It feels good when you put pen to paper in a Zentangle way.
Anyone who teaches the Zentangle Method for even a short time hears stories of amazing benefits from their students.
If you are reading this, there's a good chance you already know the profound personal benefits that can come from a Zentangle practice. Your Zentangle practice can have a similar beneficial affect on the world around you. These days, that's important.
Some say that positive vibrations like gratitude, love, and rejoicing multiply exponentially as each additional person shares that vibration. In contrast, negative emotions such as fear, anger, and hatred combine only by addition.
It's the difference between 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 128 for a positive emotion compared with 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 +2 + 2 = 14 for a negative emotion.
When you resonate with people on the positive side, you increase the effect of the positive exponentially. So what does this have to do with the Zentangle Method?
When you tangle, you can easily shift your attention from fear and worry and tune in to gratitude. The more you do that, the easier it is for another person to turn away from fear and toward gratitude. Ken Keyes called this the "100th Monkey Phenomenon." Rupert Sheldrake calls it "Morphic Resonance."
The idea is that when you tangle, it becomes easier for another person to tangle. Your efforts multiply the efforts of all other tanglers. And as you shift from fear to gratitude, it becomes exponentially easier for someone else to shift from fear to gratitude.
When you are in tune with gratitude and love, it is similar to the Cymatics phenomenon.
The individual crystals coalesce effortlessly into beautiful patterns at the different resonant frequencies. In between resonant frequencies, things can look a bit chaotic . . . sort of like things might look now. This is just another reason to tune in to the frequency of Gratitude . . . and to do it with a Passion!
When we put together the Zentangle Method, it felt like it was a gift from what we call our Angels. One thing that we are grateful for is that we had the good fortune to pay attention to our Angels. Maybe that's one of the reasons that the first and last step of the Zentangle Method is Gratitude and Appreciation.
At our tenth anniversary of Zentangle, we commissioned a dear friend to create a stained glass window which Maria designed.
This is in the window above the door on our porch where we spend much of our time. The Angel writes, "Gratitude, Passion and Family" as a tile falls to us from the Angel's book. The Flower of Life in the upper right is for our shared love of geometry. The quill, of course, is for Maria's lettering art. The honeycomb and bee is for my years as a beekeeper.
We know that the Zentangle Method was a gift. It is a gift that we are fortunate to be able to share much as a delivery service would bring you a precious treasure.
Perhaps our Angels knew that the Zentangle Method would be helpful in times like this.
If you are asking yourself, "What can I do!?" then we can suggest an answer. Take advantage of this down-time to be with Family. Find a way to activate Love and Gratitude with a Passion.
If the Zentangle Method can be of service, then we continue to put together lots of ways to support you.
We have put together a special collection of supportive Zentangle options at this new page. You will find
- Molly's Guided Tangling
- Project Pack Links
- Special Blogs
- Online Zentangle classes with CZTs around the world
- Tangle Step-Outs (instructions)
- Kitchen Table Tangles . . . and more!
There are now more than 4,500 Certified Zentangle Teachers in 53 countries. The Zentangle Mosaic app has been downloaded in over 70 countries. Hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of tanglers across this world have the tools to exponentially increase Gratitude.
Gratitude for what?
If nothing else, you can be grateful for access to your inner creative spark. And you can be grateful for how good it feels when you contribute your unique Beauty to this world.
Every moment you are in Gratitude benefits you, your family and this world.
Gratitude, Passion and this Zentangle Family . . . Thank you, Angels!
With all our best wishes.
Rick
P.S.
Maria and I each wrote our last two blogs at the same time without knowing what the other was doing. Sweet how that works!
Thank you to everyone who commented on Maria's blog yesterday. We have enjoyed reading all your comments. The commenter selected at random to receive Maria's tile is Deborah Alborell! Please send your snail mail address to julie@zentangle.com
P.P.S.
Share your comments on how you are staying in Gratitude. We'll pick a few commenters at random and send you a print of the stained glass window.
Kaori on
Ginny Lockhart on
Rosemarie Crawford on
Wendy Hoffman CZT 20 on
The window abough the door of your porch will give you many beautiful moments. Everything what stands for Zentangle art is included and the little details you describe, make this window even more personal. Absolutely great!
Ria Joris-Matheussen on
Valerie Hayes on
Deb Prewitt on
Paulette Kirschensteiner on
Sometimes it is hard to stay in Gratitude. But each day the Sun arises and shines. How can we not be grateful for that? The natural light that bounces off the garage wall and onto my studio workspace reminds me that there is also shadow where there is light, and again I am grateful. This afternoon I must clear my sewing machine enough to tangle some tiles. Each day me and the little machine have been sewing facemasks with profound gratitude to frontline personnel and first responders. Thank you to Zentangle for keeping us grounded.
Ginger White CZT 34 on
Catherine Gisby on
JENNIFER SPARROW on
Heather Toswell on
Thank you for all you do to help our gratitude. Patty
Patty Steele on
Rimona Gale on
Julie Crosby on
I love the stained glass art. The more I look at it, the more little gifts I see.
I’m just going to keep saying thank you. THANK YOU to you, Maria, M&M and the whole ZT HQ tribe.
Kim Kohler on
Katrina on
I am grateful for Zentangle every day
These days I am giving free online Zoom classes two or three times a week. For the duration.
It is my gift to anyone. Do Zentangle, relax for a while. Remember laughter, joy, and a sense of accomplishment
LIsa on
We were scheduled to present our program and it’s benefits at one of the largest educational conferences (ASCD) in Los Angeles, however, the week before the conference it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say I was disappointed as we had such wonderful information to impart on the benefits of Zentangle in the classroom.
I had acquired several classroom kits for conference participants to use but packed them up and put it all back on the shelf since the conference was not only cancelled but it would not be held again until 2021. Then suddenly I realized the students from our classroom should all be tangling at home (the supplies we used throughout the year are quietly tucked away in the classroom). So I packed up all the Zentangle kits, along with self-addressed stamped envelopes, and a cheery note, and sent them to the teacher to distribute to all of the students. I told the students that if they shared a completed tile with me I’d mail them back more tiles!
At the end of the year (if they do get to finish the school year) I have created a special scrapbook for a tile from every student to be included in to present to the teacher.
The package just went out in the mail on Monday (3/30) so I haven’t received any tiles yet but I know the kids LOVE to Zentangle and I know I’ll have another opportunity to share our knowledge.
BTW: the teacher (who has taught for 18 years) said he has never seen anything like the results we obtained through our work. Zentangle is changing lives!
Christine Kortbein on
Thank you for sharing your gracious words with us.
Nancy CZT18 on
Betsy Smith on
Maya on