Mandala Monday – Native American Mandalas Guest Post by Epouna

by | Aug 1, 2011 | Art, Mandala Monday, Mandalas

The mandala can symbolize a variety of things including a sacred circle, the creation of a journey and it can even be used for healing, depending on the user. Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle, it not only introduces you to your personal life’s circle but that of the universe as well. The great mandala can be found in various cultures, just as tribes throughout the planet make use of Native American mandalas in their own rituals.

While you may assume that the Tibetan mandala was the first variety ever created, the mandala from the Shaman in Native American culture is far more ancient. The center is the circle’s healing power while the four points of the circle are said to represent direction and form the sacred hoop. The Native American medicine wheel provides a good example of this.


The medicine wheel offers a link to the mind, just as any other type of mandala does. There are left, right, front, center and rear ?lobes? that act as sections as if corresponding to a map of the human brain. Each point on the medicine wheel and the great mandala correspond with specific points in the mind to provide senses of sacredness, belonging, hope and strength.

The Native American mandala is often referred to as Nagual or Tonal, the Circle of Existence for good reason. The center is meant to house the user’s superconscious mind while the outer circle houses the conscious, also known as the surface mind. This is followed by four additional circles which must be viewed before the center is reached. These four circles include unconscious (auto drive), subconscious (magical), subjective (databank) and editor and censor. It is all of these elements in your surface mind that handles your daily experiences.

You may be familiar with the dream catcher, a very popular form of Native American mandalas. These were originally created by the Ojibwa Tribe to ward off nightmares of their children by hanging them over their beds. The web would entangle the bad dreams throughout the night which would disappear before daylight. Just as the Native American mandala has four directional points, so can the dream catcher.

Sand paintings are another form of Native American mandalas. Constructed with precision, this free-form variety draws the user into its center. However, perfection is vital, if any flaws exist, the mandala can no longer be used. Once sand paintings have been appreciated, it is tradition that they are washed away in a body of water.

It is suggested that the dance shield associated with the Plains tribe’s is the ancestor to the Native American mandala. The dance shield has always been a sacred instrument used for protection, long life, survival and spiritual blessings.

The Circle of Life and Mother Earth are regarded with the highest level of respect by Native Americans, similar to many other cultures. The mandala can provide a clearness of the spirit when used in meditation as the center circle is focused on to help complete one’s journey

Article by Epouna
www.meaningofmandalas.com

Images from Wikimedia Commons

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I look forward to your thoughts and comments!

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Mandala Monday – An Interview with Atmara by Nine Tomatoes

by | Jun 6, 2011 | Art, Creativity, Mandala Monday, Mandalas

This interview originally appeared on Nine Tomatoes blog on February 18, 2010. Nine Tomatoes is owned by mandala artist Dana Weekley.

Nine Tomatoes: How did mandalas become a part of your life?

Atmara: I started creating digital art in 1996. The first few years I was creating more figurative visionary art. I can’t remember what gave me the idea to try making some mandalas, but in 1999 I created a set of 12. Gradually I was drawn to create more and more. Now I do them almost exclusively. I also create personal mandalas which you can read about on my website. Recently I’ve started creating video mandalas, which are quickly becoming my main passion. There are examples of these on my Youtube channel.

I would say the mandalas called me to create them, rather than me deciding to create them. Every piece of art is a “living being” in my experience, and they create themselves through me. I don’t really know how it all works, but I love being used in this way by the Universe.

 

Mandala 3 © Atmara Rebecca Cloe

Mandala 3 © Atmara Rebecca Cloe

Nine Tomatoes: Describe your creative process.

Atmara: When I get the urge to create a mandala I first create kaleidoscope images, using software designed for that purpose, of pictures that I am drawn to energetically. I’m pretty much guided intuitively in the whole process. Then I take 2 or 3 of these kaleidoscope images and combined them in Photoshop. Each is a separate layer in Photoshop and I blend them together with different blending modes, play with filters, color adjustment, etc. I just play. Eventually something will gel and I know the piece is finished. I never know when I start out what a mandala will look like when I’m finished. I just let the ideas of how to play with the images flow through me and eventually I recognize that the image is done, both visually and energetically.

 

Healing Mandala 6 © Atmara Rebecca Cloe

Mandalas of Healing & Awakening, No. 6 © Atmara Rebecca Cloe

Nine Tomatoes: How has creating mandalas affected your life – artistically, spiritually, psychically, and emotionally?

Atmara: Well, they certainly bring me a lot of joy in creating them. The way the guidance of what to do next just flows through me in their creation has become my prayer for my whole life, to be used by Love in each moment, not know what the outcome will be, but being the conduit for Love to flow into whatever I am doing.

 

Crop Circle Mandala 5 © Atmara Rebecca Cloe

Crop Circle Mandala 5 © Atmara Rebecca Cloe

Nine Tomatoes: Anything else you want to add?

Atmara: All my work is available for licensing. I am also available for creating personal mandalas and mandala videos on a commission basis. I hope soon to have a video mandala DVD available for sale and online downloading. That’s a project that’s just beginning, but I’m very excited about. Prints of all my work are available through my website as well. Thanks, Dana, for including me in this blog. And let me say I’m a great fan of YOUR work! Blessings to you!

 

Mandalas from the Heart of Surrender @ Atmara Rebecca Cloe

Mandalas from the Heart of Surrender @ Atmara Rebecca Cloe

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Mandala Monday – 10 More Fabulous Facebook Mandala Pages

by | May 23, 2011 | Art, Creativity, Inspiration, Mandala Coloring, Mandala Monday, Mandalas

In my post, Mandala Monday – 10 Fabulous Facebook Mandala Pages, I spoke about how, when I first joined Facebook to promote my art I was surprised and delighted to find myself among a community of mandala lovers and creators. Here are some more of the great mandala pages you can see on Facebook.

For those of you not a member of Facebook, don’t despair. Facebook business pages can be viewed by everyone. You don’t need to be a member to access them. Enjoy exploring these pages!

And, of course, there is my mandala page, Mandalas by Atmara, (http://www.facebook.com/mandalasbyatmara) :-)

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I look forward to your thoughts and comments!

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