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Come meander with me on the pathless path of the Heart
in these anecdotal,
sometimes inspiring, sometimes personal meanderings of the Heart's opening in the every-day-ness of life...
Showing posts with label illumined mandalas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illumined mandalas. Show all posts

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Threads of Connection - Rig Veda


There is an endless net of threads throughout the Universe.
The horizontal threads are in space.
The vertical threads are in time.
At every crossing of the threads,
there is an individual,
and every individual is a crystal bead.
The Great Light of
Absolute Being
illuminates and penetrates
every crystal bead.
And every crystal bead reflects
not only the the light from every other crystal
in the net, but also every other reflection
through the entire universe...

The Rig Veda
The earliest Veda text

~

Photo - Mandala Art
Indra's Net of Jewels



Saturday, October 10, 2015

The Same Yet Different...

Sitting at the window again…
Sinking deeply into
the peace of Stillness,
listening to the night,
I am aware
that...

Every night at the window
is the same yet different.
The one constant is the Utter Stillness
that runs through everything…

It’s all the same Essence...
The same Stillness of Being…

I can rest in this…
 sitting in the dark,
at the window:
The Universal Silence of all things,
the Energy of Being that runs through all life,
expressing differently,
reflecting ItSelf in many expressions.
all “different”, yet all the “same” Life Energy…

But tomorrow the mind will feel separate again,
the mind will focus on differences,
instead of sameness;
instead of That which unifies:
the common thread of the Living Silence within…
”i” will have issues with “others”,
and “i” once again won’t recognize
the resonance within this
Universal Life
   that lives us…

”i” will forget that
it’s all the “same”, yet “different.”
Life living ItSelf in different forms…
And everyone expressing that Life
differently.

”i” will forget that
beyond the seeming “difference”
is the same Infinite, Resonant Vibration of Being,
even if it appears dissonant…

I will need to be ‘re-minded’ - that
Every expression is a manifestation of this Eternal Beingness ~
is a wave on the Ocean of Infinity; that
Every life form is The Formless…
and that…
This “me” experience is the reflection of that “I”,
the True "I"...
seen in the face of "other."

The same, yet different…


Mystic Meandering
Oct. 2010



Photo: Mandala Art
Image from Infinite Cosmic Waves Mandala







Saturday, August 1, 2015

Seeing God's Eyes...

There is a wonderful Black woman at the Super Market where I shop.  We have chemistry.  I am drawn to her for some inexplicable reason.  Her black pool-like eyes shine and dance with aliveness and love from behind her personality.  She can be a bit of a pistol and cracks me up with her dry sense of humor.  I just love going through her line, and don’t mind waiting, so I can see those big beautiful loving eyes. I know she is a religious woman as she often mentions God. I expect an “Alleluia” out of her mouth at any time.  I do not share her religion or beliefs, but there is something in those eyes that I see whether one calls it God, The Divine, The Universe, Emptiness, Consciousness, Presence, Beingness, Allah, Brahman - or maybe just - Love…  She is not a guru, spiritual teacher, or anyone on a special “spiritual path” – just an ordinary woman who is a cashier at the market.

The other day she spotted me in her line, we gave one another a wide-eyed grin and a wave.  She finished with the person ahead of me, then pushed my carriage aside and gave me the biggest hug.  Imagine that, right there in the grocery store – as if we had been best friends forever!  A big Heart Hug.  After we embraced, while still holding onto each other, I looked into her big beautiful eyes and said “You have God’s Eyes. I can see it.”  We both almost started to cry.  Me - because I recognized something in her looking back at me.  I was looking into her True Being, seeing the reflection of True Beingness (“God”?) in her deep Being, beyond personality… Isn’t that really what we all want in an other, to see the reflection of our deepest Being, our Truest Self…

Afterwards there were few words, only silence between us; not her usual chatter and bantering humor…  She hardly said a word as she checked me out.  I worried that I had made her uncomfortable; that it was too awkward for her for me to tell her that I saw God in her eyes.  I could have said, I see love in your eyes, or you have loving eyes, but what rolled out of my mouth was “You have God’s eyes.” (like I know what that is!?)  At one point she just looked up at me and said: “I am so Loved.”  And I responded – “Yes you are.”  And we both smiled…  Isn’t that what we want the most – to know that we are truly Loved…

It doesn’t matter what one’s “religion” is.  It’s all about opening to Love.  Love shines through it all, whatever “God” one believes in, or does not believe in, or however we call that “God” - as it’s all the same “God” - the same Love shining through the Inner Being...  Who can claim “God” as their own?  Who can take a stance that “God” is only on their side?  For who is “God” anyway?  A persona that we have created?  A cosmic energy?  The Great Mystery…?  Clearly I don’t know with certainty, as my beliefs *about* “God” have changed over the years.  I only know what my experience is – and I saw “God’s” loving eyes looking back at me through the eyes of an ordinary woman at the check-out counter…

As Lydia said - “I am so loved.” 

Alleluia, Lydia, Alleluia… 

And thank you for your loving eyes…




Photo: Eye of God Mandala
Mystic Meandering
2013





Thursday, July 23, 2015

The Cosmic Symphony...

The Cosmos plays a continuous Symphony of Silence
that only Inner Stillness can hear…
We have forgotten the music of the
 Celestial Songs
that sound the stellar light language of
 Love

Our remembrance lies hidden deep in
the cave of the Heart – untouched…
The unspoken language of the Heart
longs to be opened – awakened…
The dormant vibration calls to us,
to resonate with the tones of Love
in the Space of Silence ~
The Space of Love…

Listen deeply and hear the
Celestial Symphony
within the Stillness
of the Heart…

Follow the cosmic waves
into the Vastness
of Silence…

Find there your resonance
 with the Rhythm
in your Heart

~ and know ~

we are all a tone of Love
playing our uniqueness in the
Chord of Life,
reverberating with the
Sound of Source

~ Love ~



Mystic Meandering
August 1, 2001

Photo: Cosmic Waves Mandala
Mystic Meandering
2013




Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Winter's Jewel - Mandala Art...


The flame of Consciousness is the Essence of your Being…
Recognize that the flame of Truth is yourself…
Discover directly, for yourself, the jewel
that is alive within you.”

Gangaji
excerpts from:
 The Diamond In Your Pocket

~

“What if the task is simply to unfold,
to become who you are
in your essential nature….

which is not dependent upon
discovering a better method
of prayer,
or technique
of meditation;
not dependent upon
reading the right book
or attending the right seminar,
but upon really seeing
deeply…

…spiraling down into the ache
within the ache,
reaching inward and opening
outward
to feel
the kiss of the Mystery…

Dance with me in the
infinite pause

~
before the next
great inhale of
the breath
that is breathing
us all into being.”

Oriah Mountain Dreamer
excerpts from:
The Dance


~*~

The above mandala looks 3-dimensional
but it's all one flat surface and
was not digitally enhanced.
The design has the affect of
of rising out of the darkness
from using the black paper...


~*~

To see some of my other mandalas
click on the links below





Friday, June 7, 2013

Medieval Mandala...

When I started creating the design for this mandala the *idea* was for something that looked like Cathedral Windows, but I had no idea it would turn out like this! - looking like something from a Renaissance Festival! lol  I wanted a warm glow and the old fashioned tudor style window, which actually looks more like a medieval castle window – hmmmm.  I wonder where in the psyche this one emerged from! lol…

I’m not sure I like this one, although in a strange way it appeals to me. And the process of creating it reminded me that life, like art, doesn’t always turn out the way we had envisioned – it unfolds the way it needs to.  There are sometimes dark places that one must traverse that transform us.   Light gets through as we learn to embrace the dark…   As we open, and become receptive to life as it is, something lets go, the form transforms – and...

Zoom Blur - radiant light and fluid energy emerge that was there all along – a true Renaissance!
Notice what appears to be candle flames and chalices… :)




“God
pours light
into every cup,
quenching darkness.

The proudly pious
stuff their cups with parchment
and critique the taste of ink

while God pours light

and trees lift their limbs
without worry of redemption,
every blossom a chalice.

Hafiz, seduce those withered souls
with words that wet their parched lips

as light
pours like rain
into every empty cup...”


Hafiz

~

Top Photo: The right side came out darker
and a little blurry because the
light was uneven.



Sunday, June 2, 2013

Existence Unfolding...

“…Existence is just unfolding out of Itself
 spontaneously, naturally, unplanned.
Similarly, your true life unfolds in the same way…
start enjoying the cosmic play…”




“And I, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry void,
image of mystery,
felt myself a pure part of the abyss.
I wheeled with the stars.
My heart broke loose on the wind…”

Pablo Neruda



“…the timeless dimension of our Being
is awaiting realization.”




Photo: Windows Into Infinity Mandala
Rotated and Zoom Blurred



Friday, May 24, 2013

Windows Into Infinity Mandala...

Sitting in exquisite Silence at the window
I recognize the Cosmic Breath of Infinity
breathing in, breathing out…

Held in the pause between
I know that “I” am being breathed
by an unseen Rhythm…

From the window
at the edge of Infinity
I see beyond form into the formless void,
beyond moon and stars
into the Infinite Vastness
that holds it all…

Aware of what is aware within:
Life – breathing ItSelf into Existence…

Every sound is the Primordial Sound
of Existence reverberating;
the breath of Life rippling through space…

Hush
Be Silent
Listen

Entrain with the Cosmic Rhythm of Infinity
within you…

Breathe the Infinite Breath…

All is infinitely well…


Mystic Meandering
May 22, 2013



~*~


This mandala reflects a view of the Cosmos
from buildings with windows in them surrounding
the inner circle,
symbolizing that there are many views,
many ways of seeing the Truth of Existence,
if we are willing to be still and look deeply.


I practice what I call "window sitting"
at night that I started back in 2010.
(See original post about it here.)
Like meditation, it helps me to see Reality more clearly,
from a place of Silent Awareness...



Monday, May 6, 2013

Art Speaks "The Mystery"...


Art speaks in a language I cannot express, from a wordless place, through imagery and symbolism – whether abstract or the precision of a mandala - allowing entry into the Mystery of Being that we all are…  

Lately I have been running out of things to say (except now of course) :).  So I have been allowing the mandala art and photography to speak, and even that has gone silent for the moment. Sometimes I may feel inspired to add a few lines of words, whether mine or others, :) and at times add a few lines of explanation, or clarify something in a comment, as we all see art differently, assign different meanings, different interpretations, or significance, based on our conditioning, our unique view of Reality, and our level of awareness of the “the Mystery” within.    

Some have the “just here”, “just now”, “just this”, grounded view of life – for me, limiting the view to our humanity - projecting that onto the greater Reality.  But that is my interpretation – or possibly mis-interpretation.   Words like “cosmic” or “mystic” or “mystery” may seem “otherworldly” to some – and they may feel a need to ground the mystics in “reality.”  But whose reality?   Are we forgetting that earth is only part of a larger cosmos, a grand infinity; a tiny speck whirling in space, not the ground of Beingness ItSelf?  Have we become grounded in our perceived solidity and forgotten how impermanent it all is?

Reality (capital R), like art, is always as we see it, not as it really is.  Others, like me, are more cosmic in nature, oriented toward seeing “the Mystery” of Life, in and as everything; the spacious aliveness of living Being animating everything – projecting a cosmic view of “spirituality.”  Both views are true – the Eternal Mystery of Being *is* “just this”, “just now”, already here.  But I do not write to persuade, correct, or convince.   I write to clarify the View for myself.  We do not need to convince each other of our point of view, either directly or indirectly. We can leave that to the spiritual teachers, gurus and sages of old.  Reality is what it is, no matter what we *believe* about it, or what we project into it.  And the “point” of the “spiritual journey” (if there is only one point) is to let go of our “beliefs”, our personal point of view, and realize the essence of Reality for ourselves (or so I’ve been told), in whatever way IT reveals ItSelf to us, through whatever means.  For some through mediation, prayer, and a contemplative lifestyle; for others through time in nature; through art, creativity, writing poetry, music, or through spiritual teachings; ultimately, through listening to the “Spirit” of Life ItSelf – for the “Spirit” of Life within speaks to us in a language that is beyond words, much like art, a language that speaks to the Heart, a language that we can hear and receive, if we are open to it.

Whatever our personal mental understanding of “the Mystery” is, IT is still a wordless mystery, and IT speaks to each one of us differently. For we are all different wrinkles in time, unfolding uniquely in the cosmic fabric of Reality. 


Namaste…

~*~

Speaking of View :)

The pictures below were taken as I was lying on the couch
 for a few moments of needed rest last week.
My awareness was captured by the simplicity
of Life living ItSelf outside my window…
The images speak to me of the Stillness of just Being
which is probably what I needed
:)

Enjoy the View however It speaks to you…



“The timeless dimension of our being is awaiting realization.”
   Tara Brach – True Refuge




“Everything you see has its roots in the unseen world.
The forms may change,
yet the essence remains the same.”

Rumi





“…what is really true?
Is there something behind the appearances,
something boundless
and infinitely spacious,
in which the dance of change
and impermanence
take place?”

Sogyal Rinpoche




“The real world is beyond our thoughts and ideas.
We see it through a net of pleasure and pain,
right and wrong, inner and outer.
To see the universe as it is
you must step beyond the net.”

Nisargadatta




“Don’t expect anyone to understand your journey,
especially if they haven’t walked your path.”
Author Unknown

~

Photo: Cosmic Meditating Monks Mandala
Zoom Blurred



Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Cosmic Meditating Monks Mandala...


“We are afloat in a sea of immensity.
The mind has no hope of working
it’s little tricks here.
It is faced with an emptiness
that never began,
and it shrivels in the face of
such grand nonchalance.

And yet inside this egg,
this shell of me-ness,
the immensity continues,
unburdened,
untroubled:
never born,
never dying,
sailing into
luminous night…”

Author Unknown
via: Wonder, Silence, Gratitude


"You are not IN the universe,
you ARE the universe.
You are a focal point
where the universe is
becoming conscious of itself…”

Eckhart Tolle


~*~

This mandala was made with compass, ruler and a template.
I had the vision of this one dancing in my head for some time.
I made the meditating monk template from a photo
in a catalogue of a meditating monk statue…
The piece of black paper came with little white dots on it,
looking like little stars in space, giving the piece a cosmic look .
I just enhanced the dots inside the little meditating figures,
giving them the affect of impermanence,
of formlessness within form;
of *being* the Universe...



Friday, April 19, 2013

Infinite Cosmic Waves Mandala...


The Silence of the Great Void
that appears as an empty chasm
connects us
to the Infinite Cosmic Waves of Love…

We are the face of
”The Divine”,
the face that lights our face,
inseparable…

The Infinite Cosmic Spirit
echoes our face
before we are born…

We are loved beyond measure

When we know this
we will heal…


Meditative Writings
Mystic Meandering
April 2013


~*~

“Face that lights my face,
you spin intelligence into
these particles [that] I am…”

Rumi


~*~


This Mandala was made with compass and templates.
The profiles in the center circle were made from a bookmark
shaped like the crescent moon.
The waves in the larger circle were from a wave template.


Sunday, April 14, 2013

Sanctuary...

In meditation last week the word “sanctuary” arose in answer to a question of “what is needed?” with all the emotional chaos and over stimulation that I have been experiencing in life lately – like the last 3 years J.  And since I won’t be packing up and moving to a monastery any time soon, I wondered how I would “create” this emotional and physical sanctuary that was required for my well-being – not as an escape, but as respite.  As synchronicity would have it, dear hubby was going to be out of the house on Friday and Saturday for several hours each day.  At the time I thought I would use this time to catch up on some cleaning.  Instead, Life required “sanctuary” and I knew it as soon as he left.   As I shut the door behind him, I felt an immediate call to Sacred Silence – the refuge that truly nourishes my Heart. 

I went to my meditation space, lit a candle, burned incense, rang a bell and sat.  Breathed – and settled.  I relaxed into the inner Silence that enlivens this being – my true Sanctuary.

I began to notice body sensations – the remnants of anxiety and depression: heaviness and tightness in the gut, chest and throat; the foggyhead, the aching muscles from left over guardedness.  And vestiges of the mental gymnastics that keep me bound to living on the surface of life.  I felt sadness emerge from the depths again in waves, and acknowledged its presence.  It rose and dissipated with recognition.  In “Sanctuary” everything is allowed and embraced, seen and acknowledged:  fear, anxiety, anger, depression, sadness, even happiness and joy, as the Presence of Silence envelopes it.  In “Sanctuary” they are only waves upon the deeper Ocean of Being.

In the “Sanctuary” of inner Stillness I asked: What is the deeper need?

I listened deeply for the Voice of Silence that always whispers the Truth.

“Sanctuary" was the reply once again.
"Rest in the inner Sanctuary,
aware of everything:
thoughts, feelings, sensations, body;
the pulse of Silence, and
the Rhythm of Life running through it all."

I relaxed deeply, held in the unborn, pre-existent, ever flowing, ever fluid, ongoing Infinite Now - the ground of our being - that comsumes the past, present and future; experiencing the felt sense of Presence once again – “Sanctuary.”

“Sanctuary” is a place of deep nourishment, embraced by pure Presence.  It is a place to incubate, to open to the depths of Reality and and explore the Eternal Now.  It offers an invitation to turn around, to return to the inner cosmos of Being; to collapse the mind, the self, and let go of conceptual reality, experiencing what is Real – the Isness of Being ItSelf – Primoridial Existence  - simply Being.

“Sanctuary” is the internal Stillness of the peaceful contentment of a tranquil heart and mind in tune with the Cosmos.


“We must get back into relation,
vivid and nourishing relation to
the cosmos and the universe…
For the truth is,
we are perishing for lack of fulfillment
of our greater needs.
We are cut off from the great sources
of our inward nourishment and renewal,
sources which flow eternally in the universe.”

DH Lawrence
~*~

Photo:
Indra's Net of Jewels Mandala
digitally radially blurred...
Magic! :)




Monday, April 1, 2013

Indra's Net of Jewels Mandala...


Why I am drawn to drawing mandalas, I don’t know.  I especially like the precision and symmetry of sacred geometry; how the language of symbols and patterns come together.  It’s a mystery, like the Cosmos itself… I have started working on black paper, and I think I like it. :)

As I was working with this mandala, a net-like image started to evolve.  It brought to mind Indra’s Net of Jewels.  Although I had heard the term before, I really didn’t know what it meant, so I had to look it up.  An article on Indra’s Net has a good explanation for those who aren’t familiar with it. 

Essentially it is a metaphorical symbol attributed to Buddhism and Hinduism/Advaita Vedanta about the interdependence and intereconnectedness of the infinite cosmic matrix of life itself.  Each jewel at an intersection point on the net reflects the essence of all the other jewels, reflecting the same basic nature, mirroring how we each intrinsically reflect and affect each other in a ripple effect in the cosmic network all the time.  

The symbol in the circle in the middle is a variation of the Sanskrit symbol for Aum (OM), which is the primordial sound of the Universe that emanates from an infinite cosmic vibration out of the Void, or Emptiness.  It is basically represents the Absolute, or “God”, or the originating Life Force – however we each call that inherent essence of Being…



~*~

“You must be ready to accept
the possibility that there is a limitless
range of awareness for which we now
have no words;
that awareness can expand beyond
range of your ego, your self,
your familiar identity,
beyond your notions of
space and time,
beyond the differences
which usually separate people
from each other and
from the world around them.”

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

~*~

“Ultimately there is light and love and intelligence
in this Universe.
And we are it.
We carry that within us.
It’s not just something ‘out there.’
It is within us
and this is what
we are trying to
re-connect with -
our original light,
love and intelligence,
which is who we are.

…remember…”

(A Tibetan Buddhist nun)



Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Spring Buds Mandala...


This is my latest mandala creation, using both compass and free form, expanding into something colorful for the Spring Equinox… I did not make a final circle around this one, but simply left it unconfined, leaving little openings for emergence and expansion – like Spring!   I will admit I am more of a monochromatic type person – liking to use different shades and gradients of the same color.  But hey, one needs to expand their horizons right! :)  I am experimenting with color and light, and some new techniques - feeling a bit stuck in the design process; probably due to a lack of imagination. :)  I feel like I have reached a "dead end" of sorts already, although I’m just beginning, not knowing where to go next, needing a cartographer/teacher to help fill in the gaps of my unknowing.  So I am attempting to learn from the many masters of mandalas by osmosis. :)  

Speaking of which, there is a wonderful website page of *beautifully* designed luminous mandalas by Prema.  Her work is a wonderful inspiration.  Another luminous mandala master is Judith Cornell – now deceased – relating mandalas to our spiritual path of awakening.  Her book, Mandala, arrived Monday – loaded with luminous mandalas.  I need to spend some time reading, and experimenting!   

Through this creative experience so far I am reminded that life, art, and the “spiritual path” are an ever unfolding awareness and expression of our Infinite Being within, only needing our willingness to be open - without preconception of where it “should” lead, or what it “should” look like.  That’s a hard one!  I have all kinds of ideas and images of what life and “the path” – and my art is *supposed*  to look like, and of course it doesn’t always turn out the way I had in mind. :) It’s more like the cycles of nature, we continuously rebirth a new consciousness, a new way of being, seeing, and creating - awakening to the Life *in* everything; allowing that bud of Light within to blossom and express its Aliveness…



”Now is the time
for you to compute the impossibility
that there is anything but Grace.

Now is the season to know
that everything…
is sacred.”

Hafiz

~

Other luminous masters of mandalas :)