The word Mandala originates from the Sanskrit that means center or magic circle. The two main components of the mandala are a circle and a center point.
The circle is a symbol for eternity, a line with no beginning and end. In addition, the circle creates a perimeter, so that which is within the circle is protected and strengthened. The center point symbolizes unity, perfection, Higher Self or the Divine.
The Navajo call this 'the spiritual place of emergence' for sacred imagery.
The circle is a universal symbol. It appears everywhere in nature that we chose to look: sun, moon, rings on a tree trunk, in a bird's nest or a lotus flower. It can be found in the iris of the eye or in the cells of the body. These are portals to the greater world, the unseen the Divine.
Mandalas are a part of many spiritual traditions around the world. A major part of most eastern religious traditions,
mandalas take the viewer into the mysteries of the mind in a wordless meditation.
Usually in Buddhist traditions, the circle is enclosed with a deity at each corner, by absorbing the Deities into the unconscious mind, the viewer can shift their focus from the distractions of the outside world into self awareness, love and healing.
C.G. Jung the famous Swiss Psychologist instituted the use of mandalas in Western Europe as tools for integrating the psyche and accessing the unconscious. He believed that by putting personal symbols in the circle, the mandala itself had healing properties.
In Native American tradition, sand mandalas are used for healing and teaching about life and community.
In the realm of healing and holistic medicine, mandalas are powerful forms of transformation and integration. They can express anger, pain, grief, and sorrow all within the safe and sacred experience.
Mandalas can show us where we have been and where we are going. The process of creating is
transformative in itself.
The process of viewing can take us deeper into ourselves, creating profound changes.
According to David Fontana, PhD. Author of Learn to Meditate.
'Their images speak directly to the unconscious, producing an experience of profound harmony and a mystical sense of oneness with the spiritual forces that they represent.'
In recent years, Mandalas have been used to enhance Western medical practices.
Linda Cornell, PhD., has been using this work to help people in physical crisis create symbolic healing. She used this in combination with traditional medicine when dealing with her own cancer -
'Combining these methods proved quite successful. I felt happy that I had taken sensible responsibility for my part in the cure while working in tandem with established medicine.'
A number of years ago I participated in one of her workshops, I was personally amazed and in awe at the healing that came through.
One of my favorite exercises tapped into our own ability to heal, to be conduits of Divine Light.
Mandala:
Ancient Traditions
for Peace and Healing