by atmara | Sep 29, 2014 | Healing, Mandala Monday, Mandalas
Whenever I feel that I need to bring balance back into my life I turn to my medicine work – I like to go right to ceremony. In the Inka Tradition we have a word – Ayni – which means balance – not just balance in ourselves but balance within every area of our existence – with all of our relations.
Here is a simple ceremony that anyone can do to assist in bringing back balance into your life – a medicine mandala:
Go out onto the land where you live – collect a bunch of natural materials – stones, sticks, flowers, or other plant or natural material.
Open sacred space by saluting the four directions South West North and East (this is the order that we go in my medicine tradition – North American tradition starts in the East – where you start is not as important as the intent to call forth the forces of the four directions to assist you in your medicine work) and calling upon both Mother Earth and Father Sky or Sun to assist you in your balancing work.
Create a circle of any size. Place into the circle several stones – each representing an aspect of your life – proportionately sized to how much of your time and energy this aspect is consuming – some examples are intimate relationships, family, children, friends, career, community service, personal time, education, etc. Use your breath to blow that aspect into the stone. When you have all of the aspects of your life outpictured and are complete with this exercise see which aspects are the “BIG” rocks and which ones are the “teenie tiny” rocks (this is most often personal time!!).
Now sit with your “current reality” picture and allow it to inform you. When you feel as if the awareness that you need has been received by you pick one aspect that you’d like to change and replace that stone with a larger or smaller stone – notice how the picture and the energy shifts for you. Each day for 7 days you are invited to go to your medicine mandala and re-arrange your “reality” picture – replacing some of the larger stones with smaller ones and some of the smaller stones with larger ones until you have by the end of the week created a more balanced picture of “what do I want instead”.
Mother Earth and all of the forces of Nature will be assisting you in shifting at the energetic level whatever needs to be released in order for you to come into greater balance and you may, over the course of this exercise, surface hidden emotions, old subconscious beliefs, thoughtforms or patterns of conditioned behavior that you weren’t even aware of for transmutation and release from your energetic field. You may even desire to get some additional assistance in the form of energy work, body work or talk therapy to facilitate clearing whatever surfaces.
Your intention as you go about this work is very important – you are creating the intention for balance and asking all of the forces of Nature to assist you in this work at a deeply energetic level. At the end of your week – dismantle the mandala – scattering the materials that you used in a way that leaves the land cleared as if nothing had ever happened there. You may if you wish take anything burnable and have a little fire – a final cleanse and releasing that is really powerful. Be sure to “close” the four directions – thanking the forces of nature and Mother Earth and Father Sky for assisting you in this work. I’d also suggest that you journal your experience and continue to journal beyond the experience so that you will be able to have a written record of the shifts that you instigated through this process. With clear intent, sacred ceremony, connection with Nature and a desire for true balance this little practice packs a powerful punch – before you know it all that was keeping you trapped in an imbalanced state is unleashed and you will find yourself enjoying a greater sense of personal balance and control over your own life and destiny.
About the Author
Amethyst Wyldfyre
In order to be successful in your business and empowered as a messenger you must feel safe speaking your authentic truth and able to powerfully & courageously present your point of view to the world. Please visit our website for a complimentary report – 3 Simple Secrets to Feel Safe Speaking When You Are Called to Be A Messenger: http://www.theempoweredmessenger.com Prepare to be Heard By Millions!
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by atmara | Sep 25, 2014 | Healing, Inspiration, Science, TED Talks, Video
According to ted.com: “In 2011 three young women swept the top prizes of the first Google Science Fair. Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose and Naomi Shah describe their extraordinary projects — and their route to a passion for science. (Filmed at TEDxWomen.)”
“Lauren Hodge won the 2011 Google Science Fair in the age 13-14 category. Shree Bose was the grand prize winner at the 2011 Google Science Fair. Naomi Shah won the 2011 Google Science Fair in the age 15-16 category.”
Enjoy these very smart young women: Lauren Hodge, Shree Bose, Naomi Shah.
For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com: “TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”
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by atmara | Jun 30, 2014 | Art, Healing, Mandala Monday, Mandalas, Meditation
Mandala healing is not one of the most well known forms of alternative healing. However, the integration of a mandala image into a meditation session can certainly boost the effectiveness of the process. That is why the concept of mandala healing deserves a closer look.
Meditation has long since been used as a means of promoting proper restorative mental health benefits. When a person meditates, it becomes possible to calm and relax the mind. This can put an end to much of the psychic noise that is present within the deep recesses of the mind. Now, this is not to say that meditation alone will cure all mental and emotional ills one may possess. Yet, it can definitely help in many regards towards calming the mind and allowing the healing process to take place.
Some may have certain preconceived notions as to how meditation is performed. They will often look at meditation from the traditional perspective of performance in the Zazen position. While this is most definitely a helpful means in which to perform meditation, there are various other ways meditation can be performed effectively. For example, walking and moving meditation is quite popular and so are two-person meditative drills as well. Then, there is also the lesser known process of integrating mandala healing into the process of meditation.
In traditional Zen meditation practices, koans are used to enhance the meditation process. Koans are parables without clear meanings that are meant to be pondered. With mandala healing, a painting or other artistic image or symbol is what is to be pondered upon.
What exactly is a mandala and how is it possible to integrate its symbolism with mandala healing? It is a circular diagram that originated in Hinduism and has found its way into Zen Buddhism. In time, the mandala was heavily integrated into tantra meditation practices. In the most simplistic terms this involves looking into the imagery and outside of the natural world. In essence, you will look beyond yourself and into the mandala to fully maximize your meditative experience.
So, where can you acquire a mandala? This is the fun part: you can make one yourself. No, that does not mean you need to be the most talented artist in the world or even possess a modicum of artistic skills. You simply need to have the basic ability to craft a decent mandala based on words and symbols that are meaningful to you.
When you meditate upon mandala imagery that you have created, you will be doing so in a highly personal manner. That will allow the mandala healing process to achieve its highest level of perfection since it has been deliberately tailored to your specific needs and goals. This will greatly enhance the entire meditation process and make it far more effective.
Try out Mandala healing by creating a simple circle and filling it with a word or basic symbol that has meaning to you. Color it in with your favorite colors, taking time to enjoy this creative process. Then when its done, tape it the the wall, sit comfortably and meditate on your new mandala for 15 minutes. You will find yourself feeling refreshed and calm and thats what mandala healing is all about.
Cat Williams is a freelance writer and advocate of mandala healing. To find more info on the benefits of mandalas, go to her website at Internet Marketing For Newbies Review.com.
Article courtesy of GoArticles.com
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