by atmara | Mar 30, 2015 | Art, Creativity, Mandala Coloring, Mandala Monday, Mandalas
One of my most popular posts is Mandala Monday – 10 Links to Creating Your Own Mandalas, so I decided to do some digging and find you more online resources for creating mandalas.
Enjoy Creating Your Own Mandalas!
- How To Draw Mandalas (and why you want to) – Step by step instructions and a video for those who think they can’t draw (and those who know they can) by creativedreamincubator.com
- How to draw Mandalas – Tutorial by Tigers-stock – Step by Step instructions on how to draw a mandala and a number of examples of possible ways to color it as well. (click on the image at this link and it will enlarge into a full page for viewing)
- How & Why To Draw Mandalas – Lovely tutorial about drawing mandalas and being fully present in the moment by Kristen Hedges.
- A little mandala tutorial to play with over the weekend – Sweet blog post on how simple and beautiful making a mandala can be by Rainy.
- Mehndi Inspired Mandala Tutorial – Step by step instructions on drawing a mandala and a variety of examples of mandalas drawn using the methods in this tutorial.
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I look forward to your thoughts and comments!
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by atmara | Jul 7, 2014 | Art, Mandala Coloring, Mandala Monday, Mandalas
Although Mandala designs began as part of a spiritual ritual in Buddhism and Hinduism, it has gained popularity in the western world for use in meditation. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung described it best when he referred to Mandala designs as a “representation of the unconscious self”.
Always in the shape of a circle, Mandala designs symbolize the universe as an orderly, harmonious whole, free from chaos. The main idea of Mandala designs is to help replace the negative energy from your life by focusing your energy on the positive. Creating your own personal Mandala designs can help soothe trauma, and coloring them in with your favorite colors can bring a peaceful state of mind, replacing negative thoughts.
Some find it helpful to write words within the mandala circle, such as Healthy, Kind, Compassionate, etc. It is so easy to slip into a negative mind frame, especially if you are surrounded by negativity on a daily basis. Creating your own Mandala designs and using them as part of a meditation session can bring your mind and soul back into a state of positive love.
For example, you may have suffered the loss of a job and had to settle for a less paying and less prestigious position. That has to sting. You may feel worthless and inadequate, and find your new boss to be a pain. But it is a job and you will get through this. Telling yourself that over and over again may not be enough to overcome the negative feelings. Of course that’s just one scenario that life can throw our way. We face obstacles and let downs on a daily basis. Using mandalas and meditation together is a simple and easy way to regain your positive outlook on life.
You might try working on some mandala designs that use words that focus on the positive aspects of your job. Of use words and imagery in the designs that focus on your future job. Using specific colors will also help creative a more positive state of mind. Bright blue reminds people of strength, yellow means sunny, and lavender is a relaxing, soothing color. Some words you might incorporate into your mandalas are STRONG, GRATEFUL, and SERENE, depending on what you’re meditating on.
There are thousands of mandala designs you can find online if you don’t feel like making your own. There are mandala calendars you can purchase. There are coloring book mandalas, mandala posters, downloadable, printable mandalas, etc. Mandalas are everywhere and for good reason.
Situations occur in life all the time but your ability to deal with them makes all the difference in your spirit and mood, and mandalas can help you get rid stress and negative feelings.
Cat Williams is a freelance writer and advocate of creating your own mandala designs for use in mediation and as a healing tool. To learn more about the benefits of mandalas, see her website at Self-Help-Healing-Arts-Journal.com.
Article courtesy of GoArticles.com
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by atmara | Aug 15, 2011 | Art, Mandala Monday, Mandalas
Mandalas from the Heart of Peace 2 © Atmara Rebecca Cloe
Sanskrit for circle, mandalas have been used since ancient times to help individuals reach enlightenment and an overall sense of completeness. Cultures around the world have used mandalas for religious purposes and they have long been beneficial as a meditation and healing tool. Of course, it only makes sense that mandalas be used as a form of art therapy as well.
Although you may not realize it, mandalas are all around you from elements as small as atoms to large masses like the sun. Mandalas can be represented in literally every circle that has a center.
When used as art therapy, the therapeutic journey of finding one’s center is in the actual creation of the piece, not in the final product as you might expect. Colors and shapes are symbolic to the artist and only the artist can truly understand them. In essence, the creator is represented in the mandala itself. Any feelings, emotions and thoughts that are experienced by the artist along this journey are brought to life in the mandala as it’s being completed.
When mandalas are used in art therapy, the patient always chooses their medium because this is the initial step in their journey. There are no right or wrong choices. It doesn’t matter if paper, canvas, poster board or cardboard is used with water colors, oils, acrylics, markers, pastels or colored pencils, they can all equally be as symbolic as the next.
While the patient is creating their mandala, they should write down the colors that they use as well as how they were feeling or what they were thinking about when they used each color. Soft and hard lines as well as various shapes and images are all symbolic as well. Mandalas never have coincidences or accidents, everything is created for a reason.
The circular center is the most important aspect of a mandala and the only part that you really need to be concerned with during the creation of the piece. When mandalas are used in various cultures and religions, the center is where deities reside. It is important that during the creation of a mandala, you radiate outward from the center, for this is where the heart and soul are construed.
It is essential that while you take your therapeutic mandala journey that you never lose site of yourself, where you have come from and where you hope to arrive. Take the time to enjoy the process and appreciate what you are creating.
There are many benefits to be received by the patient who is using a mandala as art therapy. Their mood will be enhanced to a more positive state, self-improvement levels will rise and there is a significant increase in self-awareness.
Breathing, heart rate and blood pressure become significantly slower as the patient gradually becomes more entranced in their mandala creation journey and they become one with the piece to arrive at their center. Mandalas also offer mental stimulation which is always beneficial for any person, patient or not.
As spiritual transformation and wholeness take over, healing is permitted to take place. This is why mandalas have been used as a beneficial form for therapy since ancient times.
Article by Epouna
www.meaningofmandalas.com
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