Mandalas For thousands of years spiritual practitioners have created mandalas as an expression of what they hold sacred & often use circles in ritual & art making for the purpose of transcendence, mindfulness & wellbeing. Mandalas often start with a circle. For this mandala there are no rules – it can become a landscape, a pattern, a series of written words, or anything else. Breathe gently, feel your breath coming in & going out, perhaps close your eyes, or look downward in a focused & gentle way. Imagine what symbol will be at the center of your mandala. What colors will it be? Once some ideas have emerged in your mind, begin to put them onto your paper, know that your project may change. Things to try: Turning the mandala as you work on it. Thinking of your mandala as sacred & working consciously from a quiet place inside yourself that contains your goodness & compassion. Tracing your hand, making a heart, using lines & squares, drawing a leaf, a flower or a spiral central in the mandala & / or try starting with a large circle or oval outline.
Many mandalas are composed of radiating lines that draw your eye inward and back outward. Adapted from www.14secretsforahappyartistslife.blogspot.com, Images: top row, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mandala_21svg 44, 19, 52, 13 bottom row second from left http://mandalahealing.com/shri_yantra_mandala.htm