Meditation through art to reach the ‘inner child’

The Jordanian-Thai Center for Meditation and Self-Development is a non-profit organization founded by Rawiwan Mechang, board member of the center, in 2008, to spread the culture of meditation in Jordan. The center offers regular sessions, such as sunset meditation, morning meditation, meditation with yoga, and full moon meditation (it is held every month to coincide with the full moon). Sometimes sessions are held outside the center, like in gardens and farms. اضافة اعلان

During quarantine, sessions were held online.


(Photo: handout from The Jordanian-Thai Center)

The Thai Center assists meditation trainers by providing space, time, equipment, pre-session preparation, and follow-up on client appointments. It continuously looks for ways of diversifying sessions.

Salwa Abdel Khaleq, artist, designer, and meditation coach, held a session titled “inner child” meditation and art on February 18, 2022.

Three activities were included in the session:

• Inner child meditation, a powerful session that helps release deep emotional anguish, rediscover the innocence and joy of childhood as you let go of the emotions linked with bad childhood experiences. As a result, you feel elevated and more in control of your emotional responses, and empowered through a conscious choice.

• Mandala drawing. A mandala is a geometric configuration of symbols. It comes from the Sanskrit word for “circle” and is a great meditation tool that represents the journey of life and the path toward wisdom and self-actualization.

• Participants shared thoughts about their mandalas. Abdel Khaleq follows the Middle Way Meditation. It is a technique that focuses the mind to the center of the body and focuses on breathing and visualization.

She was initially an artist and graphic designer.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s awareness of the importance of meditation and the need for the individual to be connected with himself increased, so the turnout of people to meditation sessions has grown.

“I entered the world of meditation in 2015, completed my studies in Thailand, and became a meditation trainer 2020,” she told Jordan News.

“I faced some circumstances from which I could not find a way out, and this was the strong motivation that made me resort to meditation. I succeeded in overcoming all these circumstances through meditation,” she added.


(Photo: handout from The Jordanian-Thai Center)

Abdel Khaleq believes that teaching meditation to others will help them benefit from her experience.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s awareness of the importance of meditation and the need for the individual to be connected with himself increased, so the turnout of people to meditation sessions has grown,” she said.

“During meditation, we go with our imagination to another world where there are many shapes and colors. When we open our eyes, we may not be able to express what we saw in words, and here comes the function of art. Art helps people to explore self-expression and, in doing so, find new ways to gain personal insight, new coping skills,” she said.


(Photo: handout from The Jordanian-Thai Center)

Art, she added, is used to help people explore emotions, develop self-awareness, cope with stress, boost self-esteem, and work on social skills.

“As people create art, they may analyze what they have made and how it makes them feel. Through exploring their art, people can look for themes and conflicts that may be affecting their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors,” said Abdel Khaleq, whose goal is “to become an art therapist through meditation, to treat psychological disorders and enhance mental health. Art therapy is a technique rooted in the idea that creative expression can foster healing and mental well-being.”


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