A Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness Meditation: Clear Your Mind and Make Better Art Did you know that mindfulness meditation can actually help you improve your artwork? Well, it can! And it’s incredibly easy to get started! I will cover what mindfulness meditation is, how it can improve your artistic process, and break down the step-by-step process before sending you on your way! Let’s get the basics out of the way. What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is a state of awareness characterized by quiet observation and acceptance of what “is.” It’s a state of calm, balanced equilibrium. Debunking the Meditation Myth It seems to be commonly misunderstood that meditation is only for Buddhist monks or highly spiritual people. It’s not! Mindfulness meditation is for everyone. Many people feel intimidated because they are told that during meditation you “don’t think.” Well, that would be impossible, wouldn’t it? Everybody thinks all the time. Meditation is not about “not thinking.” It’s about choosing where you focus your attention and letting your thoughts pass instead of clinging on to them.
Let me show you what I mean: *This metaphor was taken from the Headspace app. I do not own the rights to this metaphor* Imagine you are on a street with heavy traffic. Each car represents a thought or feeling that you’re experiencing. Normally, we are in the middle of the road, trying to avoid oncoming traffic or being constantly hit by cars and being battered around. During meditation, instead of being in the middle of the road, we plant ourselves on the side of the road and just peacefully watch the traffic. We aren’t on the road. We aren’t getting involved. We’re just watching it go by. See the difference? We are choosing a different angle of viewing our mind-state. It doesn’t seem as difficult when you look at it this way, right? Well, at first... You’re Going to Suck At It Like everything else in life, practice makes perfect. The first time you put a paintbrush on a canvas, you don’t make a masterpiece. The first time you sit down to meditate, your thoughts may wander pretty often. You may want to keep shifting your weight, or you’ll fall asleep, or get lost in thought entirely. That is totally okay. With persistence, you’ll get better at it.
But, why is this important? What Meditation Can Do For You Meditation will help you navigate and understand your perceptions, emotions, and thought patterns better. It will also put you more in touch with your body’s natural rhythms. Improving self-awareness eliminates confusion and helps you manage your reactions to things. In this way, you are learning to operate on a conscious level, rather than being in a constant, exhausting, unconscious reactive state. Mindfulness will calm you and de-stress you. You will notice that your body and mind will start to unlock and unwind. When you’re able to have more control and awareness over your thoughts, you can silence all the bullshit and channel creativity better. WAY BETTER. Meditation also helps you cultivate a healthy amount of disciplinary skills. By choosing to stick with your mediation, you are actively and consistently building a positive habit. This improved discipline will transfer over to your artistic career. Plus, because you are slowing your mind down, focusing on the movements of your thoughts and the motions of your breath, you are learning how to focus your attention on a more refined form of awareness. These subtle vibrations that you’ll start to notice can be brought into your art form by manifesting itself in the nuance and detail of your work. This is the foundation for cultivating mastery. Here’s the thing: mindfulness meditation is bottomless. It is infinite in its capacity to help you discover yourself. There is ALWAYS more to uncover. It is an inward journey through the infinite psyche and soul.
The step-by-step guide to mindfulness meditation: 1. Start with just 5 minutes a day. Work your way up from there. I did 5 minutes for about a month when I first started. I’m about 4 years in and I meditate for a grand total of 1-2 hours a day. That took FOUR YEARS. So, don’t worry about the time. It takes a while to get there. 2. Sit cross-legged, or in a chair. I don’t recommend lying down because you will fall asleep, especially if you are new at this. Learning how to be relaxed and alert at the same time takes some practice. Keep your back straight. This also takes some time to learn, because your muscles have to build the skill. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. 3. Start to hone in on any sounds that you hear. Is the fan blowing? Is the A/C running? Do you hear cars passing outside? Is a dog barking? Notice these sounds by passively listening. You don’t even have to identify them. Just listen to the way they sound. 4. Turn your attention to your body. Feel the force of gravity on your body. Feel how it presses you into the Earth. Think about how that force of gravity protects you, keeps you here, keeps you safe. 5. Now, do a body scan. Start with your feet and slowly work all the way up to the top of your head. Notice any tension. Notice any relaxation. Notice pain, position, sensation, etc. Just notice them. You’re not trying to identify what things are or the reason why they are a certain way. You’re not passing any judgment calls. You’re not trying to change anything. You are just passively observing and feeling what is happening in your body. 6. Now, turn your attention to your breath. Focus all of your attention on breathing in and out. Is it deep? Is it shallow? Easy? Belabored? How does it feel? Again, you’re not judging your breath or reacting to it. You aren’t trying to change your breath. If it changes naturally as you relax, that is normal and okay. You’re just going along with your body’s natural rhythm. 7. If you’re having trouble focusing on your breath, try counting to ten. Breathe in 1. Breathe out 2. When you reach 10, start over at 1. 8. Slowly open your eyes when you are ready. That’s it! You meditated.
Things to Keep in Mind Try not to think about being “good” or “bad” at meditation. It’s not really about that. Like I said before, the benefits of meditation are endless and every day is different. Some days are always going to be better than others because energy is constantly shifting and moving. You can never really be “good” because you can always be better, and it’s not really about being “good” in the first place. The only way to get a lot out of it is if you do it every day. The more consistent you are, the more you’ll see results. You’ll lose progress as soon as you lose the habit. Just like making art or practicing a craft, you get what you put in. You can’t cheat meditation. There is no simple cheat to make it easier or make you better at it. It is simply part of cultivating discipline and having a willingness to make it a priority. There is a Zen proverb that says, “Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.” It’s not very exciting or romantic. It’s just not. It’s discipline, consistency, and effort that waters the garden. If you can’t do that, (in any fashion, not just meditation) then why are you an artist? You should find a 9-5. You won’t have to work as hard. And if that sounds harsh, it means you are the one that I’m talking to! [Loses followers] What meditation is ultimately teaching you how to do is consciously run your energy instead of your energy running itself unconsciously. And art IS energy. It’s capturing a vibe- a feeling. Running and channeling energy are the foundational pillars of artistry.
In reality, meditation IS art. It’s part of the craft. Part of the practice. But don’t take my word for it. Go find out for yourself!