The Space Between
Most of the time, thoughts move through the mind so fast they’re pressed right up against each other, one starting before the last one has even finished. There’s no space in between them. That’s why we walk into doorframes, forget why we entered a room, miss what someone just said to us. The mind is too compressed to notice anything clearly, including itself.
Sketch Stretching works with four simple levels, Contact, Connections, Feelings, and Unity, each one stretching a little more space open between the thoughts, so that what’s moving through the mind slows down enough to actually catch.
Here’s how it works, using the word “stretching” itself as the example.
Contact: what does stretching bring to mind, first thought. Pizza dough. Taffy. Your body waking up.
Connections: stretching out to reach other people, extending your contacts, touching more of the world around you.
Feelings: like a massage, stretching relaxes the body, and it starts to feel more open, warm, at ease.
Unity: stretching opens more space, and in that space everything feels equal, unlimited, this is equanimity.
At each level, something passes through the mind, an image, a feeling, a fragment. Sketch Stretching is the practice of catching that passing impression and setting it down on paper, not a full drawing of it, more like a book cover or a movie poster, one image standing in for what was there. You’re not trying to force an epiphany at any level. You’re just catching the sketch each time. Do this enough, level after level, and the sketches themselves start to open into something larger.
This workshop walks you through the four levels using meditation, light body awareness, and short sketching rounds. No yoga mat, no drawing experience needed. Just a willingness to slow down enough to see what’s actually moving through your mind.
Spiritual Gravity 