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January 2012: Make It So

January 1, 2012 by The Mandala Lady

January 2012 MotM

Download the January 2012 Mandala of the month

Happy 2012, Everyone!

This month’s mandala feels like a call to action, which seems appropriate for the beginning of the year when we tend to make new year’s resolutions.

I find it’s one thing to make a resolution and another to follow through on them. In a recent email I received, it stated that until we actually commit to doing something, we’re basically standing at the doorway with one foot in and one foot out.

Along with lacking a full commitment, we also tend to create either ambiguous resolutions (get in shape, read more books, etc) or make them so outrageous that we set ourselves up for failure (run 20 miles a day, read 2 books a week, etc.)

I’d like to offer another option…how about we strive to find a way to do a little better today than we did yesterday. So rather than having 4 servings of carbs in one day, make it 3 servings. If we did ten reps of weight resistant exercises last week, do 12 reps this week. If we remembered to give a smile to 3 people today, then give 4 tomorrow.

If you have some big projects, break them down into smaller, more manageable ones. Instead of trying to organize the garage in one day and feeling very overwhelmed by it, do one section at a time. Before you know it, you can finally park your car in the garage! :-)

We have 366 days this year so spread it out. Keep it simple and easy…baby steps. Come January 1, 2013 we will be way ahead of the game and in a much better place than we were today.

I heard Dr. Phil tell a guest once that January 1 rolls around every year regardless of what we do or don’t do. So would your rather be better off  or worse off when it comes around again? It’s your choice…it’s our choice.

Pick one thing a day/week/month to improve on and, as Captain Picard on Star Trek Next Generation would say, “make it so.”

Coloring Tip #1

When struggling with what colors to use, try using complementary colors or a variation of the complementary color.

  1. red <-> green
  2. blue <-> orange
  3. yellow <-> purple

So if you have a lot of blue in your piece, add some orange.  Too much pink? add some version of green.

Please feel free to share your experience with coloring this month’s mandala. I’d love to hear about your progress and/or see an image of your coloring. :-)

Be sure to download/color Section 1 of the 2012 Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen
The Mandala Lady

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December 2011: Letting Go

November 30, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

Dec 2011

Download the December 2011 Mandala of the month

We often hear the phrase just “let it go.” And yet we hear this without being offered any ways to do so. How do we let go when we are still aware of that which we are to let go. Sure it’s easy to say, following through becomes the challenge.

So along with coloring this month’s mandala of the month, we have a way to work on letting go…if we so desire.

The “letting go” of which we speak of here is the letting go of old patterns, beliefs and/or limitations that have long stopped serving us in any positive way. Some of my old patterns that I want to release are…procrastinating, being messy/disorganized, being 15 minutes ahead of where I am actually present, and judgement (both of others and of myself).

Here’s how it works.

  1. Come up with 5-10 positive attributes you would like to be (calm, confident, responsible, orderly, etc.)
  2. Pick the top 5 and write one in each of the 5 smaller circles in the mandala. In my example I wrote “calm” in one of the smaller circles.

  3. Sample

    In the 5 lower boxes of the stack of boxes around the mandala, write down a word or phrase describing what stops you from experiencing that positive attribute. You can put in the box to the left or right of where you wrote the positive attribute. In my example I wrote “worry”.

  4. Now in the smaller box, draw in a symbol to represent what you can do to transform the limitation into a positive. Make the symbol something that will help you remember the transformative action you can take. In my example, I know that taking some deep breathes helps me to calm down so I drew something that looks to me like a big inhale and then exhale.
  5. When you’ve done this all the way around, you can then color the mandala. All the while being aware of your limitations being transformed into your positive attributes.

The center of this mandala represents your well-being, the essence of who you are. You can think of the transformations being channeled into the mandala’s center and then radiating out to your positive attributes.

You can repeat this process as often as you need for as many old patterns, beliefs and limitations as you want to release.

I know many methods exist for helping us let go of stuff…this is just one. You’re welcome to pursue any practice that will help you. The sooner we can let go of these old patterns and limitations, the sooner we can begin living authentic lives.

It’s also a great way to prepare for the new year. :-)

Here’s a great blog post from Daily Om about Revealing your True Self.
[added 12/2/2011]

Be sure to check out Section 12 of the 2011 Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen
The Mandala Lady

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November 2011: The Awakening

November 2, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

November 2011 MotM

Download the November 2011 Mandala of the month

I receive Vernon Howard’s Daily “Secrets of Life” emails. The posting for November 1 ties in nicely with the message of this month’s MotM: The Awakening.

“The reason a human being feels fear is because he has allowed himself, carelessly allowed himself to be invaded. It’s like a man sleeping in his home during the day. He’s supposed to be up and alert and looking around during the daylight, but he isn’t. He’s napping and vandals sneak and toss and tear and break, and he suffers the consequences of his own sleeping state. Now, you can learn how to stay awake so that when the psychic vandals plan to invade you, they will know they’re not going to get in the doors because your state of consciousness, of spiritual alertness is the lock. They cannot penetrate beyond the door that is locked by your understanding of yourself, of how fear operates.”
                      from a talk given 1/11/1986 AM
Vernon Howard’s Higher World – MP3 CD Volume 1, talk 6, track 6

Essentially what he’s saying is that when we maintain diligent awareness/consciousness, old programming, fears and the like are less likely to invade our space and take over our lives.

Speaking for myself,  I have lived mostly a knee-jerk reaction life; without really being aware of what I’m doing or saying, I just go about my day and then wonder how I arrived home or where I left my keys or wonder if I fed the dogs. And in relationships, I tend towards knee-jerk reactions if I think my state of being is under attack; I end up saying regrettable things before I realize I’m even talking.

It’s time to break away from old patterns that have stopped serving us anymore, that prevent us from reaching our fully potential. The more we pay attention, the more we take an extra moment before saying/doing/reacting, the more likely we will be able to live a more conscious/awake life.

So what does it mean to live a conscious life. It means that when we become fully present, in each moment we know exactly how we feel and think AND, more importantly, we have the option to choose again. In any given moment we have the option to choose peace, to choose joy, to choose love, to choose happiness.  The secret is, this can only be done by being fully aware, by being fully awake and in the moment.

The simplest way to reprogram ourselves, is to remember to take a breath before taking any action or before saying anything. Take that extra moment to process what’s really going on in that moment. Am I watching where I’m driving or am I rehashing my grocery list in my head? Did I really hear what someone said or am I already formulating what I’m going to say next? Am I really hungry or am I eating that cookie because it’s there in front of me?

One of my favorite lessons from “A Course in Miracles” is “I can see peace instead of this.” You can also change it to state “I can see joy instead of this” or any state of being you want.

On another level, we’re also being ask to awaken to our true spiritual selves. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” It’s easy to forget this and become lost in believing that we are human beings trying to be spiritual. Through being still, calming the mind, coloring mandalas, being creative, breath work, dreams, journaling and the like, we connect more deeply and directly with our higher selves, that part of ourselves that knows the truth, that knows we are all one, that loves and accepts us on all levels for who we really are…spiritual beings having a human experience.

Ponder this as you color this month’s Mandala of the Month.

Be sure to check out this month’s section of the 2011 Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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October 2011: Open Heart

October 1, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

October 2011 MotM

Download the October 2011 Mandala of the month

What does it mean to have an open heart? When we talk about it medically, we usually associate it with open heart surgery; when you have something so seriously wrong with your heart that it requires the surgeon to open up your chest in order to fully access the heart so it can be repaired.

For us, in this case, it means to open ourselves, our hearts, to the joy within, to the love within, to the divine within. I often hear myself and others say that they lack joy, love, or light in their lives and that we tend to look outside ourselves to find it. We forget that all this and more exists in us already…that we are the ones who put up the barriers to them. It would be as if I locked myself out of my house, while standing at the front door forgetting that I have the keys in my hand. It really is that simple and yet we make it so difficult.

In “A Course in Miracles” it calls them veils…that to remove these ‘barriers’ is as easy as lifting a veil. Ironically, we forget that we put the barriers/veils there in the first place because of some hurt, fear, or other misunderstanding. Somewhere along the line we decided to be hurt whenever someone says or does some particular thing to us. Most times it’s not even about us and yet we take it very personally. For me it’s the implication that I’m either stupid or wrong; that if I’m considered wrong or stupid then I’m unlovable, unacceptable, unworthy.

So how does this relate to an “open heart?” Yes, we may have issues, vulnerabilities, flaws, imperfections, quirks, idiosyncrasies, character defects, and the like…and that’s okay. Living with an open heart is knowing these things about ourselves and loving/accepting ourselves regardless. Rather than hiding from our character defects or trying to cover them up with false personas, acknowledge them, accept them because it’s only when we do this that we can then have the option to change them if we so desire.

We keep thinking we have to wait for the others to change, to love us, to approve of us, to accept us first when in fact it has to start with us. When we open our hearts to ourselves, our whole selves, we can open our hearts to others.

If you have the chance I highly recommend watching this you tube video from Dr. Brené Brown about living wholeheartedly, she explains all of this so well.

Ponder what it would be like to live with an open heart as you color this month’s mandala of the month.

And be sure to download/color this month’s section of the 2011 Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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September 2011: The Path

September 2, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

Download the September 2011 Mandala of the month

Like the glass half full/half empty scenario, have you just  come from the mountainous region in this month’s mandala or are you about to head into them? It might be fun to explore both directions.

You can decide how this scene plays out. While mountains exist off in the distance, and the path leads to/from it, does it necessarily mean that the path actually goes into the mountains or does it go straight on by, offering a very scenic, close-up view of the mountains? You can decide. If you came from the mountain region, what was it like there? Did you climb the mountains? Were you alone?

You could treat this mandala like a dream and analyze it in the Gestalt manner of imagining yourself to be each part of the mandala to find out its message or meaning. For example, as you are coloring it, imagine yourself to be the smallest of the five mountains. What does it feel like? What color(s) does it want to be? What does it have to say about itself and its place in this mandala?

What about the path? Where are you in relation to the path? How are you traversing it? What does the path mean to you?

And what about the window that we see between us and the whole mountain range/pathway landscape? I find it fascinating that it looks like the peace symbol from the 60′s. Is this mandala telling us to follow our path from the perspective of peace? What does it look or feel like to you?

“The Path” offers lots to ponder as you color this month’s mandala of the month.

And be sure to download/color this month’s section of the 2011 Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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August 2011: Field of Dreams

August 2, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

August 2011 MOTM

Download the August 2011 Mandala of the month

What’s in your field of dreams? Do you have a field of dreams? At the moment I have a backyard of weeds, with some tomatoes and green beans making a valiant effort to thrive regardless of the condition of our yard.

I admit I lack any real talent when it comes to gardening. I envy my friends and neighbors who do remarkable things with their yards. They seem to live and breath gardening.

Okay, I went a little off topic. This month’s mandala invites us to create a field of dreams, to make them a little more tangible than just mere  thoughts in our heads. Think of each ‘blossom’ in the mandala as a goal or dream.

What do you dream about? I have a few dreams that I tend to treat as passing fancies with thoughts such as “yeah…right” or “if only” or “impossible” … to name a few. It’s amazing how limiting beliefs limit my dreams from becoming reality.

So this month it’s all about planting the seeds of our dreams regardless of our internal neigh-sayers. Time to dust them off, take them from our thoughts and see them face to face. That’s all we have to do for right now. Just writing them out starts the ‘planting’ process. If you feel compelled to take any additional action towards making the dream a reality, by all means, do so.

I know we’ve held back from pursuing some of our dreams by taking to heart what  those close to us say such as “you don’t want to do that” or “you’ll never be able to that” or maybe we were the ones saying these things to ourselves.

Here’s a new response to such comments…”yeah, you may right but I’m going to go for it anyway.” Usually our biggest ‘failures’ are not from trying something only to have it not work out the way we expected…they become learning experiences. Our biggest failure is to not have tried at all. Just feel the fear and do it anyway. To quote the movie “Bounce”…it’s not brave unless your scared.”

So I ask again…what’s in your field of dreams?

Ponder this as you color this month’s mandala of the month.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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July 2011: Bursting with Light

July 3, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

MotM: July 2011

Download the July 2011 Mandala of the month

It seems quite fitting (at least in the states) that “bursting with light” is the theme for July as we usually celebrate our independence (4th of July) with fireworks. They light up the sky with bright colors, explosions and beautiful starbursts and flares.

This mandala focuses on more than just fireworks in the sky…it’s about the fireworks in our hearts and souls. It’s that part of us that we all, to some degree, hide from the rest of the world for any number of reasons, with fear being at the core.

“Bursting with Light” encourages us to let our light shine…and more than just by a little. We only need a small spark on which to grow and shine light on our true, authentic self.

In the movie “Runaway Bride”, Julia Roberts’ character runs away from every man she’s about to marry. A clue to her reasons comes with her taste in eggs. It seems that depending on how her fiance likes his eggs cooked, she unconsciously adopts the same style. Later in the movie she decides to cook eggs every way she can to find out for herself what she really likes. You’ll have to watch the movie to find out which one she picks. :-)

This movie offers a metaphor for our lives…are we making our own choices or letting others decide for us, consciously or unconsciously? Are we letting our fear of what others say/think, hide our light?

The time has come for us to come forward, bursting with light, letting our true selves, our true natures shine forth.

Ponder this as you color this month’s mandala of the month.

Also…be sure to check out Section 7 of the Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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I’m late!

July 2, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

Hi everyone…my apologies…July’s mandala of the month will be posted tomorrow, Sunday, July 3. Hope you are all having a lovely 4th of July weekend…regardless of which country you reside. :-)

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June 2011: Heartfelt

June 3, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

June 2011 MotM

Download the June 2011 Mandala of the month

What does it mean for something to be “heartfelt”? By definition, it means to be sincere, open and genuine.

Are we living a heartfelt life? Do we go about our business in a sincere, open and genuine manner? I know for me, sometimes I catch myself being different depending on whom I’m with and what I’m doing…mostly because it’s scary to be and say and act how I really am.

Recently I started doing Mandala Readings (www.MandalaReadings.com) both on a general level and for individuals. I have yet to fully broadcast to the world that I’m doing them…of course now the cat is out of the bag, isn’t it. All the silly little fears about approval, rejection, ridicule, etc. have stopped me from fully jumping into the deep end of the pool with letting people know that my mandala art has taken me to a new and exciting level. The amazing thing for me has been that the more I do these readings, the more acceptance and approval I’m receiving.

I watched a video of a woman talking to an audience telling them that as soon as she accepted her “freak-ness”, that’s when she could drop the fears and limitations of who she was; it gave her freedom. She could stop hiding behind a false persona and finally be genuine and true to herself.

How many of us let the fear of what others think and say affect how we are? I know my hand is raised. When I catch that happening, I remind myself of a simple mantra…so what. So what if others think I’m weird/strange/odd. Because as many people who think I’m weird, there are that many and more  who fully appreciate and love who I am and what I do.

So back to heartfelt. What does it mean to live a heartfelt life? It means connecting more with our true passion, our heart’s desire without the fear and judgment that the mind often interjects. It means being genuine.

Yes, I know the fears will pop up. The trick is to recognize them, even talk to them. When we can bring them to the light of day they often diminish and can even disappear. I have this strong suspicion that most people who disapprove of others for truly expressing themselves, really harbor their own fears about being true to themselves for fear of the very same ridicule. How silly is that? :-)

Two wonderful books that helped me handle fear are “Love is Letting Go of Fear” by Gerald Jampolsky and “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway” by Susan Jeffers.

So here’s what we can do. Start with baby steps, pushing the envelope a little further each time or we can be really brave and just take a flying leap. If we stumble, just get up, figure out how to do it better next time, and then continue onward and upward. Remember and adopt easy mantras like “so what”, “keep moving forward”,  “I can handle this”, and “it’s not brave unless you’re scared.”  Most people will forgive and honor anything as long as we come from a genuine, sincere, and heartfelt place.

Ponder what heartfelt means to you as you color this month’s mandala of the month.

Also…be sure to check out Section 6 of the Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady

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May 2011: Is that a Fact?

May 1, 2011 by The Mandala Lady

May 2011 MotM

Download the May 2011 Mandala of the month

How much of what we experience in our lives is factual? I know with our current state of the media, often times what is reported as fact is really someone’s opinion stated as if it was factual. Most people who watch it think “If it’s reported as news, it must be true.”

To take that comment on a more personal level, if someone of perceived authority says to us, “you’re stupid”, “you’re smart”, “you’re skinny”, “you’re fat”, “you’re ugly”, “you’re pretty”, “you’re a klutz”, “you’re a jerk”, “you’re a sweetheart”, etc”, well then it must be true…why would this person lie. All of those statements are opinions; and some can hurt. Statements of fact would be more like “you’re 5’2″ tall”, “you have blue eyes”, or “you weigh 150 lbs.”

How much of what we’ve been told over the years have we accepted as fact when in reality it is opinion? As a kid I spilled milk at the dinner table a couple of times and from that point on “they” called me a klutz…which I bought into and accepted as a fact for a good portion of my life. And yes, I have cried about it on a few occasions.

For years I hated meatloaf and declared it as if it were fact. Then one day, as an adult, I decided to make a meatloaf and found out that I love it! While that too is an opinion, it’s an opinion made after testing out my previous opinion. In another experiment I found out that “yep…I hate peas.” Still an opinion however I based it upon testing it’s validity.

A fact is black and white…it either is or it isn’t. Opinions, however, can change…and opinions vary based on perspective or context (one woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure). If I stand next to a person who weighs 102 lbs, I would be considered overweight. On the other hand, if I stand next to a morbidly obese person, I would be considered thin.

My father calls himself stupid because while growing up during the depression he had to drop out of school to help support the family. To me he’s a genius…and I make sure to tell him often. He can walk into a room and tell you how much dry wall it would take to cover the walls just by visually scanning the room. He can calculate in his head, in fractions, measurements for perfectly installing a door, building a house, making a wooden rocking horse, and so on. My dad considers himself stupid because he lacks book smarts. I tell you this, when it comes to carpentry and all things construction I’d go to my dad before I’d go to any professor at MIT. Being “stupid” is an opinion.

In my opinion I consider myself to be fat (the medical industry calls me overweight). However calling myself fat is yet another way to belittle myself and sabotage my overall well-being. The fact is, I weigh 150 lbs. Looking at it from a factual perspective, I can choose to continue to be 150 lbs or I can choose to do something different. Regardless, I am worthwhile and deserve to be happy and at peace with myself.

As we go about the month of May, let’s pay attention to the comments we make to others and especially the ones to ourselves. Is what we’re saying a fact or opinion? If it is an opinion, is it the truth? From where did this opinion originate?

Affirmation for the month: 

Even though I am (fill in the blank), I am worthwhile and deserve to be happy and at peace with myself just as I am.

Keep the affirmations in the positive and factual vs opinion. Examples:

  • Instead of saying ‘even though I am fat…’ say “even though my body weighs 150 lbs…”
  • Instead of saying ‘even though I’m stupid…’ say “even though I dropped out of school…” (or whatever the basis is for you thinking you’re “stupid”)
  • Instead of saying ‘even though I can’t afford to buy a new computer… ‘ say “even though I currently lack the funds to buy a new computer…”

Feel free to share any affirmations you are using in the comment section.

Also…be sure to check out Section 5 of the Mandala of the Year.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully, Maureen, The Mandala Lady

*IMHO – in my humble opinion

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