Color in Meditation
I was recently asked how I choose a color to experience in meditation, and then experience it. I usually chat meditation at gallery openings or studio visits, but here I muse about it all in words.
I was recently asked how I choose a color to experience in meditation, and then experience it. At first, the question caught me off guard because it flips the order of events I experience, but after the conversation, it dawned on me that I do have an element of control once I’ve experienced the color vision for the first time.
Initially, I don’t choose a color to meditate on; instead, I meditate to ground myself and stay connected with Spirit, and I experience color as a result. At first, I just saw the colors, and they were mesmerizing. But some time later, the meditations deepened, and I began feeling the colors. Initially, I naively thought the emotions would only be comforting, supportive, and uplifting—that they were there to fill me with healing energy. However, after months of experiencing the same meditation on acceptance, new layers were revealed: painful layers that had much to teach.
My meditations are like swimming in underwater watercolor paintings. Imagine blobs of unmixed watercolor paint are dropped into an infinite sea, and they begin to disperse. There are different densities of color, ranging from transparent to sticky and thick. They expand with the water’s gentle movement. There are prisms of brilliant white light that are steady and unmoving, and I’m drawn to the places where the light pierces the color veils. Through journaling, I have come to understand that these are the areas where I’m to pay attention—it’s where the greatest lessons about life and embodiment exist. The colors are emotions, and the light is purity.
While I can’t choose a color to experience in meditation and conjure a vision, I can revisit my past visions. I’m able to go back to them—even while not in meditation—and explore them in different areas. I’ve been revisiting my meditation acceptance for over two years now, and it’s still teaching me.
I’ve meditated in all sorts of ways. I’ve sat with Quakers, tapped into that calming place during shavasana, listened to guided recordings, and, most frequently, practiced Vedic meditation. There are various ways to find the peace of meditation.
Lately, I’ve been weaving my ability to sit quietly and meditate with the desire to connect more deeply with my art. I’ve been visualizing art that I haven’t yet created. It’s become a sketchbook without permanence, but it’s allowed me to explore color and linearity.
I wonder if one day I’ll be able to choose what color to experience in meditation. I also wonder if there is a universality of emotional representation of color? Colors have distinct histories in distinct cultures. Is it the same for synesthetes? I have many questions, but for now, I will continue to explore what our continuum of energy has to teach me as it’s presented.
Thanks for following along! I love chatting meditation. Reach out to connect about it all—I’d love to hear about your experiences!
XO
Landis
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