The Mandala is an art form, which has survived both the centuries and the preferences of almost every culture since time began. They have been discovered drawn in the transient medium of sand, carved in everlasting stone and painted with exquisite reverence on almost every other surface that you can imagine.
Whether you hold them in your hands or walk the Mandala-like labyrinths found on the floors of some churches, Mandala’s act as meditative tools, which can either take you outwards and upwards to the heady world of spiritual experience or inwards towards quiet contemplation of the inner self.
For many years now, in my spiritual development classes, my students and I have used painted mandalas as an aid to meditation, although surprisingly enough, the actual act of creating one of these little works of art has proved to be just as therapeutic as meditating upon them.
The traditional shape of the Mandala is circular but, although the circle is often surrounded by or decorated with, highly symbolic shapes and patterns, it is the magical energy created by the Mandala’s outer circle and the sacred nature of the inner space that it encloses, that makes it such a powerful tool for manifestation as well as meditation.
So with manifestation in mind it occurred to me one day, that the Mandala would be the perfect vehicle with which to create a painted, symbolic affirmation. I was teaching a very disadvantaged group at the time and I thought that they could look upon it as a sort of visual prayer or statement with which they could work each day to inform the universe of what they needed so badly in their lives.
So after discussing at some length the emotional vibration of colours and the symbolism that we could use to represent the qualities, and even the physical objects that we wished to bring into our lives, my class set about preparing their affirmation – Mandalas. You could have heard a pin drop in that class as each student put into their art work not only their artistic skills, but their heartfelt yearnings for abundance, love, companionship and a mass of more practical objects such as cars, homes and holidays. They worked so hard and with such intent that I wasn’t really surprised when one by one, in the coming weeks, they would come in and say “Guess what happened today?” and then go on to describe how something on their Mandala “wish list” had suddenly manifested in their lives.
The term eventually came to an end and it was some months later that the real proof of the enormous power of the Mandala came to light. I was standing in line waiting for my coffee at break time, when one of my old class came rushing up to me. When I say “rushing”, she was very heavily pregnant at the time, but the new baby proved to be about the only thing that had not been in her Mandala. She told me how she had been living in a refuge at the time of the Mandala class, separated from one of her children and very unhappy. So she had quite literally drawn a new home, the son that she was separated from, a little pile of money and for good measure, a new man, a car and an aeroplane to represent a holiday.
The week after the .andala class the council had moved her out of the refuge and into a new house where she could also be reunited with her son. The new man (with the finances) arrived soon after that, and the car and the holiday were a natural outcome of the new partnership. Even I was shaken by that, but I have kept the Mandala lesson in my spiritual development course ever since and believe me, the miracles still go on happening!
HOW TO MAKE A MANDALA
To make a Mandela all you need is some paper, some crayons, pencils or paints and some time when you can be quiet and uninterrupted.
Take a piece of the paper and a large dinner plate and draw around it to make a circle. The colour red is full of energy, so you might wish to draw the circle in red to give extra energy to your wishes and dreams.
Now sit quietly for a while with your eyes closed and think about what you want to invite into your life most of all. This could be a general atmosphere like peace or love or you might wish to become more creative or adventurous. It could be something far more solid like a person or a home but, whatever it is, draw it squarely in the middle of the circle, either in symbolic or abstract form or as a straightforward drawing. Don’t worry if you can’t draw well, the Universe is not going to make any judgements upon your artistic merits.
As you make your drawing really focus upon it and think what life would be like if that particular dream manifested in your life.
Go back to your mediation with your eyes closed again and think about what else you would like. It might be connected to your original dream or it may be something completely different. When you are ready, place that in the circle too and once again draw with the intent that you really will bring this wish into your life.
You may add as many wishes and dreams to your Mandela as you like, but each time, give it some thought, and place it in the enchanted circle with real purpose. Think too about the pleasing effect that you are creating artistically. Pleasing to you that is, not to anyone else!!
Put in all the colours that you like and also that you associate with the various themes of your Mandala. You may also want to decorate the spaces in between the objects or around the edge of the circle. Try to become entirely engrossed with your task and don’t stop until you are satisfied that you have let out all your heart’s yearnings.
This is a task that you might want to share with a friend, but ideally it is something that is best done alone and then kept to yourself. If you are sensitive to energy you will find that if you hold your left hand a few inches above the Mandala, when it is finished, your hand will get quite tingly or warm. Such is the power of the Mandela!
To work with the Mandela and keep your dreams alive, you might wish to meditate with it on your lap or between your hands. Some people even sit on their Mandala’s while they are meditating but, whichever way you choose to work with it, just keep meditating with it and sending the messages that you have encoded within it out to the Universe and then what ever is meant to be, will surely be.
By Heather Golding\
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