What's a mandala?

My personal view of mandalas is that they are drawings that allows our concious selves to communicate with our subconcious or with the spiritual. The process of meditating and drawing mandalas helps one become a clearer channel for such messages. Mandalas have been used in cultures such as the Tibetan, Celtic, and Native American. The Tibetans are famous for their sand mandalas. I had the honor of seeing them create one at Eastern Michigan University. In addition, psychologists such as Carl Jung have used mandalas for psychological integration. A lot of mandalas are drawn within a circular boundary. I have used the circle as a starting point for a lot of my mandalas. I feel the circle creates a sacred place for the mandala. Some of my mandalas change as I am drawing them. One started off as a black box with a crack in it and by the time I had finished, there was a phoenix emerging from the box. Books on Mandalas: Mandala by Judith Cornell Mandala: A Journey to the Center by Bailey Cunningham

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