Spring Equinox Year 2012 (RePost)

Above is a Mandala I created to honor the time of the Spring Equinox.  As well, I was moved to participate in a Full Moon Ceremony in the mountains where I live.  Along with a circle of others present, in a clearing, we chanted and faced each of the Four Directions to invite and connect with our Ancestors.  The full, very bright moon shone down on us as the sky became dark. The fire blazed at the center.  We released things felt to be no longer useful or beneficial and we sent out Intention for what we now wished to manifest.  The tall, thick pine trees cast their outline against the sky on the encircling ridge above.

A wonderful time was had by all.  Ho!

The Native American Culture says --

o  The Earth is our Mother; Care for Her
o   Honor all your Relations
o   Open your Heart and Soul to the Great Spirit
o   All Life is sacred; Treat all beings with respect
o   Take from the Earth what is needed and nothing more
o   Do what needs to be done for the good of all
o   Give constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each day
o   Speak the Truth but only for the good in others
o   Follow the rhythms of Nature
o   Enjoy Life's journey but leave no tracks

Meet you here again soon...♥ ♥ ♥

ENVISION YOUR FUTURE IN THIS NEW YEAR (RePost from January 2013)

Happy New Year to you!  I’ve experienced a really wonderful and fulfilling ending to Year 2012.  These past Fall season months have been filled with celebration and breakthroughs as well as quiet and contemplation.  The year has also presented its terrible tragedies and disasters in the world.  Yet, by grace here we are. 

 

Meeting various challenges with acceptance instead of resistance has kept me on course with my hearts path.  It is amazing how much inner space we can create to expand and hold what the universe sends to us.  As I take a quick look back I am deeply grateful for the friends and forces that have helped guide me.

Living my life more fully in alignment seems to have been an important personal theme of mine.  To me this means living with Awareness (of my thoughts and actions), living with Intention (to stay heart based in my interactions with others), and living in Integrity (speaking and acting according to my core values). It is choosing to live more consciously.

It might sound like a bit of spiritual ‘work’ but, it isn’t really work.  It’s my path – my dharma -and I recognize that it rises of itself.   Sometimes this involves releasing while at other times, greeting something new.  Change.  It’s never a completely black or white thing.  Life is a collection of moments and it moves along in stages of new understanding through experience. We are led along to insights that at times emerge as a new chapter, a fresh start.

At year end I was moved to draw a mandala, pictured above.  Though simple in appearance, for me it symbolizes my hopes and intentions for the coming year.  In a way, it’s my prayer.  Whatever I accomplish in the world, for myself or for others, let it be from the Heart!   Let me release any fear-based illusion of separateness and act in awareness and acknowledgement of the great connection to Source we all share.  Let me be blessed to see - and own - my mistakes and carry forward on a good path knowing I have learned the lesson and received the gift of the experience.   And, simply, let me be more kind.

What fresh Intentions might you have for the coming year? How might that translate for you?  Ask, how will I express it?  What has meaning for you?  Ask, what constitutes feeling Alive - for YOU?  It’s important to realize that in asking such questions of ourselves we are also asking them for others.  As we move to manifest our personal Intentions we encourage others to do the same.  We can find ourselves led to a time of rich personal growth, creativity and friendship.  There is valuable commonality in connecting those threads.  

All Blessings on your journey……….NAMASTE 

What is a Mandala? (RePost from June 2013)

 
Many people ask this question.  And, once a mandala is described, most people smile and say “Oh yes, right…..I used to do those when I was a kid.” 

The Sanskrit word Mandala means ‘circle’.  The mandala is often referred to as a ‘Sacred Circle’.  It is a symbol of wholeness and is complete within itself.  A mandala contains and depicts many things depending upon its origins and purpose.  Old established religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Jewish, Hinduism and even many indigenous cultures create beautiful, intricate circle mandalas shaped in crystal, glass, painted on wood, using stones or other art medium and even weaving their designs with colored thread.  We can see large glass mandalas imbedded in Church walls to catch the light, or gorgeous, intricate and richly colored depictions of the various gods and goddesses of the Hindu religious beliefs painted on walls or framed and often embroidered on cloth. 

Many of us are familiar with the beautiful colored sand mandalas created by the Tibetan Monks who work for many days and then allow the sand design to be blown away or scattered - a dissolving of the mandala - to demonstrate their belief in non-attachment and cultivate a willingness to let go.  Sand mandalas are also created by Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples to form a healing circle for an individual, family or tribe. (See above Huichol mandala weaving)

Through his self-analysis and his work with patients the great Psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, made many discoveries about the human psyche.  Particularly through discussion of dreams plus drawings, he was able to learn that symbols reside deep in our psyche, many of them being universal archetypes.  These dream-symbols often emerge as geometric forms such as circles or triangles.  Sometimes a mandala comes in the form of a square or rectangle.  They are often rich in color and when drawn, they can appear as scenes within a circle.

Perhaps you have seen the mandalas known as Yantras.  (See above green symbol for heart chakra) A Yantra is a very specific shape within a circle, usually geometric, such as triangle or square or a series of shapes, each one with its own meaning.  Sometimes it will include the symbol for a particular chakra, a subtle energy center located within the body.  The symbol will have a particular color and will translate into a sound, such as “Om”. 

The mandalas I teach about are mainly personal in nature and created for purposes of focusing on an important intention for ourselves or others.  Perhaps, they are being created to express an idea, feeling or experience that has much meaning for us.  They can also be used for personal healing. Whatever is asking to be expressed, the experience is always about self-discovery.  My own favorites are those I create to honor Mother Nature; trees, water, animal life. I love to create a mandala for each season and sometimes for special holidays or even a very personalized gift for someone.  It is always a joyful, satisfying, and surprising creative pastime. An ‘inner’ voyage one can take with only a pencil and your black paper.

“…When you do things from your soul, you feel a river
moving in you, a joy…” Rumi

♥♥♥