Finding Your Center

I have always liked to doodle shapes and patterns. It began in elementary school when I started my doodles with a triangle, I would tease it out, repeat the pattern and stack them together side by side. I would slip in a circle or square here and there and then build on that particular motif. By the end of the school year my books would be covered with these designs. It wasn’t until this past September, some 50 years later; I discovered that the type of doodling is called Zentangles! The repetitive patterns created from a single starting point helped me to focus and relax and became a daily ritual.

The limitless designs and patterns that come from art and nature have always inspired me and have become a form of self-expression and spiritual transformation. I still draw Zentangles, but somewhere along the way I discovered the mandala. It seems as if mandalas have always been a part of my esthetic, they are stunning pieces of art that have a deep and profound meaning in my life.

If you found this blog because of your interest in the mandala, you may know that the word mandala is ancient Sanskrit for circle; however it is both the circle and the center. The center or the bindu, is the convergence point of meditation, contemplation and prayer, it is part of the mystical, impenetrable aspect of many, if not most religions and meditative traditions.

Many spiritual traditions use the mandala as a form of transformation. In Tibetan Buddhism the mandala is a kind of map of the universe. Mandala’s are used by native Americans in healing rituals. The labyrinth in The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres is a mandalic pattern used as a tool for meditation. The rose stained glass windows found in other European Gothic Cathedrals demonstrate the intricate patterns of the mandala.

Hildegard of Bingen painted incredibly intricate mandala’s and used them as a way to be closer to God through prayer and meditation. Carl Jung saw the mandala as “a representation of the unconscious self” and encouraged his patients to work through emotional disorders by creating personal mandalas.

It is my intention to bring the mandala into everyday modern life. I’ve created hundreds of mandalas digitally using original photos I’ve taken of nature, works of art, various objects, lights, and whatever else can be photographed.

I invite you to explore the complexity and the simplicity of the mandala, allow it to transform you as you explore the center of your being. I will lead you on a journey of discovery as you allow the mandala to take you deeper into your soul.