How to Train a Happy Mind Drawing As Meditation with John Simon Jr. #207
Nov 4, 2025
John Simon Jr., an artist and author of "Drawing Your Own Path," shares how drawing can serve as a powerful form of meditation. He explains his daily drawing routine that fosters mindfulness using techniques like sensory noting and non-dominant hand drawing. John discusses how his practice has led to self-acceptance and healing, revealing insights about identity and ego. He highlights the importance of expressing emotions through drawings and offers a simple mindfulness exercise for listeners to connect with their creativity.
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Negative Space Reveals Self
- A drawing's negative space revealed to John the 'emptiness of self' and shifted his understanding of ego.
- The self appears as an elaborate construction of history, biology, and relationships, not a solid entity.
Read Your Drawings Out Loud
- After making a drawing, write a caption or short reflection to 'read' and integrate the work.
- Use that reflection to decide what the drawing is about in the moment and reveal where your mind was.
College Drawings Revealed My Younger Self
- In college drawing class, John later re-seeing his figure studies revealed his younger self's vulnerability.
- He discovered that drawings encode personal history beyond their surface subject.
