Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts

Saturday, November 14, 2015

How to turn your dream into a color scheme - Week 6


OH MY! It is time again for DREAM SCHEME FRIDAY! For those of you who are new, Friday's I take a dream that I have had either recently or from one of my past dream journals and turn it into a color scheme!




         This week we will be diving into my dream journal and using a dream from my past! It's always fun to look at the dream again and this one I remember pretty vividly even to this day. Although I remember this dream clearly, the way I wrote it in my dream journal was confusing and unnecessarily long. So for the blogs I will be rewording and shortening it as best as I can.  This dream is from:
January 5th, 2006

The dream revolved around this mental challenged younger brother that I had. I started by letting him drive this red car/truck that was the family's and he was either speeding or hit something because he ended up with a ticket. When back at my dad's house trying to explain to him what had happened, my brother Zachary was next to me and a sister that seemed to be around the same age as me, appeared next to me in "support" of my story.

He didn't seem angry so we decided to leave again in the red car. I hear my challenged brother in the back apologizing and begging me to forgive him and let him drive again. He seemed so normal and I always tried to see him no different then anyone else so I allowed it. He jumped into another parked red car and my sister and I were left to watch him start up and immediately bashes into both cars on either side of him.

We could see him panic and then my brain seemed to be intertwined with his and I could feel his thoughts. I turned to my sister and told her he thinks that since he doesn't see any cops he is going to get on the freeway and flee the scene. She told me to follow him but we ended up stuck in traffic and lost him. Then we noticed cop lights going off! I was frustrated because I knew he wouldn't be in trouble but that I would for letting him drive. 

Feeling helpless we went back home to tell our dad. He punches a hole in the wall and screamed at us to go find him and bring him back. Once again my sister and I got back into the red car and started to merge onto the freeway. There were cars everywhere and most had been wrecked. We got out of the car and started walking. Car after car were flipped over and crushed. 

Then we saw the front part of a semi flipped over. We were speechless because there was no one around. Nobody inside or out of the cars. Then we noticed the red car underneath the semi. There was a policeman standing at the back opening of the semi. He explained that he didn't want to open the semi back door afraid what he might find inside. My sister and I climbed inside the semi and found our challenged brother sitting, watching TV and laughing at his favorite show with chocolate all over his hands and face. 

He explained to us that he was in a bad accident and decided to run from home and he was going to live here now. Behind my brother there was a tub of ice cream with some still left in it. I reached my hand in and grabbed a chunk of chocolate and walked out to tell the policeman that he wouldn't come out and that he would have to go in and make him. 

The policeman shook his head. So I entered the semi again and told my brother to stop acting like a child and that I demanded that we were going home right away. Then I awoke. I remember this dream sometimes randomly in my day since I had it. Not too much happens but it was one of the longest and most realistic dreams I have ever had.





              This dream had many different visuals but when remembering it to record for the blog I got the sense of a few colors!  Each color represents a certain part of the dream or feeling the dream gave me. The color scheme works backwards through the dream.

Color 1 - The first color red is pretty obvious that it represents the bright red cars!
Color 2 - The second darker brown color is for the chocolate that was all over my brother's face and hands.
Color 3 - The lighter tan color was a color I felt represented the first conversation I had with my father.
Color 4 - The navy blue is for the policeman uniform and cop cars.
Color 5 - The blue grey is to represents the weather and mood of the crashes.
Color 6 - The final darker grey color  is for the abrupt and unfinished ending of the dream.


***SIDE NOTE: I had this dream back in 2006. In this dream I have a sister that seemed around my age. A few years later I find out that I did in fact have another sister. We are about 5 years apart and even though I remember this dream so much I had totally forgotten about her being apart of it until reading it again in the journal. Do you think it's a coincidence or did I know her before I knew about her?


***ANOTHER SIDE NOTE: I often have dreams which include a young mentally challenged boy. I remember meditating once and asking to know the name of a spirit that watches over me or that guides me and one of the little boys from my dreams came into my mind. Then I connected them all together. Until then I had not realized that it was a pattern. Also I heard the name Ben. Something I think about quite often and thought I would share!



This is something anyone can do! Write down your dream and create a color scheme from it. Use it to make a meaningful painting for your bedroom or to pick out your outfit for the day. I believe we have dreams to guide us and show us things that are hiding in our subconscious. This is just one way to use the wonderful information your mind has given to you while asleep. 


That's all for today!   Has anyone had any dreams that they have written down lately? Have you tried this yourself? Let me know in the comments below and maybe I can make a color scheme of one of your dreams! Don't forget to subscribe and everyone have a wonderfully inspiring day!

Until Tomorrow - Dream Away
Samantha Menzo




Etsy Featured Item of the Day:

Geometric Wooden Pot — Gold + White by - GwynethHulseDesign



Song of the Day:
Adele - Hello


Color of the Day:
Benjamin Moore HC-69 Whitall Brown



Friday, August 21, 2015

Why everyone should be coloring.


When is the last time you remember coloring? Not drawing, doodling, or painting, but actually coloring in a coloring book. Well I'll cut to the chase...I colored last night and it was AMAZING! Coloring is the most calming and grounding thing for me besides meditating. Speaking of meditating......


I believe coloring is a form of meditation. So for all of you out there who want to meditate but have tried sitting with your eyes closed and felt unsuccessful at clearing your mind, TRY COLORING! You can go as easy as a color by number so you really don't have to think or step it up and get a more detailed coloring book with beautifully detailed images. Just sitting down, relaxing and staring at a page and the colors will definitely put you in a meditative trance. Don't believe me?! Give it a try!



Thursday's are very important days for me. Every week I spend time over at my grandma's house aka gramcrackers. She's my best bud. We normally talk and drink tea together. For the last couple of months I have been working on finishing a large wall mural for her but it got too late for me to work on it so we decided to color. 


My grandmother LOVES to color. It is something her and my papa use to do when they went down to Gulf Shores Alabama on vacation. They would sit together and color. He used colored pencils and she used markers. She still enjoys this very much even though he has now passed. She has been sick for about a week so she has really been in a coloring frenzy! I took her to a local craft store and helped her STEP UP HER COLOR GAME! We got her fun new markers and some more advanced coloring books. 

(Gramcracker's new marker set for under $15)
(Gramcracker's new coloring books! More advanced than color by number and under $15)

Here are a few great coloring finds I stumbled across on ETSY! Check out these wonderful coloring books! Oh the possibilities are just endless. There are little ones and detailed ones and buying something on Etsy helps support small businesses! 


Don't know what to color with? Here are also some really great things found on Etsy to color with. You can buy more expensive markers like Copic or use great wooden rustic colored pencils! Check out the links below for the wonderful Etsy products to take your coloring to the next level!






ANYWAYS! She worked on her color by number and I took one of the more advanced books and tried blending some of the colors together. We stuck on some meditation music and just relaxed into the pages of our books. You don't have to put on meditation music any music will do! If you want to sit in silence you can do that as well but music makes it easier for me to really relax and smile.

Kevin Braheny - Galaxies


Coloring can make you feel free and child-like again and is an easy think for people to do to awaken their creative bones! Even those who consider themselves "can't even draw a stick figure" people, can color. In fact those who do recognize themselves as not-so artistic should really be the ones getting on the crazy coloring train! Free yourself people! 


Until Tomorrow - Dream Away
Samantha Menzo


Etsy Featured Item of the Day:

Bracelet from colored pencils by - carbickova


Song of the Day:

Feist - The Water


Color of the Day:
Inner Glow by Benjamin Moore



Sunday, August 2, 2015

Art with the help of Meditating.

Art with the help of Meditating.

(Love this image? Click here for its Etsy Shop)

       Ever feel a lack of focus when trying to make your art? Ever feel a drought of inspiration? Maybe you can't find enough time in the day for the art time you have been craving? I have a secret to change it all. Meditation.


(Love this image? Click here for its Etsy Shop)


     I assume some of you have meditated before. You might even be a meditating professional! In case you have never heard of meditating or have always wanted to try and didn't know where to start. Here is a great beginner's video to meditating.


So now that we are all on the same page, how can meditation help with ART?

1. Meditation helps to center yourself and your thoughts, which greatly effect your art. If you are stressed or overwhelmed with daily life, just 5 minutes of meditating can set you back on track and put you in a perfect state of mind for creating.

2. Out of ideas or don't know where to start? I know this one is huge for me. When I don't know what to make or can't seem to organize my ideas I meditate and ask to see what I need to. I always know I have the ideas in there somewhere but sometimes moving all the other junk around first helps me see clearly!

3. Stepping away from your work. I don't do this nearly enough and sometimes it really costs me with time and energy. Ever been so immersed in a piece of artwork that you forget to step back and look at the whole thing? By the time you are done and you do step back you notice things you could have done different or that might be a little off. Taking a few minutes for a silent break can mean a huge difference in the finished quality of your work.

4. Do you want to make more meaningful art but don't know what you want to say? I tend to make a lot of "sell-able work" and sometimes I lose the love for a project because I am too focused on the money value it will bring me. By meditating I can look within myself and see what is on my mind that I want to express. This always helps me feel recharged and inspired to still make sell-able pieces but that say something at the same time.

Meditation is great for so many reasons but since this is an Art Blog I wanted to cover some of the ways it's really helped me and hopefully can help you! Creating comes from a very internal place that's is expressed externally and to ensure everything is in order I think the best and easiest way is through MEDITATION!

         How has meditating helped you in your life? Do you already use it as a tool for your art? Comment some of your thoughts on what this topic has done or might do for you!

Until Tomorrow -Dream Away
Samantha Menzo

I want to start doing something new at the end of every blog. I think would be a great addition to the blogs! Every blog I will have a featured Etsy Item, Random Song & Color of the day! It's just a little extra flavor that I think might be fun!

Featured Etsy Item of the Day:
DIY Cross Stitch Pendant - Wood Pendant Blank - Small Heart (RedGateStitchery)

Song of the Day:

Matt Simons - Catch & Release (Deepend Remix)


Color of the Day: 
Benjamin Moore Regal Select Winter Gray 2117-60