Visual awareness

Learning through Zen drawing

Zen drawing can become a way of learning new things. This way of seeing without a prejuge and focussing on the tiniest details makes you see much more which can result in glimpse of insight. All of a sudden you (re)discover something you never truely seen before. Learning through drawing what you see used to be an important element in (scientific) education in the past. Today seeing and drawing has lost popularity in most schools and I hope teachers will return to this way of learning through drawing again.

Falling in love with everything

Once you start seeing and drawing, your visual awareness will expand. Seeing becomes a way of life. Every moment of the day you can be struck by something beautiful unexpectedly. For example, once you start drawing trees, and see their unique shape and energy, you may notice so many beautiful trees you normally would not have noticed.

Seeing energy

One thing that I personally noticed through Zen drawing is you can become more aware of 'seeing' energy. As everything around you is a form of energy, you may become more aware of the characteristics of that energy. A person, animal, tree or even a complete area can radiate energy. For example friendly, peaceful energy, or nervous or sad energy. As soon as you witness something you become aware of subtile nuances in energy. This awareness is the result of connecting to what you see and it may surprise you how much information is available without words.