Mandala

Creating an artform, using any medium, can be effective in processing emotional overload. There have been times, when children came into the Guidance room that talking it out was a futile effort. At these times, I would pull out a circle shaped piece of paper, water colors, colored pencils, clay, scissors and a bag of colored pieces of cloth, paste, and whatever else I could find that could be used to create an artform. I had a big box full of these supplies and added to them as something new presented itself as worthy of the box. I would provide instructions: fill the circle, choosing the content by what feels right. I would show a few examples of a mandala for the child as a brief image of how to proceed. There never was a time when the invitation to do this was refused. When done, I would ask the child to tell me a story about the result. Sometimes, the story telling needed the asking of many questions to get it told. I asked why a color was here and a shape there and an empty space somewhee else. I asked what feelings accompanied an action. I wrote down the answers and we looked at the story together. With the mandala creation in front of us, I then would ask the child to talk about how it was s/he was in the Guidance room.

I had been to several workshops on mandala creation and had the eyes to see through the mandala to the root of the problem, Instead of interpreting it for a child, I used my knowledge base and my intuition to create the questions that would be a guide through the volcano of emotions. Creating the mandala also provided a distancing from the cause of the upset, while serving as a mode of processing.

It does not make a hoot of difference that I can diagnose someone else's malaise. Those creating the artform, are creating an artform of their own lives. Those lives, to be lived fully, need to be interpreted by the creator of the artform.

We are always in the process of creating our own mandalas. Occasionally, it is a fun way to reflect on where we are on the journey at a particular time. Here is a website page which has examples of mandalas (complete with mantras):
www.tzaellachiera.com/?gclid=CIS638yAjZ4CFRaenAodKEQ5o

Create a mandala yourself. Write down its story. Ask yourself, "Where am I on the journey of it's creation?" "What next?"