Workshop Maitri: White

The second colour or Buddha family we discussed in the Maitri workshop, was the colour WHITE. The 5 Buddha families are 5 ways to look at space. The whole cosmos is inspired by 5 energies, on the most material level they are represented by the 5 elements (fire, air, water, earth and space) and in the least material level by the 5 wisdoms.

I need to add to the story that photography was not part of the program: I used the workshop to see in what way colours would influence my photography and to discover if I would see other things than in my 'normal' contemplative practice. I won't give an answer to that yet.

Like I said: the second colour was WHITE. We had to sit in a specific position for about twenty minutes looking at a white sheet of paper with 'white' glasses on. That felt like being in a fog. Apart from that, I felt quiet and rather neutral. The posture was a little uncomfortable: after a while my elbows started to hurt, I felt sweaty and I was thinking "are we ready, yet?" a lot. Some of the other participants almost fell asleep and I felt that my eyes became heavy, too.

During the walk I didn't notice anything in particular except a little more white and fogginess in window dressings like in the first picture above. I didn't see as much as this morning, nor was I as focussed as then. I was walking in the little streets and that didn't quite feel comfortable.

About the colour WHITE: buddha (sanskrit) - space
The colour white is all about space: as you can see most of the mandala (see below) is white. Space has no beginning and no end, it is a quality of being, the wakefulness without boundaries. All colours and energies can be present in that field. There is no time in space. It is the space of hospitality that anything possible can happen, without judgement, without self interest.

People are afraid of space (retirement), we arm ourselves against it, we grow numb, we solidify or freeze the space or we put walls in it. We try to lure other people in our territory. The space of our mind contains a lot of energy, expressed in our presence, mood or radiance. The space that we have is infinite, but we need to conquer it: we only need to take a step back in order to release the space that we already have.
How does that work in relationships? How much space do you take in your relationships? I realize that I sometimes take up too much space so that the other person has trouble and sometimes I take up too little space for myself and then I get squeezed. It is like a dance.