Types of Mandalas in My Ministry

There are many styles of mandalas around the world -- the highly detailed Tibetan Buddhist mandalas, the simple sand mandalas of the Native American traditions, and even the naturally occuring mandalas found when you cut a piece of fruit or vegetable horizonally. Styles of mandala are dictated first by the tradition from which they come, and then further by the artistic style of the individual artist.

For my purposes, however, rather than consider styles, I tend to divide mandalas into two general types, which I call the Teaching Mandalas and the Healing Mandalas. I use this distinction only as a matter of convenience, and there may be other terms that could be applied. The major distinctions between the Teaching Mandala and the Healing Mandala are these:

Type	Teaching	Healing
Reason	To depict specific truths or principles	To bring healing, peace, comfort
Construction	"Left-brain", analytical, logical, deliberate	"Right-brain", Intuitive, free-flowing
Order	Meaning first, then construction	Construction first, meaning later
Emphasis during construction	Product	Process
Emphasis for client	Learning and understanding	Growing and healing

There are probably many other ways to categorize the mandalas of the world, but I am only concerned here with my own work and attempting to explain it. Even in these distinctions there is sometimes over-lap between the two types, and it would be difficult to say that these distinctions are absolute and always consistent. For example, the Tibetan Buddhist mandalas are what I would call Teaching Mandalas, because every detail represents some specific aspect of Buddhist thought and belief, constructed precisely to teach. But, in viewing one of these mandalas, one feels inspiration, motivation, and healing of spirit. Mandalas draw the focus of the eye (and the Inner Eye) into the center, and many people comment that they feel a great peace when viewing one.

The Teaching Mandala

The Teaching Mandala begins with the thought "What do I want to say?" It is very much a left-brain, analytical, logical process. Often, the Teaching Mandala is used to convey relationships between two or more principles or truths.

Most Teaching Mandalas are given along with some form of commentary about what it is supposed to represent. In some cases, with literal symbols, the meaning is easy. In others, such as with the Tibetan Buddhist mandalas, there is much hidden meaning, but the meanings never change and once they are understood, it is quite easy to offer large bodies of information in very brief form. (A correllary to this is the Book of the Tarot -- esoteric teachings were committed to simple cards in picture form. Those to whom the teachings were given could clearly understand the deeper meanings, while to others without such knowledge, the cards were merely gaming devices, which later devolved into what we know today as the common deck of playing cards. Not surprisingly, then, one who has studied Tarot can also provide an accurate reading from the deck of playing cards... but a cardsharp would be hard pressed to explain the spiritual significance of, for example, a Royal Flush!)

The Healing Mandala

Healing Mandalas actually cover a broad range, depending on what needs healing -- physical body, financial concerns, relationships, career issues, and just about any physical, emotional, or mental effects. We know that the only thing that can heal is Mind, and the only thing that can be healed is Mind. Mind, working upon Mind, heals Itself. Most people are seeking healing from symptoms or effects, but this can only happen when the cause of those effects is healed.

While a Teaching Mandala is understood by learning the commentary that accompanies it (either in written form, or passed along by oral tradition), the meaning of a Healing Mandala is assimilated rather than understood. The artist might offer suggestions about what the symbols could mean, or even what they do mean to the artist. But for the recipient, the meaning must be intuited; that is, the meaning must come from within through patient viewing of the mandala. This doesn't mean the client must strain at arriving at the "real" meaning. If there is strain, the mandala should be set aside and left alone, or simply put up for viewing more casually for a while.

One recent client commented that she was an amateur and not sure if the interpretations she arrived at were what I really "meant" in constructing her mandala. It absolutely does not matter what I might think a healing mandala might mean, in a literal or arbitrary sense. My only task is to offer the work to Spirit, which guides me in putting on the paper what will most effectively convey to the client whatever it might wish to convey. Thus, my client's interpretation is exactly what it is supposed to mean for her. Rather than being an "amateur", there is no one more qualified to give a meaning to her mandala than she herself... the Spirit within her is the same Spirit within me.

My task is to put onto paper what I'm directed to put. It is up to Spirit to "explain" it to the client. If the client arrives at an intellectual understanding that satisfies him/her, then that is what is needed. If the client "feels peace" or has a "warm sensation" in some part of the body (this often happens when a healing mandala is for a physical symptom), then THAT is the "correct" meaning, and hopefully this explains how meanings of Healing Mandalas are assimilated rather that always understood.

(Perhaps another way to explain is to illustrate this concept with ordinary foods, or even prescription medications -- most people don't intellectually understand the chemical properties and reactions within the body of the foods or drugs they are taking, but when they ingest them into the body, the chemicals are absorbed or assimilated into the body and they simply do what they are supposed to do, without the person having to strain and force the chemicals to work -- they work in the body because that is their nature. So, too, with the healing mandalas -- they do what they do even without an intellectual understanding on the part of the client because that is what they are made to do.)

My Personal Preference

I am not comfortable creating a teaching mandala. If something needs to be taught at the intellectual level, it is easier for me to simply write it out and be done with it. But, being a double-Sagittarius with Scorpio rising, most of my life has been spent at the intuitive, emotive, "right-brain" level. Thus, I am most comfortable sitting at the studio and allowing the work before me dictate how it is to be constructed. And, having done the work, it is easier to release it to the client and allow Spirit to take responsibility for explaining it to the client, either by intellectually explaining what the symbols mean, or by assimilating the effects of it and bypassing the intellectual route.

I derive a greater pleasure, too, from creating the piece for someone, and allowing that person to use it as they will, rather than instruct the person intellectually in spiritual principles or universal law. Even though that might be more beneficial in the long run, I haven't yet achieved enough patience to explain at the intellectual level what I have received at the spiritual level.