What are mandalas?
Mandalas are spiritual designs traditionally used by Buddhist or Hindu religions. They are made up of many layers of concentric circles representing the surrounding world and are made to draw the eye to the center of the work, where the self is identified.
A mandala is a sacred space, often a circle, which reveals some inner truth about you or the world around you. In Sanskrit mandala means both circle and center, implying that it represents both the visible world outside of us (the circle- whole world) and the invisible one deep inside our minds and bodies (the center- healing circle).
The symbols and visual images inscribed in a mandala vary from culture to culture. Some traditions portray pictures of gods and goddesses, some use color and shape, whilst others use natural objects. However, although each may use a different "language", the mandalas of all cultures describe the same cosmos as our own. Irrespective of their historical and cultural origins, if we let them resonate with us deeply enough, mandalas can lead us on the journey to finding our own inner truth.
A mandala is a picture that tells a story, the story of a journey that we can follow. We all seek happiness and fulfillment, and Mandalas are a tool that can guide us straight to the heart of this search. In following the path through a mandala we are seeking to find the wholeness that lies at the core of us, the stillness that always remains no matter what storms may surround us.
