PSYCHOLOGY of the MANDALA part III
From the moment of birth the circle is associated with healthy physical and psychological development. Drawing mandalas taps into our natural affinity for circles and recalls some of our earliest experiences. We respond to a circle as once we responded to our parent’s face. Circles remind us of the fundamental fact that we exist, and make us aware of our primary identity as a physical being that occupies space. Circles recall the pleasure of learning to draw, when directing our crayon the way we wanted became a celebration of ourselves, our own beingness.
When we adults draw circles, we revisit these childhood discoveries. As we grow and develop ever more complex ideas about who we are, creating circular mandalas is a way back to our primary sense of self. Mandalas provide a bridge between earlier self-images and our present experience of our self. The mandalas we create function as a sort of home base, a container where we create and re-create our sense of who we are.
Drawing mandalas helps us center psychologically. A circle is a soothing touchstone in the lifelong process of growth and change. Creating or coloring a mandala helps us orient ourselves, integrate new information about ourselves, and re-formulate our identity. This is a continuation of the process that begins when we are children drawing circles and creating mandalas.
The psychological order created by drawing a circular mandala extends outward to help us orient ourselves within our present life situation (Wertheimer, 1959). The orderly pattern of thought stimulated by creating and coloring mandalas helps us know our place within the web of relationships in our family circle, our circle of friends, and our work circle. That sense of order expands beyond our face to face relationships to help us relate to our physical surroundings as well: to know ourselves in relation to our neighborhood, our country, and our world. Mandalas give us a sense of belonging and help us find ourselves in relation to the powerful rhythms of the universe. In this, our mandalas are like those of Eastern peoples.