May 2013 MotM

Download the May 2013 Mandala of the month

For the last 5 or 6 days I’ve been hearing the word “simplify” over and over again in my head. I’m pretty sure it comes from this feeling of being overwhelmed with all that I want, should and need to do…both in my personal and artist/business life.

At times, this feeling wakes me up in the middle of the night, triggering my fears and worries about how I’ll ever get it all done. Then during the day it seems like more stuff gets piled on and I end up doing everything BUT what I really wanted to do.

When I allow myself to quiet my busy mind, I’ll hear this voice that asks “what absolutely has to be done right now?” That’s when I stop and realize I can whittle my long to-do list down to a more doable 2 or 3 items, which then eases the pressure a bit. And more importantly, I can focus more clearly on just those things and actually get them done.

This mandala wants us to examine our lives to find areas where we can simplify. I look around and wonder “do I really need all these ___________?” (gadgets, books, clothes, baskets, shoes, mugs, art supplies, pens, bars of chocolate, photographs, etc. etc. etc.) or “do I really need to do ___________ right now or can it wait for another day?”

Even the mandala for this month is a bit simpler than ones perviously. It will allow you to color it in as is or play around with adding your own doodles, patterns, and shapes within the different sections.

What this mandala is really asking us to do is to determine what’s really of value to us and then let go of all the rest. And before we add anything new to our lives, ask ourselves “is this really necessary?” or “why do I want this?” It it fails to pass the “value” test…let it go. Too often we just add more on because we think we need it or we’re afraid will miss out on something if we pass on it. Time to break out of these old habits.

Our mantra for this month: Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!

With simplicity comes freedom. With simplicity comes creativity. With simplicity comes joy.

Ponder this as you color this month’s mandala.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 5 of the 2013 Mandala of the Year

April 2013 MotM

Download the April 2013 Mandala of the month

One Side of the Shadow:

By now most of us have heard about our shadow self. We usually reference it as a place where we hide the negative aspects of ourselves from others and mostly from ourselves. We often fear to explore our shadow side. Why? Because it can seem to give more evidence of our insecurities and doubts about our worthiness and lovability. And if people knew what we were really like, they’d run away…or so we think.

When we deny our shadow, it often makes its presence known in the form of other people…because that which we deny in us mirrors itself back to us. Unfortunately, we translate that into a finger pointing game. “I don’t like her because she’s so uppity.”  ”I hate how he always takes more than his fair share.” “Why do I always seem to work for controlling bosses?” …you know the drill.

These people mirror for us traits which we fail to acknowledge within ourselves. Using the examples given, in what areas of our lives are we uppity, take more than our fair share, or are controlling? It may look a little different than how we see it in others…yet it’s there within us in some form.

Key point: we can only recognize in others what already exists within ourselves…i.e.: it takes one to know one.

So here is how we can work with the shadow side:

1. Pay attention to these negative behaviors/actions in other people
2. Explore how that trait expresses itself within us (I find journaling to be very helpful for exploration work)
3. Acknowledge it
4. Honor it by thanking it…at some point in our earlier years we adopted this trait as a survival mechanism and it served us well at that time
5. Allow it to come to light as needed…it can still serve us to this day only this time we can consciously choose to use it rather than it being a knee-jerk reaction

As we do this, one of three things will happen:

1. these annoying people will move out of our lives
2. they will seem to “magically” change
3. or, we make peace with that person/trait

When I worked through an issue I had with me dad (which turned out to also be in issue with me), my dad said to me one day…”gee, you’ve changed.”  My dad still behaves in the same manner he always did, only now I have found peace in being with him as well as being able to better understand my shadow side.

 The Other Side of the Shadow

Okay now take everything that I just said and apply it to positive traits…that which we admire in other people while denying that we also have the very same traits. Remember the “Key Point” I stated earlier? …we can only recognize in others what already exists within ourselves.

This side is a bit more challenging to address since our culture tends to look down on us acknowledging our positive qualities and gifts. We consider it to be bragging. Unfortunately, what we end up doing is denying our positive qualities, traits, skills, talents, etc under the guise of humility.

The positive side of our shadow is just as important to address as the negative, and maybe even more so. When we deny our positive qualities (gifts, talents, skills, etc.) to ourselves we also deny them to the world. Until I allowed myself to call what I do “art”, and to call myself an artist, I only just dabbled in it without any goal or direction until years ago when I had someone tell me that each of us has a gift to offer the world that in someway helps people and makes the world a better place. “People are waiting for the very thing that you have to offer…why would you deny them that?” This holds true for all of us.

So here’s what we do:

1. Pay attention to these positive behaviors/actions from other people
2. Explore how that expresses itself within us
3. Acknowledge it
4. Honor it
5. Allow it to come to light

The world is waiting for what you have to offer.

Ponder this as you color this month’s mandala.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 4 of the 2013 Mandala of the Year

March 2013
Creating Balance

Download the March 2013 Mandala of the month

While we live on this earth, we exist in a dualistic environment. Hot. Cold. Day. Night. Left. Right. Male. Female. High. Low. Work. Play. Joy. Sorrow. Rain. Sun. Light. Dark. Sweet. Tart. Treasure. Junk. Head/Thought. Heart/Emotoin. Good. Bad.

For everything that exists, there appears to be an opposite. In order to know one and appreciate one, we need the know and appreciate the other.

Two concepts (how interesting) come to light with this month’s mandala:

1. Without experiencing the negatives, how can we fully appreciate the positives?  And vice versa.
   If we experience sunshine every single day, we become complacent of the joy of sunshine. When I lived in L.A. the constant sunshine depressed me. I longed for a rainy day. When it rains all the time, we tend to take the rain for granted and wish it would go away; forgetting how joyful it can be to walk in the rain or how valuable it is for our gardens.
   How can we truly know and appreciate joy without having experienced sorrow?
2. What one person considers negative another considers positive. And vice versa.
   It’s been said that this concept is what makes the world go around. For me, all I need do is visit one of our wonderful thrift shops in town to experience the treasures that people donated as “junk”. Some people might consider it a negative that a person speaks loudly; to someone who’s hard of hearing, a loud voice is greatly appreciated. Or for an orator, speaking loudly is a great trait; for a librarian…that might be an issue that needs to be addressed.
   One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

When it comes to emotions, we tend to stuff, hide or override the negative ones and only focus on experiencing the positive ones; hence the potential for the abuse of food, drugs, and/or alcohol. As Dr. Brené Brown explained in one of her TED talks:  when you numb one feeling you numb them all. So while we think we’re only numbing our anxieties, without realizing it, we are also numbing our ability to experience joy.

On a Personal Level

With regard to #1, our challenge becomes one where we take inventory of our day-to-day lives to see where we may be out of balance. Are we eating too much? (yes) Are we eating too little? (never) Are we working too much? (yes…but) Is there enough play? (no) Where are there excesses and where are we lacking? Are we giving/doing too much here and giving/doing too little over here? Throughout the month of March, become aware of areas that appear out of balance. Then find creative ways to restore that balance.

With regard to #2, our challenge becomes one where we embrace and honor all aspects of ourselves; positive and negative…which raises the issue of our definitions of positive and negative. Just how positive or negative are these aspects? I suspect that if we were to examine all our traits, we might be surprised to learn that, given certain circumstances, our perceived negative traits are really positives. There is a time and place for all aspects of ourselves.

If there’s any anxiety about expressing perceived negative traits explore creative ways to do so. For instance if expressing anger is difficult (unlady-like and all the BS), grab a pillow, connect with that anger, and then start banging it on your bed…the pillow and the bed can handle it. I did this years ago and at first it seemed silly however as I continued with it, I really started feeling it and it turned into quite a powerful and cathartic experience. Highly recommend it.

Bottom line

When we create balance in our lives, we become a more whole human being (a mandala), experiencing life to the fullest.

Ponder this as you color this month’s mandala.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

ps: if you’re looking for a fascinating book on the idea of balance, read “A Stroke of Insight” by Jill Bolte Taylor 

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 3 of the 2013 Mandala of the Year

February 2013 MotM

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I’ve heard the phrase “one thing leads to another” all my life without giving it much thought. This month, however, I see it in a different light.

I sometimes find myself feeling so stuck with figuring out what I want to do that I usually end up doing nothing…and usually for silly reasons like “what if I don’t like it”, “what if I mess it up”, “what if I’m just wasting my time”, “what if I’m missing out on something even better”, etc.

I tend to forget the other “what ifs”…”what if I really like”, “what if it works out”, “what if I find out that this is really what I want to”, and so on.

This month’s mandala reminds us that our lives are a journey…weaving in, out and around in all manner of directions. We explore one area for awhile, then we spot another area to explore following that path where ever it leads us, and so on. We forget that until we move forward we’ll miss the opportunities that are up ahead…even if it looks like we’re moving backwards.

Our challenge is to be aware of this phenomenon…to recognize that what may look like going in circles or backwards is really just us exploring the area from a different perspective. It only seems like we’re lost if we “sleep walk” through it without a clue.

And sometimes in order to get from point A to point B, requires us going to points L, M and N first.

I’m reminded for a cute song from the “Santa Claus is Coming to Town Movie”…Put one foot in front of the other (warning: you’ll be singing this song for the rest of the day):

Ponder this as you color this month’s mandala.

Happy Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 2 of the 2013 Mandala of the Year

January 2013 MotM

Download the January 2013 Mandala of the month

When all else fails…

• read the directions
• start over again
• chart a new course
• punt

Just a short list of some possible endings to “when all else fails.” You may have a few of your own to add to this list.

With so many possible interpretations for all the sections of this mandala, here too we have many possible endings to “when all else fails.”

I sense that the overall meaning of this month’s mandala relates to our often futile search outside of ourselves for peace, joy, and the answers to our life’s questions…when in reality we just need to stop, breathe, and re-connect to that higher part of ourselves that always is there for us, offering peace, joy, answers, etc.

I use the word re-connect because when we seek outside, we disconnect and forget. And while shopping, chocolate, video games, etc. give us moments of fun and joy, their effects are temporary…until we get the next fix.

For some of us connecting with our higher self, even believing that we even have a higher self, can seem challenging. How can we trust it? What if I receive an answer I don’t like? What if it tells me to do something I don’t want to do? Ah..that’s where exploring and experimenting with it comes into play.

We always have free will. Regardless of what comes to us, we have the option to ignore it. Over time however as we start to pay attention, and even follow through on some of it, we come to realize that we are only guided with what’s in our best interest and for the highest good of all.

Start with the little things and work up to the bigger things. A fun one I like to play with is when I have more than one way to drive to a destination. I just check in to see which way feels like it would get me there quickly, safely and easily in that moment. Sometimes it takes me the longer route distance-wise, and yet I managed to arrive quicker than I thought.

Just play with it and ponder it as you color this month’s mandala of the month.

Happy Coloring! Happy 2013!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 1 of the 2013 Mandala of the Year.

December 2012 MotM

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As the year comes to a close later this month, we’re being asked now to open up to the idea of infinite possibilities. We can continue with the same-old routine or we can look beyond to something even more for ourselves both individually and as a global community.

What kind of a world do we want to live in? What kind of bodies do we want to live in? What kind of community do we want to live in? What kind of home do we want to live in? Ponder beyond just the physical aspects of these questions, to answers that also incorporate our emotional, mental, and spiritual selves.

We may find it difficult to come up with ways to change our global existence when we ask “how can I…one human being…make a difference?” On an individual level, we can strive to be our best with everything we do each day. We can start by simply asking ourselves & answering questions like “am I doing _________ to the best of my ability?” or “is what I am about to for the greatest good of all, including myself?”. Imagine what this world would be like if we ALL lived this way? I know it would be amazing!

In our relationships (one-on-one, in groups, on the web), we can ask ourselves (and answer) “is what I am about to say or do divisive or does it make strides in uniting us?” or “am I truly listening to this person or am I already plotting what I’m going to say next.” We start by being fully present when interacting with others.

With the new year approaching and even more importantly, with the new 26,000 year cycle of the Mayan Calendar approaching (December 22, 2012), we need to stop doing/being/believing that which is failing to serve us any more, keeping us stuck in old patterns. Create new patterns of success, peace, love, joy, and creativity. For it is in these patterns that we can change our world for the better. Start with baby steps and work up to the bigger stuff.

Deep down we all want this…and we all know better . It’s time to move forward to avail ourselves of the world of infinite possibilities. We can do this!

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

Happy Coloring! Happy Holidays to all!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 12 of the 2012 Mandala of the Year.

sincerely,

Maureen, The Mandala Lady

“Practice” November 2012 MotM

Download the November 2012 Mandala of the month

We as a culture tend to overlook the art of practice. We want what we want when we want it. We want to do/be/have something and if it fails to happen on the first try we often throw in the towel and move onto the next thing ultimately feeling frustrated and down on ourselves for a myriad of reasons.

The Art of Practice takes time, focus, and energy. To truly master anything, we must give it our full attention over and over again.

I find that to be most true when it comes to quieting the mind. Over the years I set up the intention to meditate, then when I actually do it, I start out okay and then the mind chatter sets in and I give up, saying to myself “I can’t do this”, feeling like such a loser.

Last month at a psychic fair I did 7 “Inner-Self Mandalas & Readings” and as usually happens, a theme weaved its way through most of the readings: practice.  I found that most of the people I read for had the same resistance towards varying forms of meditation and inner work. “I tried that and it doesn’t work” or “I can’t do it” were common responses.

For each of them I reminded them that it takes practice. That with each practice it will improve and become easier. Instead of trying to do it for 20 or 30 minutes. Just do if for 1 minute a day…then up it to 2 minutes a day.

It’s more about the quality of the time than the quantity of time. With each iteration, strive to improve. This also holds true for anything else you are striving to do or be.

Hang in there, keep at it, you can do it…just allow yourself the time to practice…you are worth it!

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

Happy Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 11 of the 2012 Mandala of the Year.

October 2012 MotM

Download the October 2012 Mandala of the month

Rise and shine, folks! The time is now. Stop the excuses. Waiting for things to be perfect before we put ourselves out there…ain’t gonna cut it any more.

While design-wise this month’s mandala looks rather simplistic, it actually allows you to make it as intricate and detailed as you want it to be. The control of its destiny is in your hands.

Of course you’re always free to color the mandalas of the month any way you please, for this month, I would like to offer a possible suggestion on how to approach the coloring of “Reaching Out.”

Think of this mandala as an expression of how you really want to be in this world. What images or colors would fill the “sun” (heart/soul) area? What’s in the background supporting you? What fears/blocks (things in front of the sun) have kept you from moving forward? What gifts (ribbons) have you yet to fully unveil to the world.

“Reaching Out” encourages us to fully extend ourselves, to grow into the ones we  are truly  meant to be. Yes, it’s scary and we risk being vulnerable… on the other hand, waiting until things are just right may never happen. It not now…when?

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Teddy Roosevelt, speaking at the Sorbonne in Paris, April 23, 1910

A great resource for working through our fear of vulnerability, is the work of Dr. Brené Brown. Her new book “Daring Greatly” uses Roosevelt’s quote as inspiration along with the 12 years of research on shame, vulnerability, and more importantly on living a whole-hearted life. I highly recommend her 2 TED talks.

• www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
• www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame.html

Another perspective on reaching out…people are waiting in the wings, waiting for you to be fully out there so that you can help them, show them how it’s done.

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

Happy Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 10 of the 2012 Mandala of the Year.

September 2012: Stay Calm

Download the September 2012 Mandala of the month (link fixed 9/2/12)

When I received the title to this month’s mandala, I realized that we all talk about needing to be calm, to calm down, to relax, breathe yet we overlook or forget about the next part: STAYING calm.

I find I can usually calm down when I need to however before I know it, I’m having to remind myself to calm down again.  I can finish a beautiful meditation and within 10 minutes I’m buzzing around doing this and that, all hyped up and raring to go.

This month’s mandala reminds us to find a way to stay in “calm” once we achieve it. I know that the more we practice this concept the longer we can stay in this “calm” state.

The image of this mandala looks like a human head with an outer band around it, acting like a shield keeping the chaos out and the calmness in. It reminds us that regardless of what’s going on around us, internally we want/need to stay calm.

I sense that the center of the ‘head’ marks the location of the pineal gland. Rene Descartes called it the “seat of the soul”. It produces melatonin…

“a structurally simple hormone that communicates information about environmental lighting to various parts of the body. Ultimately, melatonin has the ability to entrain biological rhythms…. The light-transducing ability of the pineal gland has led some to call the pineal the “third eye”.  www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/otherendo/pineal.html

For more on the pineal gland, including its metaphysical properties & history:  www.wayfinding.net/pineal.htm  and   www.viewzone.com/pineal.html

Tom Kenyon, a sound healer, offers an original 5-minute piece of meditation music specifically for the pineal gland. It’s free to download after you agree to his copyright statement. Once on the “Listening” page, scroll down to find the pineal gland meditation:  www.tomkenyon.com/listening

So let’s take time this month to bring our “calmness” to the next level. Be calm…stay calm.

Ponder this as you color this month’s mandala.

Happy (Calm) Coloring!

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala lady

www.facebook.com/TheMandalaLady

Be sure to download Section 9 of the 2012 Mandala of the Year.