Vibrant Soul

Colouring-in patterns or pictures with crayons, felt pens or paint – an activity normally associated with occupying infant and primary school children, and which may be viewed as a poor substitute for more creative and imaginative forms of involvement with art – has within the past few years come into vogue as a pastime or hobby for adults. There is now an array of colouring books and magazines, designed along a multitude of themes, targeting more mature age groups, available to purchase in supermarkets, bookshops, retail outlets and online. Part of this current trend in published art materials is centred on combining relaxing colouring pursuits with what have been presented to the public as mindfulness techniques derived from Buddhist philosophy and practice. Here, a person is focused on the immediate moment and is transfixed, absorbed and fully engaged with the task at hand, not distracted by stray thoughts intruding into their mind either from events or memories of the past or by anticipated events, anxieties, worries or projections regarding the future. The aim is....