Dear Birth Peeps,
Birthing From Within just offered a special (and AMAZING) All
Mentor Conference (exclusively for our mentors from beginners to certified). The
theme was Myths, Mentoring, and Mandalas. We gathered at Synergia
Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Our
colorful conference began Friday evening with a brief power point presentation
showing a variety of mandalas and an introduction to sacred geometry. About
half of the women had previous experience painting with acrylics, so I offered
a mini-lesson in how to paint and layer with acrylic.
Sweet Dreams: Finally, before going to
sleep after a long day of travel, everyone was invited to invoke a “mandala
dream.” Mandalas and symbolic art arise from dream-like states of reverie, or
that in-between place just before falling asleep or when we are waking. When we try to paint from our ego-mind,
we paint what we already know or what we have already seen. The best part of creation
and painting is the unexpected aha-moments that come with new and sudden associations between two familiar ideas. That is true learning. Those moments are
the joy of creation, creativity, and daring to paint. So off we went… to our
cozy little rooms. We left paper and pencil on our bedside tables to catch the
dream images. At breakfast we shared our new dreams and were soon in the art
room laying out designs and under-paintings.
Mandala means “circle” in Sanskrit.
A mandala may be composed of circles, squares, upward and downward triangles, and/or
star shapes. Alternating and “telescoping” squares and circles, in decreasing
diameter, leads the viewer’s eye inward toward the center—and out, or around
the border.
In
geometric mandalas, the center, is marked by a small black dot, a “bindu.” Bindu represents the "seed" of life, the universal
creative potential; it represents the duality of all that is unmanifest made
manifest. One of the first tasks in creating a mandala (that is built on sacred
geometry) is to mark the center of the mandala and build from there. The center
can also be marked by a sacred figure, symbol, bead, or milagro.
There
are story mandalas, meditation mandalas, and what I experience as “spontaneous”
mandalas. Carl Jung made a series of spontaneous, process-oriented, mandalas
during a phase in his life (see the Red Book), and many of us made this type,
too.
I
began making story mandalas as a “map” on the wall when I was telling complex
hero journey myths or fairytales. Instead of using words, little drawings
represented key segments, characters, or moments in the story. Last year I made
an intricate hero journey mandala which was featured on this blog. This piece
is also a meditation mandala because, by focusing on one area or symbol, the
viewer can take an inward journey.
Why are childbirth mentors
interested in making mandalas? Designing,
painting, and beading a mandala is an uplifting meditation and journey
inward. Hanging our mandala in our teaching or interviewing space creates a
certain mood for us and the parents we work with. Parents enjoy looking into a
mandala—taking a journey through all the colors, symbols, or little
illustrations.
Of
all the childbirth workshops I’ve ever been to, this one was the most joyful
and peaceful. Throughout the day, mentors worked side by side, sharing rulers,
brushes, and stories, watching one another’s images build and build, and
hearing insights. Painting tips and techniques were shared as we went. On
breaks, we shared how we used creativity in our own lives and workplace… deep
friendships were forged.
More to come,
With love,
Pam and Virginia
