Mandala: Journey to the Center (Whole Way Library)

Experience the ultimate journey of self-discovery through mandalas and meditation. Mandala art has been used throughout the world for self-expression, spiritual transformation, and personal growth. Mandala is the ancient Sanskrit word for circle and is seen by Tibetans as a diagram of the cosmos. It is used by native Americans in healing rituals and in Christian cathedrals the labyrinth is a mandalic pattern used as a tool for meditation. An archetypal symbol of wholeness, the mandala was used as a therapeutic art tool by psychologist Carl Jung, who believed creating mandalas helped patients to make the unconscious conscious. Joseph Campbell brought mandalas to the public's attention in The Power of Myth (1988): "In working out a mandala ... you draw a circle and then think of the different impulse systems and value systems in your life.... Making a mandala is a discipline for pulling all those scattered aspects of your life together, finding a center." Mandala: Journey to the Center provides insights into the significance of mandalas and helps you to use them as a path to greater self-awareness. Mandala offers over 400 breathtaking color photographs of mandalas in manifestations from art, architecture, and nature -- from Buddhist paintings to the Pantheon to atomic structures, and explores how the mandala has been used throughout history and is relevant today as a tool for meditation, personal growth, and expression. Mandala features a gallery of worldwide contemporary mandala art accompanied by inspirational stories from the artists who created them, and provides exercises and examples of specific techniques for making one's own mandalas. Exploring the mandala can lead us on a journey to wholeness, helping us discover the center within ourselves and beyond.