We begin our meditation session by bringing some awareness to our breath.
Using the course of the inhale,
Deep into your belly and releasing outwards,
Relaxing your shoulders,
The muscles around your neck,
The top of your head and your face.
And so we prepare ourselves for a moment of relaxation.
The morning air is crisp on your skin as you walk outside through the semi-darkness,
The sun just starting to rise.
Somewhere ahead you can hear the ocean,
The soft hush of waves,
Of rocks and you walk along a narrow sandy path towards the sound ascending a sand dune,
Your bare feet sinking into the cool sand.
As you reach the top,
The magnificent ocean coming into view,
The grey of the early morning beginning to reveal the colours of the water and sky,
Turning into a deep purple,
Burgundy and cherry red.
At the top of the dune there is an easel with a blank canvas propped up against it with some oil paint and brushes on a stool.
As you walk towards it you notice your name written on a note.
It says that these are yours in this perfect moment of quiet colour flaring through the empty beach below,
No one around for miles and miles.
So you decide to make yourself comfortable here,
Gazing out over the waves into the distant horizon.
Your palette has been readied with a rainbow of colours.
So you pick it up and choose a soft,
Wide brush from the collection,
The smell of the salty sea air mingling with the rich scent of paint.
So you dip your brush into the deep indigo blue paint and you apply it to the top quarter of your canvas.
It glides onto the cloth,
Saturating it with the brilliant,
Creamy dark blue.
Next you dip your brush into the purple paint,
A bright,
Opaque magenta and you gently brush it onto the cloth.
Below the blue,
A thick purple block of colour blending it into the edges of blue.
Next your attention is drawn to the brilliant red paint and you lather it onto your canvas,
Forming broad diagonal lines where the morning sun tints the soft clouds in a halo of scarlet and dark pinks.
You dip your brush into the orange paint.
Next,
Orange like the edges of the rising sun peering out over the horizon.
You draw a horizontal line over your canvas,
The dome of the sun angled behind the curve of the earth.
Some yellow and white paint then applied with a palette knife like butter in the centre of the sun and lining the edges of the clouds in gold.
You place down your brushes and palette knives now.
Instead you dip your fingers into the bright royal blue paint and scoop it up,
Gathering some of the violet alongside the blue.
You press your hand onto the canvas,
Lathering the colours onto the surface of the cloth,
The ocean,
Forming deep valleys and peaks into the rolling waves.
Through the crests of the waves and the white foam ebbing from the surface of the water onto the beach,
You take the tube of titanium white paint and squeeze it directly onto the cloth,
Blending it lightly into the blue with a soft touch,
Layering the paint and lightening the edges of the blue.
You wipe the paint from your fingers with a soft cloth,
Then you take a clean brush now and dip it into the soft golden ochre paint,
Passing it through the tips of the orange and blue,
Piling the colours one over the other and then sliding the brush into the bottom and final section of your canvas for the grains of sea sand at the edge of the water.
Your canvas is completely covered in creamy oil paint now and you add a final touch of white and gold as the reflection of the sun dances over the water and the sand.
You sign your name,
Proud of the beautiful painting that you have created,
Its vivid colours still wet and glistening in the morning light,
The fresh light of a new day.
Breathe in the salty air and paint all around you.
Breathe in,
I am aware of my in-breath,
Breathe out,
I am aware of my out-breath.
Repeat with me quietly to yourself,
I am capable of creating anything I choose and I give myself the space to rest when my body tells me to,
To apply my full awareness to each beautiful day,
To use my potential to create without worrying about the end result.
I allow myself to enjoy the process and to not be so hard on myself,
I allow myself ease and kindness.
Now take in the image of the painting you have created and commit it to memory as something special,
Something you may return to later,
A safe space in the corner of your mind and also to close our meditation practice,
We bring our hands to heart centre and gently bow our heads towards our hands,
Thanking yourself for the wise teacher that you are.
Namaste.
