Mandala as a therapeutic tool in self-knowledge, healing and personal growth!

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     The simple process of drawing a mandala is therapeutic by itself! First of all, It requires the deliberate decision to re-orient your attention from the outside to the inside world, having the intention to explore your own universe.  

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      The entire process is calm and relaxing, like a meditation in motion and it comes with relief, from the physical to the mental and emotional level. Moreover, while drawing, you create a connection with that part of you which express itself free from mental conditioning, from prejudices, that inner child who intuitively knows how to draw a mandala and which colors go there where the mind is overwhelmed.

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   When someone draws a therapeutic mandala, he maintains the observer perspective,  becoming the witness of his own reactions, thoughts and feelings and simultaneously being also the practical instrument for the mandala to take shape and color. It is like a conscious act of disidentification and letting go of control, with the purpose of self-knowledge, to get to know yourself better. On the other side, the drawing is intuitive, some shapes or symbols appear spontaneously, the colors are chosen according to what the soul aspires, following the principle that there are no right or wrong decisions.

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      The shape of a mandala is an ideal space to express yourself, due to its circularity and the repetitive character of the elements inside the circle. The circle is known as a fundamental shape from the sacred geometry perspective, being a symbol of the entire Universe, without beginning or end, having infinite possibilities, same as its central point symbolizes the being that sustains it. Furthermore, the repetitiveness and the symmetry are other two factors that make the mandala that special. In the process of drawing it, the fact that you automatically/mechanically repeat the same shape, offers you the opportunity to enter in a sort of conscious trance, where you have the space to observe yourself at all levels; physically, you will be able to see how your body looks like, its position, different spontaneous reactions, the level of tension or relaxation of the muscles, what are its needs and so on. By watching your thoughts without engaging in them, you can observe the type of thoughts that arise in the mind and this can be extremely revealing sometimes. Also the emotional reactions have a lot of information to offer about yourself.

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      While somebody is drawing a therapeutic mandala, he is also self-centered, with no worries and connected to his intuition. Few are that moments when we really offer us some time to stay with ourselves, to get to know ourselves better and to create a better defined connection with our supreme self, that part of us which is not influenced by the time passing and the changing of our values and identities.

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     At the end of the experience, a psychological analysis of the personality can be done. Giving the idea that mandala is a physical representation of the human psyche, the final product is like a map, a holistic image of what the subconscious or the unconscious contains. Moreover, according to psychoanalyst Carl Jung, the mandala is a representation of the self, of the whole being.

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     Depending on different variables, like the openness, the depth a person manages to reach, the psycho-spiritual stage he/she is in and so on, the creation of mandalas with therapeutic purposes can be extremely revealing sometimes, very useful and curative. 

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      This process can be done individually, or in group. The power of a group is also very important! Where there are several with the same intention, a space is created to support the smooth and effortless development of the activity.