Mandala

“In the products of the unconscious we discover mandala symbols, that is, circular and quaternity figures which express wholeness, and whenever we wish to express wholeness, we employ just such figures. ”-Carl Jung

As a young art student, I learned that symmetry was uncool, it is better to have your composition be irregular and unbalanced. Always use odd numbers of objects. That way it grabs the eye, holds interest. 

Nevertheless, many of my compositions come out symmetrical. It just feels good to me to do mandala structures. Mandalas are naturally beautiful.

I have a mandala brain. It likes symmetry. A lot of sacred art is symmetrical, even concentric, and radially symmetrical. My geometric mirror ipad art apps make the process of mandala making really fun.

In meditation I also see mandalas. My perception is that this is a view as if I were looking down at the top of my head from above, showing all of the energies at play in my field at that moment. Just like seeing a tree from above, with the trunk in the center and the branches radiating out. 

Mandalas are centering, focusing devices, that mirror our brain's visual way of perceiving, which probably mirrors the way the universe is structured. This brings a feeling a of peace, and naturally aligns us in harmony with our soul essence.

Labyrinths, found all over the ancient world, are walkable mandalas. 

Traditional indigenous humans on opposite sides of the planet apparently independently of one another, developed sand painting mandalas, the Navahos and the Tibetans. Many spiritual traditions and meditations use mandala like sacred art.

People are making millions of mandalas!

“ I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point — namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the centre. It is the exponent of all paths." -Carl Jung

(You can share your mandala art here:)