Body Mediation
The human body is the most complicated machine on this Earth, and it’s important that we treat our bodies well, and maintain the wellbeing and upmost health for our bodies through various ways including; meditation and praying. In the past years of my studies I have done extensive research into the benefits of meditating and its power of use in promoting positivity within the mind and body. It is found that meditation can reduce stress, and assist in Emotion Regulation, Physical Well-being and can improve focus & concentration levels as well as improve conflict resolutions more efficiently.
Within Islamic practices, it is found that Islamic meditation has been practiced since the 7th Century and has been practiced in various methods including; Zikr – which is a form of meditation that involves the remembrance of Allah, and can be practiced at any point during the day. Another form of Islamic meditation includes the recitation of Quran and Dua, and praying 5 times a day to grow closer to Allah, and the Islamic religion. Finally another aspect of Islamic meditation can be practiced through the method of ‘Ruqyah Syar’iyyah’. The use of ‘Ruqyah Syar’iyyah is the use and recitation of Quran and its effectiveness in ‘clamming down and prevent any harm.’ The ‘Ruqyah Syar’iyyah’ is a spiritual treatment that is practiced within Islam, and utilises the Quran and Dua in treating illnesses. This form of meditation is used to cure common illnesses including the cure for ‘Hasad’ the cure for evil eye, black magic and physical ailments. In addition to the use of Quran & Dua recitation within ‘Ruqyah Syar’iyyah’ the use of natural remedies including the use of honey, black seed, olive oil and holy water are used within the meditation process as well as cupping. Through the method of these practices, the last step of meditation is practiced through the form of Sabr, which involves the practice of ‘perseverance’ and ‘persistence’ in the Islamic faith and the Islamic practices to remove any harm.
For my works, I have selected one participant that comes from a different background to participate in the use Islamic mediation as I am interested in discovering more about the views and experiences of the participant and their opinion on Islamic meditation. The participant will be involved in a test study once a week and will be practicing the forms of reciting Quran and Zikr, and at the end of the month the participant will document 150 words in writing about their experiences and involvement within this study. The feedback collected by the participant will be used to form the basis of my work and I will utilise their emotions, experiences and thoughts to help direct my works.
In addition to the physical test study work, I will also do extensive research into material sourcing and will look at fabrication including; silk, cotton and scrim. The use of selected fabrication is an important tool, and will inform the creation of my works. The use of specific fabrics will help to inform my work, and will assist in transforming the vision of my work into a three dimensional art piece. I will use do further research into testing out fabrics and I will look at fabric shaping. Additionally I will also look into artists work for inspiration, and utilise large-scale multimedia installations , sounds ,videos, insulation and mixed media for the basis of my inspiration and research tools.
