Meditating in Color

As a college student, it gets difficult to juggle a full schedule of classes, working for a paycheck, attending student organizations, and, on top of all that, heaps of homework. It's easy to get caught up in the tundra of college but it's a challenge to get grounded and zone into your inner self. Put the books down for a minute and join Grace Bursen to meditate in color.

Meditating in Color is a new innovation here to Plymouth State University allowing students to take some time out of their busy schedules to relax, create art and embrace their inner peace. Located in the Wellness Center, Bursen provides her students with sketchbooks, drawing utensils, and a room that's made to make students feel right at home with calming music to put your mind at ease. Meditation, "in general, every great spiritual tradition has had some form of practice designed to quiet the mind and bring it into contact with the divine," said Bursen.

Many people have a difficult time initially practicing the act of meditation, which is why it is important to create an environment to never feel stressed in. Choose a room that's comforting, somewhere homework isn't allowed, a work-free, peaceful zone.

Meditating in Color is a process that "allows us to pray with our right brain, so to speak - to pray in image, color, and form as well as words. It allows us to meditate on a person, a problem, a question or a concept and often discover deeper meaning through the patterns that come to us in the moment," said Bursen.

Drawing skills are not needed when it comes to meditating in color. It starts with one thought. Anyone can do it. "Meditating (or Praying) in Color is a practice that originally grew out of one woman's struggle with trying to pray in words, and feeling like that wasn't effective. One day, she picked up a marker, wrote down the name of someone she wanted to pray for/about, and started doodling around the name. The doodles became a form of prayer, and she was able to carry the piece of paper with her throughout the day and feel the power of that connection," said Bursen.

Conquer thoughts. Take control of personal well-being because along with meditating, myriad health benefits arise: less stress/anxiety, deeper concentration, and an overall sensation of contentment. Keeping mental health in shape will give students a peace of mind.