Coloring and Therapy

Why Coloring and What’s the Therapy?

Mandala Coloring is pretty straight forward and just about anyone can do it. It’s non-competitive, multicultural, share-oriented and it works in every language. It has a wide range of application from Art, Recreational and Color Therapy to eye-hand coordination development and psychiatry for trauma, anxiety and acute shyness, just to name a few.

Of course, it’s also wholesome fun, but for those of us who have a lot of responsibilities, professional or otherwise, Mandala coloring can also be time away from stress and the nagging demands of our own inner dialogue.

Mandala coloring doesn’t make use of the inner dialogue because coloring is action oriented—a lot like a Zen art where the achievement of “no thought” produces superior results. In our case, “no thought” means suspended inner dialogue.

Because the action of coloring makes no use of the inner dialogue, Mandala coloring is a direct method to consciously gain experience with suspending the inner dialogue.

Suspended inner dialogue is an achievement the likes of which all meditations aim and for good reason. Inner stillness expands awareness far past the cloistered reality of the inner dialogue and its taste, preference and likeability guidelines. This reprieve can be a real battery charger, enabling us to re-enter our demanding lifestyle with vitality.

The result of suspending the inner dialogue progressively pulls a person into enhanced wellness, where we can learn about our relationship with who we think we are and who we want to become.

These lessons learned and the subsequent experiences lived brings attention to the management of our inner dialogue. Unconscious or unmanaged inner dialogue may nag or guilt us into trying to be an unreal expectation of ourselves while, on the other hand, shared information on a friendly note is a co-operative partnership more likely to produce harmonious and excellent results. The choice is ours, but did we know that we could create grander opportunity for better choices?

Mandala Coloring & the Stages of Suspending the Inner Dialogue

Stage 1 – Discern the Inner Dialogue
Begin Mandala coloring. Of course, you can follow your self talk while you color, but you’re coloring and you don’t have to follow anything. Notice that, while coloring, your inner dialogue may try to sneak or steal some of your attention from time-to-time. Recognize that coloring doesn’t need inner dialogue and that you can color without it. Return to Mandala coloring. Your Inner dialogue may forcefully try to manipulate you into paying attention to it and you may succumb, but return to your Mandala coloring.

Stage 2 – Suspend the Inner Dialogue
After one or several Mandala coloring sessions, you will have noticed small periods of suspended inner dialogue growing. Continue to practice stage 1 and watch your moments of suspended inner dialogue become longer and more frequent throughout your coloring sessions.

Stage 3 – Manage the Inner Dialogue
As you color and progress through the stages of attaining longer durations of suspended inner dialogue, you will likely access feelings of greater awareness and find an attendant phenomena like synchronicity, grace, psychic and/or telepathic sensitivity in your life and on the rise. So now that you know a little more, begin to manage the inner dialogue to be better suited to your highest needs and interests! Continue to gradually suspend the inner dialogue more and more often throughout your day and night.

by Brent Belchamber
ColoringTherapy.com