Working on your mindfulness? Make a Mandala

Into mindfulness? Try creating a mandala.

Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning circle; the symbol is part of spiritual traditions and religions that include Hinduism and Buddhism. 

Something special exists within a mandala's form, said clinical psychologist Anne Whitney.

For years she's created detailed, beautiful mandalas. This month she taught a three-session class at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church on mandala making as a meditative practice.

Today, coloring the circular, detailed drawings can be seen as an extension of the popular adult coloring books. But Whitney sees them as offering their artists more.

The circle's a universal symbol of wholeness and unity, and every spiritual tradition incorporates its use, she said. Early rock drawings include circles; many Christian churches have round rose windows. 

"There's something about creating within a circle that is calming; that brings a sense of wholeness," she said.

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung believed a person created a mirror of his current state of being when he drew a mandala.

"Most people find it calming and enjoyable to create and helpful to leave them set up in their home somewhere as a focal point," Whitney told her first class.  

Mandala making also is a way to practice mindfulness, a reflective state of being aware of the present moment. Often people practice mindfulness through quiet breathing techniques, by walking or doing yoga. 

"Mindfulness is present moment awareness with acceptance," Whitney said. "Not just being present but being accepting of the present moment. We are present through our senses. And often what brings us into our senses is doing something — but in a mindful way. 

"A lot of people find it very difficult to sit on a pillow and just focus on their breath," she said, referring to the popular mindfulness breathing method. "This is another form of mediating that is much more approachable for many people." 

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She's taught mandala making to children, teenagers and adults. "The room always quiets as we get into the process of creating."

Indeed the church classroom was quiet at the first class as participants used colored pencils and black ink art pens to color papers with pre-printed mandalas.  Quiet instrumental music played on a CD player.

Later Whitney handed out squares of black cardstock and white ink markers for class attendees to create their own free-form mandalas. She encouraged everyone not to think forward but to be present in the present.

"You're not really planning ahead," she said, instructing class members to begin at a middle point. "Just continue outward until you feel it's finished. You just start where you start and let yourself be surprised by what happens."