
Transformation
Thesaurus: change, alteration, modification, metamorphosis, sea change, transfiguration, reorganisation, renewal, transmutation, conversion, revolution.
Each meditation is designed for occasional or daily meditations or contemplations and they consist of four parts that can be used together or separately, in order to give greater scope and flexibility.
There is a photograph. This can be used on its own, to give a starting point for thoughts and reflections. They were taken in different locations at different times of the year, showing both the natural and man-made aspects of the environment, sometimes in close-up, sometimes as a scene. Then there is a word. This word will relate to the photograph either directly or indirectly. However, you have a choice to use the word in conjunction with the photograph or to use the word by itself. Then you’ll find a thesaurus section. This enables you to choose a different word, though usually similar to the main one. It gives variation and subtle nuance in its meaning and expression, and enables you to take a fresh approach to each card many times. Finally, if you click through to read more, there is a piece of writing by myself. This will reflect some of my thoughts on the choice of word and photograph. You are at will to think about these personal thoughts or disregard them altogether.
I hope you will find these “meditation cards” useful and interesting, a change and a stimulus to your times of contemplation and meditation.
Mike Doig
Thesaurus: change, alteration, modification, metamorphosis, sea change, transfiguration, reorganisation, renewal, transmutation, conversion, revolution.
BLUE
Thesaurus: sky-blue, azure, aquamarine, turquoise, indigo, sapphire, navy, ultramarine, cobalt, Prussian blue, cerulean, woad, lapis lazuli, depressed, sad, fed up, honour: Cambridge/Oxford blue, pornographic, erotic, risqué, blue language, blue film, blue blood, blue-stocking.
Thesaurus: lampblack, ivory black, Indian ink, dark, dirty, dismal, foul, malignant, horrible, evil, night, dusky, dark pigmentation, charred, mourning, black-tie, blackout, blacklist, blackmail, black sheep, Black Death, black ice, Black Stone, blackberry, black magic, black economy, black as a tinker’s pot, blackball.
Thesaurus: error, slip, gaffe, blunder, wrong impression, omission, oversight, misunderstand, misjudge, misinterpretation, wrong end of the stick, barking up the wrong tree.
Thesaurus: feel, touch, appearance, finish, surface, pattern, substance.
Thesaurus: fort, stronghold, castle, fastness, citadel, redoubt, bastion.
Thesaurus: motif, design, composition, structure, form, model, example, prototype, decoration, arrangement, uniformity, plan, rule.
Thesaurus: embedded or basal part, foundations, source, beginnings, nub, essence, ancestors, heritage, homeland, community, searches, pokes about, etymology, applaud, encourage, rootstock, bulbs, rhizomes, tubers, corms.
Thesaurus: attempt, try for, pursue, struggle, toil, apply oneself, effort, undertaking, plan, venture, enterprise, application, scheme, project.
Thesaurus: shore, coast, beach, sands, shingle, strand, water’s edge, lido, pleasure ground.
Thesaurus: receptivity, welcome, assent, consent, acquiescence, compliance, compromise, adoption, forbearance, belief, trust, faith, confirmation, undertaking.
Thesaurus: sunshine, lemon, canary, gamboge, cadmium yellow, Naples yellow, yellow ochre, buttercup, daffodil, honey, blonde, flaxen, gild, sallow, unhealthy, jaundice, yellow fever, sulphur, cowardly, yellow streak, yellow-belly, yellow peril, Yellow Pages, yellow lines, yellow flag.
Thesaurus: might, strength, energy, ability, capacity, potential, authority, control, forcefulness, capacity, influence, charisma, vigour, competence, eloquence, dominance, mastery, nation, grunt.
Thesaurus: stop, danger, alizarin, scarlet, crimson, burgundy, vermilion, carmine, madder, cerise, rose, dragon’s blood, ruby, garnet, cochineal, hot, angry, blush, ruddy, bloodshot, ginger, red herring, Communist, red card, red tape, red-light district, Red Cross, red carpet, redneck, in the red, red blooded, red ensign.
Thesaurus: courtesy, respect, benevolence, quid pro quo, thoughtfulness, caring, taking into account, attention, estimate, reward.
Thesaurus: patience, acceptance, passive consent, broadmindedness, open-mindedness, liberality, sufferance, forbearance, calmness, understanding, endurance, forgiveness, variation.
Thesaurus: refuge, asylum, retreat, temple, dwelling, sanctuary, haven, protect, defend, safeguard, cover, shield, screen, secret place.
Thesaurus: viaduct, aqueduct, flyover, overpass, link, connection, bond, cross, span, arch over, join, straddle, connect, unite, reconcile.
Thesaurus: path, trail, track, passage, direction, course, approach, strategy, sequence of changes or events, progression.
Thesaurus: House of God, holy place, church, mosque, synagogue, shrine, sanctuary, cathedral, place of worship, forehead, brow.
Thesaurus: bright, happy, bullion, gold bar, coin, solid gold, gold reserve, winner, first, gold medal, gold star, golden boy/girl, crock of gold, golden oldie, gold standard, golden wedding, golden mean, gold digger, golden age, Golden Fleece, golden touch, golden handshake, golden calf, golden hello, good as gold.
Thesaurus: decomposition, breakdown, erosion, crumble, decline, perish, rot, deteriorate, go to pot.
Thesaurus: emerald, jade, viridian, lime, moss, mint, olive, avocado, pea- green, bottle-green, Lincoln green, sea-green, chartreuse, loden, vert, chlorophyll, unripe, immature, inexperienced, gullible, pale sickly, envy, jealousy, grassy, verdant, supple, pliable, ecological, environmental, village green, Green Party, green fingers, green light, go, Green Man, Green Beret.
Thesaurus: knowing, awareness, warning, moral sense, ethics, principles, beliefs, innermost thought, inner voice, sense of right and wrong, scruples, fairness, ‘still small voice’, prisoner of conscience, conscientious objector.
Thesaurus: foremost part, face, façade, exterior, foreground, foreword, prelude, front line, battleground, leading position, priority, vanguard, pioneer, avant-garde, demeanor, public face, cover, disguise, smokescreen, part facing the sea, weather front.
Thesaurus: demise, passing, eternal rest, extinction, destruction, decay, end, non-existence, obliteration, elimination, the Grim Reaper.
Thesaurus: building, putting up, establishment, erection, assembly, arrangement, structure, creation, composition, fabrication, interpretation, meaning.
Thesaurus: blackness, night, pitch black, murk, gloom, dusk, twilight, gloaming, mysterious, obscure, unsure, unsafe, shadow, evil, wickedness, iniquity, immorality.
Thesaurus: proportional view, vista, distance, depth, convergent view, outlook, interpretation, stance, approach, aspect, relative position, frame of reference, spatial distribution, in ratio.
Thesaurus: citrus fruit, Seville, navel orange, clementine, mandarin, tangerine, Mars orange, cadmium orange, old gold, marmalade, orangery, orange juice, orangeade, Orange Order, House of Orange.
Thesaurus: past, bygone days, olden times, antiquity, days of yore, chronicle, record, account, archive, background, life story.
Thesaurus: hedgehog, sea-urchin, hunchback, elf or imp, mischievous child, waif, rascal, whippersnapper, ragamuffin, mudlark, nipper, little monkey.
Thesaurus: Payne’s grey, gunmetal, slate, colourless, neutral, drab, cold, somber, murky, ashen, ambiguous, dull, overcast, tedious, monotonous, boring, unremarkable, the Greys, grey hair, pepper and salt, greyhound, grey economy, Grey Friar.
Thesaurus: flake white, titanium white, zinc white, Chinese white, bleach, pale, white as a sheet, albino, pure, moral, virginal, innocent, snow, chalk, marble, ivory, milky, Caucasian, fresh, spotless, White House, white stick, white hot, white feather, white elephant, white noise, white flag, white magic, white lie, White Paper, White Ensign, white goods, whitewash.
Thesaurus: substantial, real, solid, tangible, definite, physical, material, visible, firm, positive, genuine, bona fide, specific.
Thesaurus: empty, void, extract, remove, filter, evacuate, cleanse, draw off, eliminate, clearance, flow, bleed, deplete, exhaust, fatigue, sink, ditch, gutter, sewer.
Thesaurus: H2O, Adam’s ale, river, sea, ocean, lake, steam, ice, rain, snow, wet, moisten, sprinkle, irrigate, saturate, hydrate, dilute, moderate, weaken, water down.
Thesaurus: cold, freezing, ice crystals, rime, hoarfrost, ground frost, verglas, Jack Frost, frostbite, make opaque, frosted glass, stiffness, coldness, unfriendly.
Thesaurus: monument, cenotaph, plaque, cairn, shine, mausoleum, tribute, remembrance, gravestone, memento, commemoration.
Thesaurus: safeguard, preservation, defence, loving care, conservation, guardianship, screen, restriction, insurance, precaution, cover, armour, shelter, barrier.
Thesaurus: quiescence, motionlessness, passivity, placid, repose, silence, hush, peacefulness, calm, at rest, unstirring, inactive, stationary, serene, undisturbed, tranquility.
Thesaurus: mirror image, likeness, refraction, shine, glisten, hindsight, thoughtfulness, symbolic, observation.
Thesaurus: bistre, sepia, ochre, raw and burnt sienna, raw and burnt umber, Vandyke brown, tobacco, chocolate, toffee, hazel, mahogany, walnut, brunette, sear, singe, toasted, swarthy, suntan, brown as a berry, Brown Owl, Brownie, Brownshirt, browned off, brown fat, brown bread, brown rice.
Thesaurus: port, marina, haven, waterfront, anchorage, shelter, place of safety, sanctuary, accommodate, shield, protect, nurse, cling to.
Thesaurus: precipice, rock face, bluff, escarpment, scar, scarp, steep, crag, ridge, stack, overhang, gorge, ravine.
Thesaurus: graveyard, burial ground, necropolis, churchyard, catacombs, boneyard, God’s Acre, garden of rest or remembrance.
Thesaurus: waste, refuse, trash, spoilage, debris, litter, junk, garbage, flotsam and jetsam, criticise, find fault, disparage, besmirch, nonsense, claptrap, drivel, gobbledegook, twaddle, boloney.
Thesaurus: personality, temperament, nature, mentality, reputation, type, sort, essence, quality, integrity, identity, spirit, uniqueness, trait, non-conformist, eccentric, theatrical part, letter, sign, symbol, figure.
Thesaurus: stability, equilibrium, steadiness, impartiality, fairness, symmetry, counteract, residue, compare, scales.
Thesaurus: sustain, strengthen, endorse, validate, reinforce, maintain, assist, hearten, champion, brace, underpinning, look after.
Thesaurus: relax, ease, take a break, holiday, interval, breathing space, halt, unwind, recharge one’s batteries, support, repose, sleep, snooze, depend, be positioned, remainder, residue, surplus.
Thesaurus: signature, seal, mark, emblem, cipher, endorse, portent, miracle, omen, indication, warning, signal, foghorn, siren, gesture, wink, gesticulate, recruit, hire, enlist.