Maitri workshop: Red

The fourth colour we experienced physically and emotionally was RED. We had to lie down in a certain pose with our glasses on for about 20 minutes. The colour RED was very bright in the beginning but that faded to a softer orange after a while. It was like coming home, I felt at ease and I almost 'fell' asleep because of the comfortable position. It was literally 'falling' asleep because my body gave a little shock when I came back to my senses.

When I walked out of the door for our little aimless walk I was speedy. I took a very brisk walk to the nearby Museum square (Museumplein) and I wanted to see people. No details, no relaxation and no contemplation. I was't even in the mood for taking photos except these few. I wanted to see and be around people, to throw myself in the midst of them and to just move amongst them. I was hardly stopped by what I saw.

RED - fire - padma (sanskrit, meaning flower which is a symbol for enlightenment)
Red and blue are located opposite each other in the mandala. They belong together like yin and yang: they balance and complement each other. Fire is totally dependent on fuel, but water doesn't need anything (independent). That works the same in our personalities and relationships. Padma is steering towards union, oneness: compare love and sexuality in a relationship.
Padma - passion - love - the flame of Love. According to Chögyam Trunga Rinpoche love is the only emotion that is capable of escaping the ego.
In relation to fire, the distance to it is determining, fire is communication. A union arises by communication, with the right distance otherwise you burn yourself. Empathy is a quality of RED: zooming in to know someone intimately.

The wisdom of RED is compassion, discrimination awareness wisdom: that is a distinctive wisdom. The wisdom is about appreciation of the uniqueness, but also of the oneness of all.
All in all a rather complex colour, but I enjoyed how it made me feel.