Finding peace in my over-cluttered mind. Rediscovering my passion for art and journaling and creating my own meditative mindfulness exercise. A new habit that helps me capture joy, release anxiety, and grow creativity.
Art and writing have been forms of creativity that I have been passionate about since I was a teenager. I love the freedom that the blank page and canvas provided.
I love the unexpected discovery of emotion and thought that would come into existence through words, drawing, and painting. I love the self-discovery and connections to my subconscious as my emotions and thoughts transfer from the intrinsic to the extrinsic. When I was young, journaling, sketching and painting were tools that helped me to grow through difficult struggles as I transition from youth to young adult and anytime that I needed to find calm. I was using mindfulness tools before I knew what mindfulness was.
As I got older and life was filled with career, marriage and children, I lost the connection to my creative passions. Life was moving quickly and it was hard to find "me time", let alone time to create art or write for leisure. I struggled to manage daily stresses and used productivity tools and to-do lists to manage life's daily busyness. I was good at it too. I was so good at productivity management that I taught courses on the subject during my corporate career days and in my consulting business. Despite my productivity effectiveness, something was missing. Managing the clutter in my mind was not the same as decluttering to make space for calm.
How Covid-19 Amplified My Cluttered Mind
Then along came the Covid-19 Pandemic that forced the world into various stages of lockdowns and mitigation restrictions and had many of us isolated from our normal work and social lives. We are either trapped in our busyness 24/7 with home office and/or homeschooling children at the same time. Or we were suddenly isolated with the busyness in our heads driving us to any distraction available and endless Netflix binging. On top of it all was the constant anxiety of being surrounded by an unsafe world full of invisible threats and fears for an uncertain tomorrow.
I held my composure pretty well during 2020 despite the continuing waves of Covid-19 and its variants keeping the world on its toes. I was still telling myself to plan for options B, C and D in a gap year from my stalled consulting work in professional development coaching and learning & development. I filled my time with taking courses, upskilling and brainstorming alternative ways to do the coaching and consulting work that I loved. Filling my days with busyness to keep feeling productive while growing increasingly frustrated because much of my business effectiveness was now out of my direct control. Companies were struggling to restructure operations and not hiring external consultants as many companies cut L & D budgets altogether.
By 2021 my "keep busy" moto was no longer working. My comfort zone of organization and productivity became increasingly unsettling and uncomfortable. I felt restless, demotivated, even depressed and started to struggle with insomnia. Things that I thought I would be able to resume in life were not happening. I was missing my sons, who were studying in Canadian universities and plans to visit were not feasible with the strict travel restrictions in my city of residence, Hong Kong. Companies were still not focusing on training and development or hiring external consultants. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to continue with corporate consulting work anymore as many companies were treating their staff poorly as they struggle to maintain profits during pandemic times.
How could I plan and strategize for effectiveness with the unprecedented global event that was still happening? I felt like I was drowning in chaos, unpredictability and uncertainty living each day, week and month not knowing how the pandemic would impact my world next.
I was desperate to find calm. I needed to expel all the negative thoughts, uncertainties and insecurities out of my head to make space for peace.
Rediscovering Passions From My Past
One day while I was decluttering a bookcase, I found a blank 365-day journal that a friend had gifted me years ago. It was a beautiful book with a calming pink and gold cover and crisp white pages that called out to me to fill them. It had been decades since I last kept a personal journal. But at that moment, it was the exact thing I needed to let the clutter in my head spill onto the pages of this beautiful journal.
It was liberating to see my thoughts on the page. I missed the feel of pen on paper for pleasure, not productivity. I missed the freedom of expressing what I needed to say without fear of judgement or correctness. I gave myself only two rules for my journaling. It must include gratitude and the negativity that I felt would stay on the page after it was expressed. Somedays the entries were a full page. Some days it was only a few lines of gratitude or capturing daydreams and ideas that floated in my head and heart.
Day by day, the 5-10 minutes of journaling became a part of my routine that I looked forward to.
I was so happy about journaling that I wanted to find a special pen to match my beautiful journal. While in the stationery shop, I wandered down the art supplies aisle and felt the need to linger. Looking at the watercolour paint sets and sketchbooks, I was reminded of how I used to enjoy painting and sketching so many years ago. The next thing I knew, I came home with a full set of supplies for watercolour painting, sketching and line drawing. But I needed to "brush up" on my artistry skills.
So off to the Google/YouTube university I went. I wanted something simple and unlimiting and would work with my preferred art mediums. Funnily enough, my mother-in-law introduced me to the art of Zentangle. They had been teaching it in her seniors' volunteer community group Zoom classes. (Yes, I have a cool modern, tech-savvy 80 years young mother-in-law.) All you need is a pen and paper to create intricate line drawings that are mesmerizingly beautiful.
As described on the official Zentagle.com website:
"The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns...Zentangle art is non-representational and unplanned so you can focus on each stroke and not worry about the result...As you use the Zentangle Method to create beautiful images, you likely will enjoy increased focus, creativity, self-confidence and increased sense well-being."
"Life is an art form and each of us is an artist."
Zentangle founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas
I loved the teaching style of Rick and Maria in their books and videos. I love how they stress that everyone is an artist. If you can hold a pen and write from 1-10, you have the skills needed to create amazing Zentangle art.
I started art journaling my learning and fell in love with the calming process resulting in beautiful images in a small space of time.
There are steps and patterns to learn in the process of Zentangling. I found the process of learning very relaxing because of the simplicity of the patterns and it helped to build artistic confidence because of how quickly you can see the results. However, I wanted more colour and freedom in my creative process. So I returned to my watercolour painting which I had always loved because of the spontaneous way pigment and water mixed to create unexpected artistry effects.
Unlike the structure of lines and shapes in Zentangling, watercolour painting can be delicate or bold and incredibly freeing. The pure enjoyment of creating beautiful washes of colour on paper was so satisfying. Letting water freely flow to create shape and alter pigment intensity helped me to let go of the need to control the result. It allowed me to work spontaneously and to incorporate the unexpected movement of the pigment and water into my artistic process and results.
From relearning how to control the pigment to blending colours and then practicing the various techniques, the journey back to creativity and art has been liberating. Some of my close friends and relatives now own one of my early original works of art.
Incorporating Something New
Along my journey in rediscovering artistry and watching various YouTube tutorials for Zentangle and watercolour art, the YouTube algorithm gods popped an interesting recommendation onto my feed. Neurographic Art, a simplified version of Neurographica®.
Neurographica® is a therapeutic application of meditative art developed in 2014 by Russian psychologist Pavel Piskarev who founded Neurographica®. "The Theory of Neurographica® is built on scientific principles using the knowledge of visual thinking in combination with the laws and patterns identified by various schools of psychology. Namely: neuropsychology, analytical psychology, Gestalt psychology, Psychosynthesis, social psychology and modern management theory."
Neurographic art is a simple way to work with the subconscious mind through drawing and connecting lines.
The objective of Neurographic art is to promote mindfulness and intentionality at a slower pace. This creative method stimulates new neural pathways by combining art and psychology. This type of art can be a way to transform one’s stress and fear by drawing freeform lines and then using a specific algorithm to transform the stress into a beautiful work of art. I researched it. Followed some online workshops. Then started creating. The freeform lines that are the basis of Neurographic Art were just what I needed. These "flow" lines helped me to be in the moment and let out the energy from my thoughts to the page. I loved it!
The simplified explanation of Neurographic Art:
Focus on the issue, stress or anxiety you want to release. I suggest taking a moment to reflect and feel the most urgent focus that is in your mind for that day. You can write a concise sentence or word to describe your focus on the back of the page you will draw on.
Take a few deep breaths and begin to make your "release" or "flow" lines. Move your pen slowly from one edge of your paper to another in continuous flow lines. Try to avoid repetitive patterns and jagged points. The lines can be squiggly or wobbly or smooth but should continuously flow from one edge of the page to any other edge. Create as many slow flow lines as you want for 3 minutes.
Round out or curve connecting points of the intersecting lines. This is the most soothing part of the process where you round out all the intersections of the flow lines. When you round out the sharp edges, it feels like you are erasing stress and conflict.
Take a breath and look at your results to see if you want to add any additional lines or even shapes to any areas of the page where you feel are needed. If you add lines and shapes, you will need to repeat the rounding out of the connecting points.
If you want, fill in the shapes with shading, colouring or painting. Choose colours that you feel are right at that moment.
Left to Right: Close up of rounding out or curving out the intersecting lines.
Once you are satisfied with the piece, take a deep breath to appreciate your creation and reflect on how you felt at the beginning of the process, during the process and how you feel at the end.
Here is a very basic and easy-to-follow tutorial if you would like to try it for yourself.
I started experimenting with different mediums, adding watercolour paint, pencil colouring and even elements of Zentangling. My favourite part was breathing through the flow lines and connecting the intersections of the lines. By the end of each session, I could feel a sense of release and calm.
The Proof is in the Science
After six months of regularly journaling and doing meditative art, I can feel a difference in my everyday energy and motivation. I still have stress out and over-cluttered mind moments, but I can take a breath and find my way back to calm more easily. On days when I particularly feel a sense of overwhelm or emotional distress from our continued pandemic life, I make a bit more time for self-care to journal and paint my stress away.
Being the always curious life-long learner, I started researching more on the effect that journaling and meditative art were having on my mental and emotional well-being. Here is the science to support the benefits of art and journaling to our health and wellness and links to additional articles if you are interested in learning more.
Benefits of Art for Mental Health:
How Making Art Help Your Brain (link to article)
Can help you to envision a more hopeful future.
Activates the reward center of our brain by increasing blood flow to the prefrontal cortex.
Lower stress and anxiety by lowering cortisol levels in your brain.
Helps you to focus deeply by inducing a flow-state which "activates several networks including relaxed reflective state, focused attention to task and sense of pleasure." says Girija Kaimal, a professor at Drexel University
Benefits of Journaling (expressive writing):
A Short Course in Journal Writing: Centre for Journal Therapy (link to article)
improve your mood
enhance the sense of well-being
reduce anxiety and stress
improve self-awareness
help to reframe negativity
Putting it All Together
This journey to rediscover my love of artistry and journaling has helped me to get back on a path to mindfulness and positivity during an emotionally difficult year. As we continue to navigate life in this pandemic new normal, I am sure I will be reaching for my journal, pens and paintbrushes to help me find calm. I encourage everyone to build in time for self-care daily so that we can be strong and resilient and thrive through our challenging times.
"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."
Stephen Sondheim, American composer and lyricist
As we enter 2022, I thought about how I could continue these mindfulness activities more easily each day and I had an "ah-ha" moment. I have created my own mindfulness journal pages where I can easily connect my expressive writing with my meditative art activity all on one page. I am excitedly working on creating a paperback version of my journaling format to offer to everyone in hopes of helping more people build a fun mindfulness habit. Make sure you subscribe to get first-hand updates. Stay tuned!
If you would like to find more information on the benefits of gratitude, journaling and mindfulness, please visit the AYCLimitless.com Resources page.
Let me know in the comments if you would be interested in learning more via a webinar or video on Mindfulness Journaling. As you explore for yourself, share your mindful art masterpieces with me. Happy creating!
Great article, thank you! 🤗