This is an invitation to experience the harmony and oneness that comes with positive interaction with others.  This is both a creative and introspective event.  You need very little to participate.  What you are about to discover is something very precious and fundamental to your goodness as a human being. 

We live in a highly fragmented and distressing time historically.  Difficult times, however, also contain within them the keys to peace and harmony.  Like the ocean waves that crash upon the shore, there is also the tide that pulls things back into the wholeness, which is the ocean itself.  We can trust this process, and we are a part of it. 

The mandala is a circular image.  The word “mandala” comes from the Sanskrit and the ancient Indian culture.  The image was used as a form of prayer and meditation.  Today, mandalas are all around us in the things we use, in architecture and art.  The great cathedrals have giant “Rose Windows” of stain glass, which are a kind of mandala.  Mandalas are images that elicit a sense of balance and peace.  The round image is a basic archetypal image of wholeness and the repetitive designs within the round border bring elements that might be dispersed into oneness.  The mandala is a basic image that will bring a sense of goodness when gazed upon.  We pick up a dish in a store and gaze fondly at the round image, enjoying the simplicity of the image and the designs that are embedded in the plate.  

In some cultures and religions, the mandala is used for prayer.  As in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a mandala is created out of sand on the ground and upon completion is swept away, implying that we should not hold on to the things of this world and that all things are transient and in a state of change. 

The mandala practice, which I am now sharing with you is an opportunity to explore the peace of creation and also give you and others around you space to do something that has never been done.  Every mandala you create will never be duplicated.  This mandala is like a snowflake, filled with all your attention, creativity and originality.  You need very little to do this activity. 

People often ask me what the finished product will be or what is the point.  The finished product is a beautiful mandala.  It is very hard to mess this up.  The real point is in the experience.  Wonderful things happen as you do the mandala, and you can notice what is going on while you create the mandala.  In the future, psychologists might be able to identify the factors involved, but for now, we are all adventurers in harmony, exploring the possibilities of doing something that is new and different. 

My one constant observation when doing mandalas with people is the sense of peace and camaraderie that takes place.  It is a kind of holy communion.  People bring to the table their issues, but they fade away in the course of the process of creating a mandala.  Competitiveness, anger and withdrawal melt away.  In that sense, the mandala practice is a great tool for group work, marriage counseling and conflict resolution.  Painting is traditionally not related to one sex culturally.  Unlike quilting where the tradition is for several women can work on a quilt together, there is no stigma for men and women to participate in creating a mandala.  Tibetan monks are traditionally all male communities and do this work as a group. Since the primary event is the social connection, the aim for a product becomes secondary and the drive for completion is also muted.  It is, however, a joyful moment when the mandala is completed and you can set it up for all to see.  It is a great surprise because as the participants were engaged in its creation, the wholeness of the mndala was never perceived.  I’m always entertained by that moment when people laugh with joy and say, “Hey, we did that!” 

I am also amazed at the kind of conversations that go on while the mandala is being created.  People begin to open up to each other spontaneously.  It is a conversation unlike most I’ve heard in our culture.  It is loving and supportive, exploring feelings and concerns without the tightness of a guarded heart.  Sometimes people, who talk a lot, finally are quiet and don’t say a single word through the whole thing.  It is sweetly humorous to me that some people will approach the brush and paint with great trepidation and claim throughout the hour that they cannot paint only to discover a wonderful mandala image at the end of their efforts.  One woman I worked with did this but as the hour progressed, her face became more and more relaxed and her designs more varied.  Our mandala was harmonious and colorful, a gift to both of us at the end of an hour of good company. 

One environment where I’ve found beneficial is with my clients and patients.  I’m a massage therapist working with seriously ill people.  Often these people have not created anything new in their lives in years.  Their hands are arthritic and painful and the only images they gaze on are on their TV sets.  One patient had several joints of her fingers amputated and struggled to hold the brush, yet created the image and opened up a whole discussion about her dreams and fears for her future, a conversation we never touched on until then.  Another patient was a victim of severe stroke that paralyzed one side of her body.  Although the brain could not keep with the design exactly, her quieted behavior showed me that she was benefiting from the experience.  She was calm and happy afterwards, while upon starting she was in an aggressive and angry state of mind. 

In the meantime you can reach us at info@sfcohen.com  We are looking forward to hearing from you.