I am in a year long program with Julie Gibbons called the Mandala Magic 2015 and I am just loving this process of delving deep into the journey of the 12 stages of The Great Round developed by Susanne Fincher. Julie also explores the great round from other schools of thoughts.
In exploring the first stage The Void I had some deep revelations that have helped me with the chaos I often experience as part of living in a world full or rush, noise and demands from the outside.
The first stage is called The Void and the qualities that I explored of this stage in the last month were surrender, rest, healing, gathering energy, waiting, sacred feminine, Mother Nature, and Chaos.
Julie recommends drawing of the mandala with a dark, preferably black color. And that is exactly what I did. My first mandala came to being when I was seeking to rest after three weeks of doing some new projects as well as after a workshop on Creative Journaling. Workshops often are huge energy depleting events for me. I love leading them, but as an introvert I also need breaks to gather my energy. There was an inner calling to grab my journal and paint a mandala, that is when I completed the class videos and dove into my journal.
Drawing a mandala that is just black and white, basic shaped can be a challenge if you want the process to be meaningful. While I was drawing the void I imagined myself resting within the darkness, I imagined myself protecting my boundaries and reenergizing them. I felt tremendously connected and rested doing this first mandala.
The next day I went back to my journal and did this two page spread. I wrote about chaos and what it looks like in my everyday life. In writing this I was able to acknowledge the need for this stage within all of us. Chaos must exist in order for us to find our clarity. Chaos is what the universe was born from. Chaos is the rhythm of the universe, of mothernature, and chaos is present within all of us, it is part of that universal rhythm.
In drawing the mandala and writing about it , that is what I began to acknowledge. From this place of wisdom I also connected with the fact that if chaos was a part of me that was also a part of the universe then all I need to do is go beyond the ego and connect with just the chaos when difficult moments come upon me.
Let me explain, that evening, my partner and I got into a fight. I was pulsating with utter anger. I left the home without anything to say and went for a walk with the kids. During the walk I remembered my mandala and in doing so I was able to embrace the chaos as part of who I am, as part of the universe. But I was still angery with my partner. Later that evening I went running and I wondered how I can use the insight of “Beyond Ego” to help me with my anger. The more I found myself picture the void and connect with the chaos (the dark seething anger, in this instance) I felt the more I was able to practically think about the situation with my partner and the more I was able to acknowledge my wrongs. Within a couple of hours we were able to diffuse the anger and become friends again. It is amazing that doing this, sitting with process did all that. Perhaps that is why Mandala’s are so powerful in the first place.
My experience with the void (in the void?) has been a powerful one. One that has helped me embrace my emotions without lashing out on those I love or talking the situation itself too seriously. It has helped me connect with the raw emotion of anger in a way that feels more natural. It feels like a gift, this process and it such a wonderful way to embrace difficult emotions.
Have you ever tried to draw this mandala before? How has it been for you? If you haven’t tried it, then perhaps now is a time for it?