Creativity and Art

Mandala Art: Healing Shame and the Road to Resilience

• Connect to an inner sense of calm and relaxation

• Increase Self Awareness

• A tool for meditation

"Trust that which gives you meaning and accept it as your guide"
Carl Jung

What is a Mandala?

The word Mandala is Sanskrit: An Indian language developed over 2,300 years ago. It translates into “circle”. Concentric circles that form spirals that connote personal and spiritual growth and movement towards a whole, healed self. Symbolically it represents wholeness towards an interconnectedness with the external world and the inner self.

For hundreds of years, mandala art has been used as a tool for self-expression and spiritual transformation. The circle patterns characteristic of the mandala are often found in cathedrals, labyrinths, gardens and religious paintings.

The psychoanalyst Carl Jung used Mandala drawing as a therapeutic practice to create a spontaneous path into dreams and unconsciousness to heal one’s inner self. Joseph Campbell brought Mandalas to us as an approach to help pull together broken parts of your life towards a balanced center.

Shame and Mandala Art...

Mandala art can be used in the shame resilience process to connect to the pain caused by shame and to bring awareness to the behaviors caused by shame. Self worth and positive self regard are lost to shame. Resilience is the road to recovery from shame. Two important elements of shame resilience are recognizing shame and speaking shame. Mandala drawing is a healing option to recognizing shame and naming it in your mind. In order to reclaim the power shame has over your personal core energy, resilience must be practiced

“Shame is a core emotion – it strikes us at our center and radiates through every part of us. (Dr. Brene Brown)” . Mandala healing works to heal the core center towards maintaining healthy social and personal external connections.

Helpful Links:
http://www.sfcohen.com/index2.html
http://www.mandalahealing.com/mandala_art.htm