Sometimes even at present, I still become confused when performing meditation sequences. I often question why others use this practice and what benefits they get out of it. I am not a wiz at meditation and have so much to learn and research about it, what I do know is for it to work, you really need to work with the environment you are in and try and grasp the calmness you are trying to alleviate.
Meditation (in various forms) have a range of benefits, from gaining a new perspective to increasing your self-awareness. What most don't consider is that meditation is not for just one type of person, it is suitable for everyone in different job roles and lifestyles.
I am a fine artist and I work within the creative field, I also have a profession in retail that requires me to look formal and presentable, professionally and adequately. At first, I thought meditation was pointless, especially considering my lifestyle. I live in a hectic, busy and loud environment that results in very little time to create a mind space of calm, stress-free illusions. At first, I let this get the best of me but today, amongst previous days, I tackled it and I will explain how I managed it.
I took part in a class that related strongly to a project I am currently working on, before we could go crazy with our paintbrushes and black Indian ink, we had to have a brief meditation class that would encourage our self-awareness and senses. From breathing deeply and slowly, to increasingly stretching out our bodies; this meditation exercise consisted of several aspects but the points that really drove through and benefited us the most was the process of using the space around us. The meditation reduced the majority of the negative emotions that were swimming through my mind and body. I was trying to take part in this activity when the house when into chaos. I did not let this affect my experience, I pushed it out as best as I could. Although this would normally ensure individuals give up on the experience, it formed one specific goal that everyone needs to have at the back of their minds.
You need to push yourself and try and not give up whenever something becomes too much or seems impossible to do. You are a strong individual who will become stressed, everyone does. It is how you overcome this that increases your abilities, skills and self-care.
Meditation helps those who are stressed, become relieved of it, even if it is for a small amount of time. It encourages those who lack motivation, to gain a form of energy that picks them up. It increases the creative process with those who work within the art industry. Meditation highlights the imbalance of individuals who lack self-care, self-awareness and inner strength. It increases patience and focus, whilst developing tolerance and imagination.
For whoever is reading this now, I am sure you are understanding that meditation can be for everyone. You may think you don't need to apply it to your lifestyle, that you are ok and that it would be pointless. But when you come to a fork in the road, or you have a huge mind block when dancing or painting, even when you are that consumed by stress and anxiety that you are about to blow. Keep in mind that meditation can calm all nerves and issues, it takes practice, strength and acceptance to achieve the best results, but just considering applying this to your life can change everything.
After completing the meditation sequence, I then created several compositions that are strong. They respond to the movement and rhythm of a dancer and they highlight the strength and importance of mark-making. Feel free to review this workshop I participated in and have a look at the pieces produced, as well as the result of the meditation practice on my projects page called 'The body in movement: Rhythm & Line.