditations on it. They do have a paid version, but for me the free one works just fine.

During a recent workshop, I had my students and I imagine bringing our intention up to our third eye and then down to our hearts. In the process I had a visual of a little girl holding up a big piece of paper with the intention written on it, she really wanted me to look into it.

As you color, color in whatever style or styles feels right to you. This is about you processing your intention. Also as you color, carry on a “conversation” with the intended issue. For me I felt like I was talking with my inner child about the issue at hand.

COLORING STYLES

Some of the possible ways you can color mandalas (see “samples” image below):

1. Inner->Outer: start coloring from the inside and then work your way outward. This is like taking a deep dive inside of ourselves and allowing whatever wants to come to the surface, work its way outward.
2. Outer->Inner: start coloring from the outside first and then work your way inward. This is where we can dip our toes in (so to speak), allowing ourselves to go deeper and deeper within as we continue coloring towards the center.
3. By Section: this is where we color by section which in the sample I created a spiral effect by coloring with the same color starting with the inner piece, then went up one row and over one; continuing so that we created the spiral. This lends itself well for “breaking up old patterns” or “thinking outside the box”.
4. Change Pattern: similar to #3 but here we create a new not-so-obvious pattern, which in this case with the same color, started in the middle, went up one then over right by one, then up one and back one to the left, then up one and over one to the right. This also lends itself well for when we want to “break up old patterns” or “think outside the box.”
5. Random: for this one we randomly pick a section, then randomly chose a color. This one is really great for when you don’t want to think, you want to give your brain a rest. Ideally you’ll want to do this one quickly so as to not overthink it.
6. As the Spirit Moves You: Here we connect with the essence of the design, set an intention, which in my example I set the intention to be happy, then I just put colors down anywhere I felt like it, in any direction, both inside and outside the design. This is another one that lends itself well for doing quickly.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

1. Color with your non-dominant hand
2. Coloring in the lines is optional
3. Try using different media or combination of media (crayons, markers, gel pens, color pencils, paint, etc).
4. Mix up how you color in each section (area) …as I did with the mandala at the beginning of the post.
5. Leaving spaces without color (ie leaving them white or whatever color of paper, or surface, you’re using) is also an option
6. “Use your intuition” #1: look at a spot you want to color, then look at all your colors and whichever color grabs your attention first (without judging it), color with that color
7. “Use your intuition” #2: look at a spot you want to color, then WITHOUT LOOKING, reach into you pile of colors and grab one. Here to, let go of judging the color that you picked.
8. Remember this is all about the process, the journey versus the outcome. You may or may not like what it looks like when it’s done. That’s ok. Sit with it and let its message come to you. What do you see? How does it make you feel? Does it feel like it makes sense with your intention