How to Play with Mandalas to Deepen Your Spiritual Practice

The mandala of life 

From the ancient language of Sanskrit and loosely translated as ‘circle’, a mandala is a series of concentric lines arranged around a unifying centre. An interwoven lattice of intricate beauty and complex sophistication, mandalas represent the cosmos and symbolize the forces of the individual and collective flow of energy to and from a central point.  

Since ancient times, mankind has always been attracted to circles. Our ancestors used the symbol of the circle in rock carvings and often placed objects in circular patterns. The ancient Aztec’s used a circular calendar as both a timekeeping device and in religious expression and the Native American’s create medicine wheels and sand mandalas. The yin-yang symbol of Asian culture honours creation as both male and female and the Tibetan mandalas are the focus of meditation - their detailed designs symbolise wholeness and are a matrix or model of a perfected universe.

In essence, a mandala is a primal pattern that serves as a model for the organisational structure of life itself - a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds. The mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community. Its shape is evident in the atom and the crystal; in the hurricane and the solar system; in sound waves and within our own bodies.

The fundamental pattern of the mandala can be explained with a kaleidoscope. From its centre, symmetrical patterns radiate outward, while outward manifestations reflect the centre. Turning the kaleidoscope, we see that no matter how many forms and patterns appear and disappear, they are all connected, integrated. This is the mandala: eternally expanding and growing from its point of creation, while simultaneously contracting and returning to its core. From micro to macro, the pattern is repeated in sacred geometry.

Mandala Meditation 

Meditation is the best and most economical way of balancing the brain and helps to create good health at all levels - body, mind, and spirit. However, sitting still and observing the mind can be challenging so a mandala is a very old and helpful tool to for both beginners and advanced meditation.

Whether they are used as an approach to quiet the mind or as an expression of spiritual ideals, mandalas provide a centred structure from which to explore and order our lives. When used as a tool in personal meditation, healing, or self-realisation, the mandala helps us to find the centre within ourselves and reconnect to the world outside. The more we focus on the pattern of the mandala, the more we are able to live our lives in harmony, connected to the world around us. The mandalas’ transformative quality of wholeness blossoms when used for spiritual or personal growth.

Like a tossed pebble sends ripples through the surrounding water, overlapping and rippling with the rest of humanity, the concentric circles of the mandala spread our essence out into the world, representing the effects and experiences of our lives. Meditating on mandalas helps us to contemplate the core of reality, and what is at the ‘true centre’ of the world in which we live. 

Making a mandala 

Mandalas are a tool for personal growth and expression. By making our own mandala we can explore the terrain of our deepest thoughts and emotions to find meaningful symbols that reveal our current state of mind. We can carefully translate these ideas into a fine artwork, or we can simply enjoy doodling with coloured pens or pencils in a kaleidoscopic mandala pattern. Either way, mandala making is a process that offers the opportunity to reflect, create and relax.

The mandala helps us to discover our connection to the world and to one another. When you draw or colour your own mandala, you’re making a portrait of your inner reality at a particular moment in your life, which when carefully regarded, can provide astonishing insights into your own deepest truth. 

Three ways to enjoy mandala meditation

1. Create your own mandala using coloured pencils, crayons or paint. You can colour in an existing pattern or begin your own from scratch. Notice how soothing it is to sit quietly and colour a mandala. Spending time with this ancient pattern is healing as it helps to calms your nervous system and nurtures a feeling that everything is okay. It also opens the mind to receive insight and it strengthens intuition and your immune system. 
2. Meditate on a completed mandala and identify the spiritual principles as they resonate with you. Reflect on the ideas and elements and enjoy seeing the connections between what you observe. 
3. Create a mandala that represents the important aspects of your life journey. Use magic markers, paint or clippings from magazines, and arrange the collage in a circular pattern. Journal about what your mandala represents.  

Mandalas draw you into a realm of balance, harmony, and calm and form a perfect focus for ritual and a support for meditation. Mandalas helps us to understand and appreciate our world as ONE whole sacred circle within a living stream of mandala forms. When meditating on a mandala we come full circle to the centre of our own being, where in every moment we experience the complex, magnificent, interconnected nature of life.