Weaving Wellness: 2011

Two professional astrologers have asked me to create a Scorpio mandala for a publication they have in the works, and I immediately accepted the honour. Certainly not an expert in mandalas, I feel excited and humbled as I consider the gates, layers, lessons and aspirations of the zodiac sign dominating my natal chart. What's more, I've been itching for a creative project and the timing couldn't be more perfect.

For those unfamiliar, "mandala" is Sanskrit for "circle" or "whole world", and is a visual representation of a whole composed of many interrelated parts. It is the system that emerges out of the rhythm, harmony, and interplay of opposing forces, and has a rich history in Buddhist/ Hindu meditation, with later appearances in Jungian psychology as a representation of the Cosmos' relation to the Self.

As I delve into this project, I naturally expand to consider its applications for communities and organizations, and have been delighted to discover that the mandala has been used extensively in:

Socio-political systems and institutional systems (Gram Mandala is used for political and administration structures and systems in India, for instance)
Architecture (Vastu Shastra),
Community development (The Mandala Project Workshops, and Mandala Community Weaving with Sarah Haskell), and
Theory development (Theory of Integral Nursing).

In terms of organizational systems, I found a wordy piece on "The Tensegrity Mandala", but was surprised when I did not see more of it in organizational planning circles, and strategic planning processes. I personally think it would be a great process for discussing and clarifying membership, tensions, practices, values, goals, mission, and vision. The world seems steeped in process models and maps, so I thought the mandala would have found a natural application here. Imagine, for instance, if the mandala concept was used to capture one of the many strategic planning models out there.

Community Mandala, Roberts Creek BC

Imagine applying a particular strategic planning model/process within our city's healing arts community, to create a healthy community mandala which wove the practices of multiple modalities into one cohesive healing vision. I'm sure its only a matter of time :)

After all, check out the community mandala created out in Roberts Creek, and this blog that speaks to Mandala Community Gardening!

Seriously though. Explore the links and consider the uses of the mandala in your life, your family, your collaborations, and your disciplines. If you'd like to check out Mandala Workshops offered in Toronto, I've listed a few here, the last offering mandala artwork and mandala meditations to explore:

Enjoy the journey, and wish me luck!

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How it went....

Well, the Mandalas were such a transformative journey! Doing one mandala lead to my doing a couple more, and each was such an interesting inward process. I do believe I'll continue the journey and work on other zodiac mandalas because there was just so much to gain personally from each one.

Here are the creations that manifested :)

SCORPIO MANDALA