As we settle into the month of May, I’m still feeling the big internal shifts that have been very present since the Spring Equinox. That being said, things are shaking down and I can already see the effects of this in my external landscape. It’s a super interesting process to observe.
My personal mandala practice has shifted away from being primarily focused on the Mandala Magic process [I’ll share more of that later] but I’ve still been following along, and allowing myself to settle more deeply into the whole experience of the program. That ‘settling into the whole’ is hard to explain – yes, we do begin in the art journal and our focus is on the mandala, but there’s so much magic in the whole of it.
Like one of our circle members, Niki, commented yesterday, “I was just explaining the other day to my sister in law how this is not just journaling, art journaling or simply learning about Mandalas, it is a whole experience. What you have put together here is amazing. I want to sit for a while with each stage, watch each video, listen to the music and create…”
One of my favourite aspects so far has been the creation of the Sonic Mandalas. This extra layer of mandala soundscapes has proved such an important expansion for me. Then there has been the focus each month to expand into the world and explore more aspects of this study outwith the confines of the studio.
It began just before I opened up our circle, with a visit to Kilmartin Glen (think standing stones, stone circles, prehistoric rock art, burial cairns and more!) It continued through our trip to Aberlady to celebrate Imbolc at the sea; the Tara workshop at Samye Ling (all about process & visualisation as technique – I still plan to blog about that one!); walking the outdoor and indoor versions of the Edinburgh Labyrinth; the Embody the Sacred Mandala of Self weekend (massive Spring Equinox energies to open doors); and the Nourishing Stillness Retreat (amplifying personal practice with a circle of like-minded devotees.)
Each of these activities was chosen to carefully correspond with the particular stage of the Great Round of Mandala that we were working on at the time. They were each of them a lesson in their own right – but it is the integration into the whole that makes them so powerful. Combined with my dedicated personal practices of mandala work, ceremonial chocolate, sitting meditation, nature walking and organic movement, the whole is most definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
It’s such an interesting place to find myself. The Mandala Magic Journal looks very different from my current mandala practice and yet, both are an intrinsic reflection of what’s going on outside and in. I’m interested to see what the next quarter will reveal!
