MANDALAS

MANDALAS

Mandalas are among the oldest forms of art. They are an effective meditative tool for delving deep into the heart of spiritual being. The word mandala comes from Sanskrit and means "sacred circle". This refers to the sacred circle of life and all that it contains.

In many traditions and cultures the mandala is a tool of concentration and meditation which aids in physical, psychological, and spiritual renewal.

Mandalas may have very complex patterns, detailed structures, and pictorial representations within them, or they can be very simple. Mandalas may be filled with luminous rainbow colors or be black and white.

They contain whatever the artist is inspired to put in them which stimulates awareness of the unlimited Spiritual Self, and the correlation between the material and spiritual worlds. The mandala, when created in a meditative consciousness, exposes the wisdom of Spirit in the symbolic
language of form and color. This language may be universal and archetypal
or unique to the artist.

Examples of naturally occurring mandalas include cross-sections of plants, bones, internal organs, the iris of the eye, snowflakes, galaxies, planets and chakras. We see mandalas reflected in the architecture of sacred temples, in paintings, circle dances, dream catchers and stained glass windows.