Download and color the March 2023 Mandala of the Month
This month’s MotM encourages us to be mindful of how and what we feel.
“Feelings or emotions
— Judith Wright
are the universal language
and are to be honored.
They are the authentic expression
of who you are
at your deepest place.”
“The best and most
— Helen Keller
beautiful things in the world
cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt
with the heart.”
“If we are always
— Shaeri Richard
pushing away from feelings
that we condemn as
wrong, painful, or ugly,
we are also pushing away
from the very energy
that can bring us incredible
joy and ecstasy.”
While being open to changing how we feel about others and their situations, this month’s MotM encourages us to look at our own feelings…some of which we have consciously (or unconsciously) buried deep within, tucked away, safe and sound. But are they really…safe and sound?
From Peter Pressman, MD on VeryWellHealth.com discusses how emotions are processed in his article the science of emotions: “The brain processes emotions in a series of steps. First, incoming information must be appraised and assigned an emotional value. This process is often very quick and may go beyond our conscious awareness. Even so, our initial emotional reaction depends on a number of individual biases and contexts. We can then identify and feel the emotion. Depending on the social situation, we may then have to regulate that emotion’s expression. For example, there are times where we may want to express rage or disgust but have to keep calm regardless.” He goes into more detail about it in his article, if you want to know more.
Our challenge becomes determining if we have any emotions that were not expressed but suppressed, especially from our childhood…and because of that we have learned to repress any emotions we don’t want to feel…which ends up repressing all of them.
“We cannot selectively
― Brené Brown
numb emotions,
when we numb the painful emotions,
we also numb the positive emotions.”
Crystal Raypole posted an article on Repressed Emotions: Finding and Releasing Them and states: “It’s natural to want to avoid feeling bad. Plenty of people feel at least a little afraid of confronting deep, intense emotions, especially those they link to unpleasant or unwanted experiences. While it may sound a little counterintuitive, learning to embrace those negative feelings can actually help improve emotional well-being over time.” She goes into more detail in her article about the why and how of finding and releasing them.
If you struggle with accessing and/or releasing repressed emotions, please seek help from a professional mental health practitioner.
My wish for you as you color this month’s mandala, is to explore your feelings, honor them as valid, and process them in a way that’s safe and appropriate for you.
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in a more self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”.
Feel free to share you colorings on social media with the hashtag #2023MotM. I’d love to see your colorings. I’ll be posting my colorings here on the MandalaoftheMonth.com as well as on FB and IG (@themandalalady)
Blessings,
Maureen,
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
btw…if you share your mandala colorings on social media, add the hashtag #MotM2023 I’d love to see them. I’ll be sharing mine on FB and IG (@themandalalady).
Mandala of the Month 