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In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid tomeditation and trance induction. According to David Fontana, its symbolic nature can help one "to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises." [5] The psychoanalyst Carl Jung saw the mandala as "a representation of the unconscious self,"[citation needed] and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work towards wholeness in personality.[6]
In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the Universe from the human perspective.[citation needed]
The Web is loaded with information about Mandalas with various sites dedicated to them, so here I'll be short and broad... for more info, put your search engines to work.
"The Sanskrit word mandala means 'circle' in the ordinary sense of the word. In the sphere of religious practices and psychology it denotes circular images, which are drawn, painted, modeled, or danced" C.G. Jung
"They are illustrious designs, symbolic of the universe, and are often used in eastern mystical tradition as an aid to meditation." They are meant to represent spiritual oneness, unity and wholeness. There are many variations of the mandala, each carrying significant meaning, seeking to resonate within the "eye of the beholder."
As the viewer is absorbed in the structure, order & relation within the Mandala, the mind is allowed to move from the periphery and focus on the center, the self.
In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid tomeditation and trance induction. According to David Fontana, its symbolic nature can help one "to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises." [5] The psychoanalyst Carl Jung saw the mandala as "a representation of the unconscious self,"[citation needed] and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work towards wholeness in personality.[6]
In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the Universe from the human perspective.[citation needed]
The Web is loaded with information about Mandalas with various sites dedicated to them, so here I'll be short and broad... for more info, put your search engines to work.
"The Sanskrit word mandala means 'circle' in the ordinary sense of the word. In the sphere of religious practices and psychology it denotes circular images, which are drawn, painted, modeled, or danced" C.G. Jung
"They are illustrious designs, symbolic of the universe, and are often used in eastern mystical tradition as an aid to meditation." They are meant to represent spiritual oneness, unity and wholeness. There are many variations of the mandala, each carrying significant meaning, seeking to resonate within the "eye of the beholder."
As the viewer is absorbed in the structure, order & relation within the Mandala, the mind is allowed to move from the periphery and focus on the center, the self.
