Family arts & crafts

An Introduction to Coloring Therapy

Coloring Therapy uses the activity of coloring as a self help medium. While coloring (with felt tipped markers, colored pens, pencils, etc) a state of consciousness similar to meditation occurs.

Three Steps to Coloring Therapy
Coloring
Discerning Inner Dialogue
Suspending Inner Dialogue

Coloring
Few activities can involve as many different people as coloring. Coloring is simple and fun. During a coloring session, we are asked to listen to the thoughts going on in our minds. This is the beginning of discerning the inner dialogue.

Inner Dialogue
The single most important quality we bring with us everywhere is how we speak to ourselves on the inside. That this voice can be rendered more favorably to the individual is a powerful personal discovery. In discerning the inner dialogue, we are reminded that we are not who we sometimes think ourselves to be. We may notice that much of our inner dialogue isn't ours at all. In paying close attention, we may begin to realize how much of our "identity" comes from external sources such as religion, culture, the media, etc. If we begin to peel away the layers of this "identity" we can become increasingly liberated. This allows us to manage our thoughts and redo our roles to be our own best friend.

Suspended Inner Dialogue
Suspension of the inner dialogue can occur within moments of coloring. During these times we are freed from habitual urges, as well as mental and emotional discord. Science and medicine have also discerned that this state optimizes the self-regenerative powers of our biology. Coloring is a medium to purposefully enter this healing state.

Families
Everyone is equal at the coloring table. Being together with a common goal, where everyone can move at their own pace, can make that foundation where trust and communication is possible. Sharing is the natural result. Expressing concern or pursuing an issue is now more easily attained when co-operation is in the air. In this atmosphere, many family difficulties can be resolved and relationships can be improved.

Mandala Coloring
Cross culturally and throughout history the Mandala has been present. It is widely regarded as a symbol of healing and total well-being. In Coloring Therapy, the Mandala represents the process or journey on the one hand, and the result or destination on the other. Like ourselves, no two are colored the same.

Excerpt from article by Brent Belchamber Coloringtherapy.com

Mandalas

Mandalas (the name comes from the Sanskrit word for "circle") are symmetrical geometric designs, usually enclosed within a circle, a square, or a rectangle, that serve as cosmograms and as focal points for meditation. Highly developed by Hindus in India where they have been used in religious ceremonies since 1500 B.C., mandalas were further elaborated by Tantric Buddhists in Tibet. The traditional Tibetan mandalas were painted on tankas (scroll paintings on fabric), constructed as sand paintings out of mounds of colored rice, and rendered in sculpture and architecture, sometimes in the form of a palace or an entire city. Over time their use spread to Korea and Japan via China. Independently, the Celts, a people of Indo-European ancestry who greatly influenced the development of European culture from northern Italy to the Baltic Sea, reaching their expansion between 300 and 400 B.C., developed mandala-like designs composed of curvilinear and latticed elements.

Although various forms and functions of mandalas differ, even within the Hindu tradition, they have many qualities in common: a central point, a geometric design, symmetry, and purpose, which is to represent the oneness of the universe formed by its multiple, diverse, and sometimes seemingly chaotic elements. Sand paintings of the Navaho, Hopi, and other indigenous groups in North America share this purpose and also have symmetrical patterns, often consisting of four segments, as well as movement toward and away from a center.

Geometry, according to many esoteric traditions, expresses the language of God, and geometric designs emit energies of various frequencies. In fact, it has been shown that spirals, cones, crosses, and abrupt right angles all have a particular molecular-electric influence on the neuromuscular systems of the body. Each design interacts with us at a cellular level, uniquely rebalancing our energies and rekindling our memories. The universe itself is composed of geometric forms that, together, harmoniously express the underlying divine plan that gave rise to them.

This understanding of a metaphysical pattern determining a physical form is known as Sacred Geometry. And through the lens of Sacred Geometry, the proportion and harmony of a figure achieved by straightedge and compass can act on us in much the same way that a sacred structure does, or the interrelated parts of a human being, or an animal, or the shape of a tree, a crystal, or any other life form in the universe. In addition, Sacred Geometry enables us to understand the wisdom of cultures that left the Earth long ago, and facilitates communication with beings from other worlds and dimensions. Most importantly, it invites the experience needed to shape our future and accelerate our evolution. Sacred Geometry is magic, promising universal energy for the balance of all things on an equal basis.

Magic Mandala Coloring Book offers a glimpse into Sacred Geometry through a selection of original designs containing circles, squares, triangles, pentagons, and other figures. Each one graphically represents energy moving to or from a central point, symmetry, and oneness, as is customary for a mandala. When colored for pure enjoyment, they evoke the pleasure that comes from working with universal patterns of line and form. When colored for healing purposes, they can alleviate tension and boredom while enhancing serenity and mental activity, and when colored for purposes of spiritual exploration, they help provide an awareness of the universe and the oneness of all life.

Even if you don't quite know why these designs appeal to you or what you hope to gain while coloring them, get your colored pencils ready and dive in. Before you know it, something inside you will shift. Whether you are four years old or forty, or a hundred and four, may these living energies enable you to receive what your body, mind, heart, and spirit are yearning for at this moment.

Excerpt from article by Martha Bartfeld author of Magic Mandala Coloring Book

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