Mandala is Sanskrit for essence, and for containing - they come from Buddhist and Hindu spiritual practices and operate as a spiritual teaching tool inducing a trance state. In the modern world they were also studied by Carl Jung as a means for creating a window into the inner dialogue of the soul.This all makes mandalas sound rather hard and unreachable, but in fact anyone can make them, and after practicing with a few, I think perhaps everyone should. Wouldn't we be happier at work if we spent a few minutes each day drawing these wonderful shapes and then just coloring them in? If I ever run the world, that's just what we'll be doing!
Mandalas are also the feature of this month's Soul Journaling prompt - so I thought I'd show you a couple of mine, and then encourage you to visit the Soul Journaling homepage, maybe even join the group - and start this addicting and enlightening art form for yourself.
I think that mine both have an "under the sea" sort of theme, which is not surprising as (and I wouldn't have ever noticed this before keeping all my art in the same journal) I have a water theme going on in pretty much all my art. I think it's because my moon sign is Scorpio (the crazy water sign!) which is representative of your inner self - the one you don't reveal to the outer world.
What does your art reveal about your inner world? I find it to be a dialogue with the page, and the muse to reveal things that are sometimes even hidden in your conscious mind. I'd love to be an art therapist one day.
8 comments:
I do lots of Zentangles which seem to have the same kind of calming effect that Mandalas do so I know what you mean about how they should be mandatory in work environments. When I am Queen, they will be. *smile*
Yours are beautiful! I need to try the Mandala style with my Zentangles (kind of inter-mix the two) and see what surfaces.
Peace & Love,
♥ Barb ♥
These are especially beautiful. Kind of a zentangle on steroids effect. Just love it!
Best-
Ingrid
Jane these are beautiful mandalas. The colors are reminiscent of the sea. Your description of the mandalas is so inviting and makes it all so accessible.
Thanks for playing. I'm happy to welcome you to the mandala mama club!
{soul hugs}
k
I just love the mandalas you created. It's interesting that your water theme has carried through prety much your entire journal (and I'm sure it will show up in the next one). It's also remarkable that it appears in different forms throughout (meaning you aren't just drawing the same thing again and again - the water theme often appears to be almost "coincidence" when you are done with a page). Thank you for sharing!
I love the combination of black on top of soft colors...these really sing...
I really love the colours in these. hey are so pretty.
love the colors & textures of your mandalas...excellent post on the subject
hi Jane - Today I took a mandala workshop with author and art therapist, Susanne Fincher. You might enjoy studying with her. She is in Atlanta.
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