In periods of mental crisis or when we fall ill, we unwittingly seek a foothold within ourselves. In order to be healed, it is necessary to concentrate internal forces. It will help in this truly magical therapeutic technique - the creation of a mandala. Mandalotherapy is one of the types of art therapy, combining elements of psychotherapy, energy therapy, helping to better understand yourself and penetrate into the depths of your subconscious.
"Everything that the Power of Peace does, it does in a circle ..." - said our ancestors. Indeed, a person's life begins with a round egg imprisoned in the womb of a woman who has a spherical shape. Being born, we hit the round planet, it rotates in a circular orbit around the Sun disc. Let's look deeper and see that our body is a microcosm with its spherical worlds - cells and atoms. The cycle of substances in nature, the change of the seasons, day and night, the Zodiac - all indicate that the circle is a universal figure of the universe. Therefore, subconsciously we perceive the circle as a certain basis, intuitively know about its protective and harmonizing properties. "Draw a circle around you, and you will be protected" - with such a magical ritual we are familiar from fairy tales and legends. It is believed that an evil force can not penetrate inside the circle. On a psychological level, this means that the person is centered: he finds the center of his personality and finds strength there, while simultaneously delineating the boundaries between himself and the world. Such a ritual has been preserved in the magical practices of many cultures and peoples: Slavs lead roundelays around the fire, dervishes spin in trance dancing, Navajo Indians are treated with a mandala made from colored sand. But the mandalas in Buddhism are especially popular.On the way to nirvana
The word "mandala" came to us from Buddhism - in translation from Sanskrit it can mean "circle", "wheel", "orbit" or "disk". Tibetan monks invest in it a special meaning: the creation of ritual mandalas is used in Buddhism as an important tool on the path to enlightenment. Work with the mandala takes place under the supervision of the guru: in a specially designated area, a playground is cleared, on which the pupil spreads a circle with multi-colored threads, divided into four identical parts. With the help of paints and colored sand inside the circle, a pattern is created in which sacred symbols are used, only a small improvisation is allowed. At the end, the Buddhist deepens into contemplation of the mandala and meditation. Such a mandala looks very harmonious and symmetrical, which can not be said about the personal mandalas that people draw. In the broad sense of the word, the mandala is understood as drawing in a circle. In psychology this concept was introduced by Carl Jung. He noticed that circular images appear in dreams and help a person to restore his integrity. Later, Jung and his disciples began to ask patients to draw in a circle, as a result, it was discovered that the mandala accurately conveys the state of the person at the moment, relieves mental stress and even heals. In this case, the healing effect arises regardless of whether you analyze the picture or not.
The therapist to himself
By and large, any creative action: drawing, modeling, embroidering - helps to relieve tension, on which art therapy is based. But art, concentrated in a circle, has a special magic: we seem to create our sacred place of defense. Influences and memory of the bliss of being in the mother's womb, which resembles the shape of a circle. In addition, the mandala helps to center. What does it mean? The search for oneself, its destination is always directed to the center of one's self. It can be called in different ways: the Supreme Mind, the Divine Source, the Self ... It is there, in the center, the potential of our soul is laid. Mandala is a unique tool that helps to get to the inner core and those energy tanks that are hidden in it. By the way, Jung himself made sketches in his notebook daily: he drew spontaneous images in a circle and watched how his condition was changing.
The practice of drawing a mandala
In order to engage in mandalotherapy, you do not need any skills. The main condition - to draw by inspiration: let the hand displays the figures, and the eyes choose the desired color. Do not think that you would like to draw, and do not criticize your drawing, even if it's a simple scrawl or an incomprehensible spot.
- So, choose a moment when nobody distracts you, turn on meditative music and immerse yourself for a minute: close your eyes and relax.
- Prepare a sheet of white paper and draw a circle using a plate. It is best to draw with colors: after all, they help to accumulate semitones, to make smooth strokes, they are soft and plastic. Draw without thinking about the plot, details and colors. It is important to listen to inner impulses - this will enable you to touch the very depths of the unconscious and find a point of support in it.
- Having finished the drawing, look at it carefully and try to analyze the colors, details, figures (the number of identical elements) that appear in it. In each mandala, as in a mirror, reflects your mood and inner state at the moment. It may not be very positive, then in the picture there are many gloomy colors.
- The next step is the harmonization of the mandala. Redraw those details that seem unpleasant to you: create new ones from the lines already received or simply put other threads on them. Another option is to draw a new mandala anew. Drawing a mandala is a mystery of immersion in the world of your subconscious. In this process, not the ultimate goal, but the action itself is important. In any case, the work done has a healing effect and contributes to your personal growth.
Joanna Kello, an artist and psychotherapist, has identified 13 different forms, each of which reflects one or another stage of personality development. Here is a short list of images that will help you analyze the picture.
- Stage 1. Emptiness. The image of the web, the circle is either completely pale or completely dark. All this speaks for depression.
- Stage 2. Bliss. Like stars in the sky, on the general background small forms are scattered: dots-hooks, small florets-leaves ... Such mandalas speak about passive mood.
- Stage 3. Labyrinth. Spirals, whirlwinds, zigzags appear in the picture when you are looking for something to find and begin to act.
- Stage 4. The beginning. In the figure there is a center - a spot, a circle, an embryo, or a triangle with a tip up, which means that you have chosen something important for yourself.
- Stage 5. The target. This means that there is a day, but here you can see the limitations, fears and prohibitions.
- Stage 6. Fighting the dragon. The picture is divided into two parts: top and bottom, right and left, which means a definite fight.
- Stage 7. A square in a circle, straight lines, flowers with an even number of petals - your internal conflicts are already resolved.
- Stage 8. The functioning ego. There is a central point and four rays, five elements, as well as flowers with an odd number of petals.
- Step 9: Crystallization. Symmetrical patterns. These pictures calmed and talk about the favorable completion of the task.
- Stage 10. The Gate of Death. The cross, the crucifix, the wheel - something has come to an end and it is necessary to find new goals.
- Stage 11. Fragmentation. Mandala is like a cut cake or patchwork quilt. The world of man is torn to pieces.
- Stage 12. Transcendental ecstasy. Human figures, a bird in flight, drawing is a spiritual ascent.