March 4, 2010
Mandala Madness…Self-Discovery is just a colored pencil away
I’m fascinated by the concept of mandalas and, no, I’m not talking about the former president of South Africa, Nelson ManDELA, but rather an archetypal image of the soul, ManDALA.
Even though it sounds very high falutin’, a mandala actually looks sort of like one of those splatter-paint art things we used to create at amusement parks, convincing ourselves we were the next Jackson Pollocks.
Here’s the goods on the meaning of the word, MANDALA:
Mandala (noun)
man·da·la[ mándələ ]
DEFINITION:
1. Buddhist or Hindu symbol: in Buddhism and Hinduism, a geometric or pictorial design usually enclosed in a circle, representing the entire universe and used in meditation and ritual.
2. Symbol representing self: in Jungian psychology, a symbol representing the self and inner harmony.
Mandalas are part of a meditative experience that leads to self-discovery and if that “self-discovery” thing doesn’t scare you, then you either:
a) have not embarked upon the aforementioned self-discovery yet;
OR
b) you are in the midst of self-discovery which has anesthetized you to feeling any further pain.
This blog of mine is nothing, if not about self-discovery, and so I’m going to follow through with something I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time which would be coloring in my own mandala…or seven. I even just purchased some nifty colored pencils that turn into just-add-water paints, so that was some discovery right there!
If you’re interested, you can make your own mandala and you’ll be amazed how many websites offer free mandalas already designed, as well as instructions on how to make your own. Why not print out and complete one and see what comes of the process? Perhaps you’re intrigued by this whole deal, like I am, so here are two websites that have lots of mandala offerings:
Click and pick:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/mandala_coloring_pages.htm
I’ve included this French website because their mandalas are so doggoned creative:
http://mandalaz.free.fr/fr/mandalas_grands.html
Okay, in the immortal words of a legendary band that I love, Chicago, I’m going to go and, “Color My World!”
I’m fascinated by the concept of mandalas and, no, I’m not talking about the former president of South Africa, Nelson ManDELA, but rather an archetypal image of the soul, ManDALA.
Even though it sounds very high falutin’, a mandala actually looks sort of like one of those splatter-paint art things we used to create at amusement parks, convincing ourselves we were the next Jackson Pollocks.
Here’s the goods on the meaning of the word, MANDALA:
Mandala (noun)
man·da·la[ mándələ ]
DEFINITION:
1. Buddhist or Hindu symbol: in Buddhism and Hinduism, a geometric or pictorial design usually enclosed in a circle, representing the entire universe and used in meditation and ritual.
2. Symbol representing self: in Jungian psychology, a symbol representing the self and inner harmony.
Mandalas are part of a meditative experience that leads to self-discovery and if that “self-discovery” thing doesn’t scare you, then you either:
a) have not embarked upon the aforementioned self-discovery yet;
OR
b) you are in the midst of self-discovery which has anesthetized you to feeling any further pain.
This blog of mine is nothing, if not about self-discovery, and so I’m going to follow through with something I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time which would be coloring in my own mandala…or seven. I even just purchased some nifty colored pencils that turn into just-add-water paints, so that was some discovery right there!
If you’re interested, you can make your own mandala and you’ll be amazed how many websites offer free mandalas already designed, as well as instructions on how to make your own. Why not print out and complete one and see what comes of the process? Perhaps you’re intrigued by this whole deal, like I am, so here are two websites that have lots of mandala offerings:
Click and pick:
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/mandala_coloring_pages.htm
I’ve included this French website because their mandalas are so doggoned creative:
http://mandalaz.free.fr/fr/mandalas_grands.html
Okay, in the immortal words of a legendary band that I love, Chicago, I’m going to go and, “Color My World!”
this is very cool, thank you for the article!
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