Creating Mandalas

Tibetan Mandala Dismantled

2010-10-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

During September and October 2010, Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Mystical Arts of Tibet created a mandala of colored sand at Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta. Their work was marked at each stage with ceremony, chanting, and meditation. They worked for weeks to complete the mandala of Avalokiteshvara (the Buddha of Compassion). The mandala was created to prepare, open, and invite benevolent sacred energies for the visit of the Dalai Lama to Emory University in Atlanta. The Dalai Lama is thought to be a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara.

On October 12, 2010, under the guidance of His Eminence Rizong Rinpoche, the 102nd Gaden Throne holder of the Gelug lineage in Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the mandala was "closed." After prescribed chanting, music making, and meditation, the mandala was circumambulated three times by His Eminence, who was preceded by the Spiritual Director of DLM bearing incense. At a signal from His Eminence, the monks swept sand into tiny packets that were distributed as a blessing to those present for the ceremony.

Good-bye Beautiful Fish

2010-10-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

Aren't they lovely? I will miss my three recently deceased gold fish. As always, life goes on: there are at least six others, mostly reddish gold, still gracing the dark waters of Plum Blossom pond. And we can hope for babies in the spring.

Weekend on the Alabama Beach

2010-10-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

My husband and I went down to Gulf Shores, Alabama, for a long weekend. It felt good to give these beleagered Gulf Coast folks some of our cash. The beach was beautiful, and not crowded. We had a great meal at Louisiana Lagniappe Restaurant (crab on fried/baked eggplant and stuffed shrimp).

June 2010 Mandala Intensive

2010-06-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

A wonderful group of women gathered in Plum Blossom Studio in Decatur, Georgia for this year's Entering the Circle: Five Day Mandala Intensive. We created many mandalas, talked about the history, psychology, forms, and colors in mandalas. We shared laughter and tears as we delved into mysteries of the circle and shared our lives for days of self-discovery through creativity. Here is our group portrait.

Huichol Beadwork Mandalas

2010-06-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

I was in Mexico in May, and visiting the Wednesday market in Ajijic I saw some beautiful mandalas crafted by indigenous Huichol people using beads, hollowed out gourds, and wooden planks.

Moving Water Mandala

2010-05-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

The bamboo drip fountain in my garden creates a pattern of sound and image.

Finding My Standpoint

2010-04-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

A Mandala of Finding My Standpoint: standing still, balancing in place, tracing around my feet, painting in and around my footprints. A way of knowing my being within a particular place and time. Try it yourself sometime.

Turning of the Seasons: a Mandala

2010-04-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

As Spring blossoms out of Winter, I am reminded that the year with its turning seasons is a mandala. It is a cycle that repeats again and again, each time with endless variations. This mandala, embraced as a model of how life unfolds, is beautifully expressed in a quote shared with us by Starr, a participant at our recent Part III Mandala Intensive.

There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally of course, there are times that are cold, and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.

Chogyam Trungpa

Mandala Intensive, March 2010

2010-03-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

A week long mandala intensive concluded the Mandala Certificate Program for a group of five women from the US and Italy. The retreat, "Integrating the Circle," offered lectures, case study presentations, and experiences creating mandalas. Each participant also reported on her independent study project, another element in the Certificate Program. Projects included conducting mandala groups and workshops with mentorship, producing a mandala coloring book/calendar and mandala greeting cards, and developing an interfaith curriculum for introducing mandalas at spiritual retreats. Another project was the development of a website with authoritative mandala information for an international audience http://www.mandalaweb.info/.

The week was a rich gathering that deepened personal connections as well as affirming a shared belief in the healing, centering, grounding, soothing, and spiritual growing that is possible through creating mandalas.

Soothing and Centering

2010-03-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

Susanne and Maureen Shelton presented on healing music and mandalas at a conference entitled, "The Agony of Caring: Professionalism and Moral Distress in Healthcare," sponsored by Emory University Center for Ethics, Atlanta, Georgia. Maureen taught two of her original songs (hear more at http://www.mandalacd.com/), and Susanne explained the neurological underpinnings of human responses to the circle before guiding participants in creating their own mandalas. Our points: self-care of caregivers is an ethical obligation, and creative activities are easy, effective, and enjoyable self-care.

Snow in Atlanta

2010-02-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

Sunrise on snow in the garden of Plum Blossom Studio, Atlanta, Georgia. Snowflakes are some of Nature's most lovely mandalas. When enough fall in the same place--such as my back yard--I must stay home. Hooray for snow days!

More Mandalas from Mexico

2010-01-29T11:58:00.000-08:00

Two weeks in sunny, colorful Mexico: a wonderful "Mandalas in Mexico" workshop, and delightful food, fiestas, and ancient archeology to boot! Near Guadalajara is Mexico's largest lake, Lago Chapala. The villages around the lake are quite old, and each has its special festivals. In the village of Jocotopec we strolled the streets near the Cathedral during the festival of El Senior del Lago, and admired the mandala that the locals call "pan de fiesta," or fiesta bread. (See the pic nearby) On another day we went in the opposite direction to the village of Mezcala, a community of "indigenous", or native peoples. Mezcala is also an important archeological site where objects dating to 1500 BC have been found in the nearby mountains and caves. In the small local museum I saw photos of pictographs found in caves, and actual stones incised with concentric circles still showng traces of white and bright pink pigment. So, the tradition of mandala making in Mexico dates back thousands of years, and lives on in the daily lives of the Mexican people in their art motifs, crafts, and foodways.

2010-01-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

Mandalas in Mexico

January 16 - 24, 2010

Soon I go to Mexico, to the beautiful Lake Chapala area near Guadalajara. There I will lead a new mandala experience with a focus on the vibrant culture of Mexico. We will create numerous mandalas, and explore their meaning. The ideas of Carl Jung will inform our inquiry. Lectures on the history of Mexico, and the rich artistic traditions that thrive here will launch us into personal exploration of the sights, sounds, and tastes to be savored. I can hardly wait!

Book Launch!

2009-12-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

The Mandala Workbook became available December 1. Friends from my mandala groups organized a celebration and book launch at Eagle Eye Bookstore in Decatur. See picture of me ready to sign books, and a beautiful mandala fruit platter (minus a few nibbles), continuing the mandala theme. We also invited people to contribute to a large mandala that was later donated to the art therapy program in a local hospital. A fun evening. You can order The Mandala Workbook from http://www.shambhala.com/.

New: The Mandala Workbook

2009-11-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

These images are from the color section of my new book, entitled The Mandala Workbook. Each mandala was created following guidelines for a project in the book. The mandala with feet is from an exercise called "Claiming Your Standpoint." It grows out of feeling your firm and well balanced stance on your feet, and within your self. The hand mandala is evoked by an awareness of one's outreach in the world. The target mandala is a rendering of personal boundaries as symbolized by colors. There are lots more in The Mandala Workbook, available "officially" on December 1, 2009.

Mandalas and Dia de los Muertos in Mexico

2009-11-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

Mexico's Dia de los Muertos is a holiday honoring family and loved ones who have died. Colorful altars are constructed with pictures of the deceased. Their favorite foods, drinks, and even implements used during life are arranged with marigolds, ashes, water, candles, and hand cut tissue paper "flags" to create a festive, yet contemplative atmosphere.

On November 2, I visited a street in Chapala, Mexico, where families--and art students--had created a memorable scene. Favorite celebraties as well as ancestors and loved ones were honored by the altars. Several of the altars included a mirror reflecting the viewer, as if to say, "Look at yourself. Reflect on your life, and set things right, for you, too, will meet the fate of these honored ones."

Mandala like circular designs appeared in more than one of the creations. Of course the circle is an important symbol in a celebration of the ongoing circle of life, from generation to generation.

For info on my retreat, Mandalas in Mexico, January 16 - 24, 2010: visit www.creatingmandalas.com

Jung and Mandalas

2009-10-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Rubin Museum (http://www.rmanyc.org/) in New York City is hosting an exciting exhibit of C. G. Jung's art and writings. "The Red Book of C.G. Jung: Creation of a New Cosmology" runs October 7, 2009 - January 25, 2010. I was there for opening day, along with a crowd of others from all over the world to see the fabled book the New York Times describes as "the holy grail of the unconscious," in a lengthy article published on September 20, 2009 (http://www.nytimes.com/). The exhibit coincides with the release of a facsimile edition of the Red Book.

I viewed Jung's artwork at the Rubin Museum where it is displayed in a lower level gallery, a fitting place for the work of a pioneer of the unconscious. As in important dreams, I descended a staircase to another level in order to look upon some of Jung's personal creations. Small framed copies of mandala paintings from the Red Book are accompanied by modest pencil sketches on scratch paper - a blank prison camp form, a sheet from a prescription pad--recording his immediate inspirations that he later developed into his mandalas. Other items on display are copies of Jung's Black Book, some original paintings, and an informative video narrated by Sonu Shamdasani, editor of the facsimile Red Book.

The Red Book has been known of, but never seen in public until now. It has been kept in a locked bank deposit box in Zurich, Switzerland, for many years. Jung shared parts of his private journaling with family, close friends and associates, but he gave no clear indication of his wishes for it. He left it to his heirs to decide what to do. It is with trepidation that the Jung family has allowed the book to be published.

Is it appropriate to bring such personal material into the public eye? What effect will it have to make the contents of the Red Book known? Only time will tell. On the other hand, what a loss it would be for the book never to be revealed, because through it Jung offers the example of his own journey toward wholeness. His was a life lived with courage and dedication to know himself and the breadth of human experience. I came away from the exhibit inspired to appreciate the gifts that each living moment brings. I also came away with a nine pound facsimile edition of Jung's Red Book which I intend to ponder for a good while to come.

Mandalas at the Botanical Garden

2009-09-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day today in Atlanta, perfect for a visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Henry Moore's sculptures among the flowers were a perfect combination. Here's a view through one of his sensuous works. To me it looks like a moment of creation for a sky blue mandala.

Mandala from Group

2009-09-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

This mandala was created in our 2007 mandala group by Patty O'Keefe Hutton. It is in colored pencil and ink on cardboard. There is an abalone shell button in the very center. Her mandala expresses a stage called "Reaping Rewards." It is a time when life comes into a pleasing balance.

Mandala Workbook

2009-09-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

My newest book, The Mandala Workbook, grew out of experiences I had with a group of friends who came to my Plum Blossom Studio in Decatur (Atlanta), Georgia, each month. All during 2007 I wrote and sent a monthly letter to my friends. It included a description of the stage we would be exploring, a short story that conveyed the qualities of the stage, and some suggestions for mandalas that we could create during our monthly gathering.

When we got together we talked about how our month had been, and our thoughts about the stage we were focusing on. Some folks shared poems they had written--or discovered--about the stage. I had fun coming up with theme-centered refreshments. For example, we had lots of fresh cherries for an early meeting which focused on a stage reminiscent of early childhood and life's sweetness and abundance. For a group when we explored a stage aligned with adolescent issues, and a "black and white" view of life, we had vanilla flavored sugar cookies with chocolate icing on half of the cookie. We created lots of mandalas together that year. When I learn how to put pictures on my blog, I'll share some of them. with you!

My New Mandala Book December 1, 2009

2009-09-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

The Mandala Workbook will be out in December. Whew! What a process it is to create a book. To spend the time it takes, I always must find an approach to the subject that I find fascinating. That's easy with mandalas. They are so simple, yet deeply mysterious.

During the writing of this book the Eastern approach to mandalas (that considers them representative of cycles in time) was an important focus for me. The overlay of Joan Kellogg's theory of mandala stages (the Great Round) with the twelve months of the year gave me the structure for my project. Activities for a workbook need to be thoroughly tested, to see if they really can be done and if they are rewarding for the people who use them.

So I invited some friends and friends of friends to join me in a mandala group that met monthly to explore the archetypal stages described by Kellogg and to try out my suggestions for mandalas designed to evoke a taste of each of the stages. The book is rooted in process: the creative process of individuals making mandalas, the process of the group itself as it moved through the archetypal stages, and the process mandala manifested by the group as we moved through the cycle of a complete year together.

More about this later.

Chinese Influence on Jung

2009-09-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

I just read an interesting article by Murray Stein (Journal of Analytical Psychology, 2005, 50, 209-222.). He describes the relationship between Jung and Richard Wilhelm, the translater of the I Ching and The Secret of the Golden Flower (for which Jung wrote a wonderful introductory essay). Jung claimed that Wilhelm had influenced him more than any other individual in his life. According to Murray Stein, Jung envisioned himself and Wilhelm supporting a bridge between East and West. Jung felt such an exchange was of the greatest importance in balancing the Western attitude formed by the "one-sided rationalism of the Enlightenment," Stein, p. 219. His "relationship with Wilhelm and the integration of his contributions from Chinese culture and philosophy helped Jung to anchor himself even more profoundly than before in his own thinking." ibid. In a letter, Jung wrote that the text of The Secret of the Golden Flower "gave me undreamed of confirmation of my ideas about the mandala and the circumambulation of the center." (cited by Stein, p. 215) In other words, Jung realized that there is no linear psychological development, except possibly in childhood. Adult psychological development is a circling movement around a hidden inner center (the Self), spiraling into ever greater realization of the Self as true center--and creating mandalas is significant in this growth process.

Mexico Accomodations for January Workshop

2009-08-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some hotels and B & B's in Ajijic. All are about a 15 minute cab ride from the Mandalas in Mexico workshop site. Visit the websites and see for yourself. I recommend that you book VERY EARLY because people flock to this area for the temperate lakeside climate during winter months. I am investigating more possible lodging options, and will post those as I get them. The village of Ajijic is picturesque, laid back, and has really good restaurants in all price ranges. Learn more about Ajijic (ah - ee - heek) at http://www.chapalaguide.com/.

Hotel Nueva Posada (Food here is wonderful, in my experience.)
http://www.hotelnuevaposada-ajijic.com/

Hotel Casa Blanca (a Mexican villa)
http://www.casablancaajijic.com/

Casa Flores (airport pickup possible)
http://www.casafloresajijic.com/

Casa del Sol Inn (luxurious accomodations)
http://www.casadelsolinn.com/

Los Artistas (owners are from Alaska)
http://www.losartista.com/

La Paloma B & B (has a swimming pool)
http://www.lapalomabb.com/

Welcome to Creating Mandalas

2009-07-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

I have started a blog to share some of the exciting workshops, news and resources that I developed or come across about creating mandalas and art therapy. Mandalas are circular designs that have spiritual and psychological significance for modern people. Ancient mandala motifs appear in many cultures.

Creating Mandalas is planning a wonderful workshop in Mexico for this coming January (16-23). This workshop will be in beautiful Lake Chapela near Guadalajara. Our focus for the Mandalas in Mexico retreat will be on our creativity, personal growth, and deepening knowledge about mandalas and Mexico. Over two consecutive weekends Susanne will talk about the history and psychology of mandalas; give information on color and form in mandalas; and provide guidance for creating and interpreting your own mandalas.

Visit www.creatingmandalas.com for more information and schedule.