Posts Tagged ‘mandalas’
Tranquility Practice: Creating Radiant Mandalas
There is a wonderful strangeness about meeting in a classic business boardroom for our Lunch and Learn series. A very large, stately, dark mahogany table fills the room. Two of the four walls are almost floor-to-ceiling glass. It is an elegant space that holds us well. This boardroom is transformed when we meet the first…
Read MoreCalming Practice: Creating Mandalas
When I arrived last Wednesday to set up for our new Lunch and Learn Series, Mickey and Linda were already there, setting up the registration table. Our “greeters” Donna and Mae arrived soon thereafter, and Evelyn was not far behind. These five women are our ambassadors. They are experienced, seasoned participants who are well on the…
Read MoreMandalas for Restoring Balance
Last month’s explorations took us into the complicated realm of Balance. We throw that word out a lot these days: “I need more balance in my life.” “Strive to maintain a balanced life.” Ruminating over the meaning of balance, our class came up with word associations like equilibrium, stable, controlled, static, rigidity, precise — none of which made us feel very…
Read MoreGratitude in Difficult Times
I recently found this passage about gratitude among Dana Jennings’s reflections in the New York Times on his cancer journey: When you have cancer, when you’re being cut open and radiated and who knows what else, it can take a great effort to be thankful for the gift of the one life that we have been blessed…
Read MoreMandalas for Harvesting Gratitude
How can we remain grateful in turbulent times? How do we keep our hearts open when we are swallowed by fear and anger and chaos and doubt? During our July workshop, Mandalas for Harvesting Gratitude, we used our creative processes to dig into these difficult questions. Mark Nepo, one of my favorite thinkers and poets, provides one eloquent answer: How can we stay awake…
Read MoreReleasing Anxieties to Gather Inner Strength
As we continue this summer to explore the art of the mandala – creating within a circle – our practices begin to intertwine. Our first workshop addressed how to release anxiety through the process of intuitive mandala drawing, which we featured in our “Mandalas for Centering Strength” post. During the workshop, we discussed the importance of recognizing…
Read MoreThe Art of Survival: Insights into the Arts and Healing | 2013 Classes
We Need More than Medicine to Heal Journey Through Cancer with Healing Icons I recommend Healing Icons to other cancer survivors as it has helped me reflect on my cancer journey… Having examined my feelings and fears, my hopes and dreams, I now stand strong in who I have become. – IS, 2012 In each…
Read MoreMandalas for Centering Strength
Our latest class gathered at Lexington Medical Center to explore the idea of art making as a form of healing. A few had been outside of cancer treatment for many years but still possessed a nagging fear of a recurrence. Others had just finished treatment. One was heading to Duke University on Friday for exploratory…
Read MoreWordless Wednesdays – Mandala in El Espinal
In El Espinal, Oaxaca, Mexico, nature inspired this mandala of curled sepals, vivid pink tufts, creamy white flowers, stones and seeds. If this were your mandala, what would you title it? Share your ideas below.
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