April draws to a close in a few hours. Though it snowed last Saturday, the light of April’s last day is clear and blue. The front yard is bursting with new life: erratic shoots of thick, green grass, day lilies skyrocketing out of tender wet ground, red-stemmed dogwood buds, one purple bloom in the rock garden on the hill.
We began Coloring Mandalas as a practice in January, following the twelve passages of The Great Round. The initial circulation of The Great Round coincides with early childhood, and physical development. Thereafter, the passages focus on spiritual exploration and maturation, awareness of one’s center, and seeking balance and harmony through working with the archetypal circle.
Beginnings, the fourth cycle of The Great Round, opens prior to the age of two, when a mutual bond is formed between baby and mother. The child develops trust; the mother takes pleasure in nurturing. Later, as adults, we learn to trust and nurture our own creative energy through avenues such as writing, music, and art.
In Stage Four we explore ways to quell the self-doubt and insecurity (Monkey Mind) that bubble to the surface when we create. On a spiritual level, we learn to nurture ourselves, to feel compassion (for ourselves and others); we learn the importance of giving service from the heart.
The April mandalas are drawn with Crayola markers, colored pencils, and Uniball gel pens. Liz’s mandalas are all hand-drawn. But April was the first time in The Great Round that I drew one of my own (from a blank circle with a dot at the center). The simple design is found on the walls of a birthing chamber in an ancient palace on the island of Crete (archeologists suggest it may represent the cervix). The dot becomes the beginning point of our own design, reflecting something we may be ready to birth.
According to the book Coloring Mandalas by Susanne F. Fincher, the healing benefits of The Great Round: Stage 4 — Beginnings are:
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learning to contain and focus energy
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deepening and nurturing the relationship with the inner self
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understanding the value of service to others
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developing patience and a belief in the process
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knowing something new will be created and produced even though its form can not yet be seen
ONE: The first mandala (top of the page) was drawn by hand, unplanned and fluid, beginning with a circle and a dot. It is based on an illustration by Marija Gimbutas in The Language of the Goddess, where she illustrates a circle and dot found in a birthing chamber on the island of Crete.
TWO: The second mandala represents a flower or the sun. The center of the template started as empty white space. Everything within the blue center was added in the process of drawing and coloring. Beginnings are a time to contain and focus, to hold our projects and creations close to center, so they can develop. Talking, explaining, discussing, can dissipate valuable energy. Silence holds the space.
THREE: The third mandala draws from the heart chakra. Holding focused energy deepens the relationship to the self, intensifying and expanding the heart. Sustained effort toward nurturing our insides, allows more room outside to see the way clear for unconditional love — a generous love dedicated to serving others.
FOUR: In Beginnings, we learn to cherish the new, to care for what is young and tender. After Winter’s heavy runoff, we wait a few weeks before we rake and scrape the earth, protecting tender shoots of Spring grass. Be gentle with the self. Make room for and nurture your creative ideas, so they have room to come to fruition.
Trimotto, Signs Of Spring, Sliver, Find The Mandala, hand-drawn labyrinths created by Liz, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
The four mandalas above are hand-drawn by Liz, created for The Great Round – Stage 4. She agreed to let me photograph them from her sketchbook and post them with the April mandalas.
Mandalas have been used in Christian churches, in Eastern and Western traditions, by mystics and ancient peoples all over the world. Like labyrinths, mandalas cross all cultures, and represent Spirit coming into matter.
Spring teaches us about new beginnings. About trusting the process of movement — through Winter’s deadening hibernation, to the rebirth and new growth of Spring. We learn to trust ourselves. To know that what appear to be chaos and death, will be followed by renewal and prosperity.
Centering, dome mandala of the Lake Harriet Community sanctuary, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
-posted on red Ravine, Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
-related to posts: The Void – January Mandalas, Bliss — February Mandalas, Labyrinth — March Mandalas, and WRITING TOPIC – CIRCLES
It’s wonderful to see the collaboration between you. It’s no wonder you make a wonderful pair. You can bounce off each other’s creativity and have fun while doing it. Liz, my favorite is the free spirit of the yellow squiggles with the red centered speckles. It reminds me of a wild flower. I’m guessing you’ve a spirit to match 😉 H
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First of all I want to shout out a big “Congratuluations Graduate!” to Liz!!!!!! I hope you are enjoying the company of her family members. A big hug please to Liz’s Mother from me!
I so enjoy the mandala posts! Loved them all! My favorite is the 3rd one, the heart chakra. And of the the ones done by Liz, I agree with anuvuestudio on the “free spirit” one with the yellow squiggles.
Today I printed about 30 mandala designs for Daddy, his friend J, & E. Elise, & us to color. We all colored the same design & then compared the differences in our creativity. What fun (& relaxation) for all! E. Elise took the rest of the copies home with her & plans on coloring them with gel pens, cutting them out, & gluing them to her homemade Christmas cards.
My company is now gone. It was wonderful to see Daddy again. D
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The mandalas are wonderful, QM and Liz. I agree with Heather — the collaboration is great! Way to inspire — one another and us.
Congratulations, Liz. I told QM today in an email that I hope we hear more about your journey and this huge milestone.
On the mandalas, they’re all wonderful, and I especially am drawn to the heart chakra one. The design is so striking, and I think even more than that, or maybe on top of that, those colors are wonderful. And the free-hand labyrinths are so amazing. I can get lost in that big one.
diddy, cool that you also are doing mandalas with your family. What a great idea. (Like group ear-candling 😉 ). Seriously, though, it sounds like a great way to spend time together doing something that makes everyone feel at peace.
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QM, I just looked at that first mandala, the hand-drawn one that started with a dot in the middle. It’s striking. It reminds me of rivers, different flowing rivers. The colors are wonderful, too. I love the earthy yellow against the sky blue and the red.
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Heather, thank you for your kinds words, about the mandalas and about Liz. We do have fun creating together. I think you are right, we inspire each other, the way ybonesy and I do for the blog. It makes a big difference to have that kind of support. I’ll tell Liz to check out your comment.
ybonesy, thanks. I sure missed you when you were away. Yes, I will tell Liz congrats for you, too. We are all so proud of her. With the mandalas, you know something I’ve noticed is that I tend to draw in the empty centers on the templates, fill them with line and color. It’s good to do a practice like this once a month, because, over time, I can see patterns, and the ways I am supported by doing these posts. I hope to paint some mandalas in the studio once I finish getting settled there. I can’t wait.
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diddy, so glad you had a great visit with Daddy. I didn’t remember that he was going to be there in Pennsylvania until you commented earlier in the week on red Ravine. How wonderful that he’s visited all week!
And you all colored mandalas. I just love that! And doing the same template between all of you, I bet that was really fun. I loved when Liz and I did that — to see all the different colors that we used and how different the same template looked when each of us did it.
I’m glad you printed some out for E. Elise, too, to take home and color. I’m thrilled that you are all doing that.
Liz’s graduation last night was fantastic. She has family here from Brooklyn, New York, Ohio & Tennessee, and Cody, Wyoming. We went to dinner downtown, then walked over to the convention center. Three friends joined us, too, Teri, Susan, and Gail. I was so proud of her! She looked stunning, too. We were pretty exhausted when we got home last night, but we felt so full of family, friendship, love. A great accomplishment.
I’ll tell Liz’s Mom hello from you when I see her today. She talks about you and the friendship that was born from your meeting on red Ravine. Connections across the country, personal, and around writing. What a great thing! More later. It’s a big family week here.
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I really like this work! I’m glad I stumbled upon it!. DreamWorld Studios
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Kurt S., thank you for stopping by and I really appreciate your comment!
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