Solstice Mandala

Mandala Art by Shirley Gibson

There is no need to run outside
for better seeing,
Not to peer from a window. Rather abide
at the center of your being;
for the more you leave it, the less you learn.

~Lao Tze

Maze Mandala for Coloring

Here is an unusual mandala for your coloring pleasure.

Click to enlarge, then download, print, and color.

The artist is unknown to me.

If you created this mandala, or know who did, please let me know so I can provide credit and a link.

Have fun!

Exploring Energy Flow

To demonstrate how energy flows where attention goes, and how thought affects physical energy, pick up a chair by its seat and feel the weight of it. Then put it back down. Now focus your attention on the very top of the chair's back and pick it up by the seat again. if your focus is good the chair will feel lighter. Regardless of how you want to explain it, the practical fact is that if you have to lift anything you will find it easier to do if your attention is focused on the very top of the object or even in the air a foot above it.

~Serge Kahili King

Attention Goes Where Energy Flows

Attention is quite naturally attracted to bright lights, shiny objects, and loud noises, but we may not realize that the common factor of all three is their energy intensity. Attention is attracted to any strong source of energy that stimulates any of our senses, even those subtle senses of which most people are unaware.

Certain people, because of their emotional intensity or sensory focus, have such a strong aura or energy field that they automatically attract the attention of others whenever they come into view. On a larger scale, some geographical areas - usually areas of high earthquake activity or potential - have a higher energy intensity than others, thereby attracting greater populations, which increase the energy even more.

Much is written nowadays about sacred power spots, but I think their power is a passive one that allows you to relax and destress from the really active power spots of urban centers. The tingling sensations and psychic phenomena experienced at such places occur as you begin to relax and your bottled-up energy from the more highly active place you came from begins to flow. Human beings are such energy generators themselves, howvever, that if a lot of them move to a nice, quite, passive power spot, they can soon turn it into an active, dynamic, and possibly stressful power spot.

~Serge Kahili King

God

God created all things in such a way
That they are not outside himself,
As ignorant people falsely imagine.

Rather,
All creatures flow outward, but nonetheless remain with God.

God created all things in this way:

Not that they might stand outside of
God, nor alongside God,
Nor beyond God.
But that they might

Come into God
And receive God
And dwell in God.

For this reason everything that is

Is bathed in God,
Is enveloped by God,
Who is round-about us all, enveloping us.

~Meister Eckhart

This is interesting

I grew up on stories about Joshua and the Battle of Jerico, so I found this particular labyrinth image really interesting. Is it true? I have no idea. What I do know is that it was painted by Elisha ben Avraham Crescas in the 14th century Farhi Bible, and that it is titled "Map of Jerico".

... more cool stuff about Labyrinths can be found at my new website, Mandala Madness.

How To Draw A Labyrinth

I know this is cyberspace, but I beg you to draw some labyrinths with paper and pencil (you remember those crude stick-like writing implements?). The construction of a labyrinth is a lesson in sacred geometry...

... So sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, and can be found in its entirety here: How To Draw A Labyrinth

Prayer of the Chalice

Father, to Thee I raise my whole being,
a vessel emptied of self. Accept Lord,
this my emptiness, and so fill me
with Thyself-- Thy Light, Thy Love,
Thy Life-- that these precious gifts
may radiate through me and over-
flow the chalice of my heart
into the hearts of all with
whom I come in contact this
day, revealing unto them
the beauty of
Thy Joy
and
Wholeness
and
the
Serenity
of Thy Peace
which nothing can destroy

Another Visiting Labyrinth

Labyrinths are not difficult to create, here is a nice one from Knowth.com

Garden Labyrinth with standing stone, the larger stones in the ground (at the front in the photograph) mark the setting sun at the winter solstice, equinox and summer solstice. Three stones on the east of the labyrinth (at the back in the photograph) mark the rising sun at the winter solstice, equinox and summer solstice.

... I am sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, and can be found in its entirety here: Another Visiting Labyrinth

On Walking A Labyrinth

There are two basic principles:

1. On the labyrinth, everything is metaphor.
2. There is no right or wrong way to walk the labyrinth.

Walking the labyrinth is quite personal. There are many different reactions to a labyrinth walk—joy, contemplation, revelation, sadness, elation, etc. Be unselfconscious and give yourself permission to let your reaction be expressed as it chooses—crying, laughing, dancing, singing. There should be absolutely no judgement or embarrassment associated with a labyrinth experience. Don’t be surprised by your reaction. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to walk the labyrinth. Trust Spirit....

... I am sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, and can be found in its entirety here: On Walking A Labyrinth

Consciousness

Consciousness thus proceeds from the more limited to the more comprehensive, from lesser to greater intensity, from lower to higher dimensions, and each higher dimension includes the lower ones by coordinating its elements in a wider and more intricate structure of relationships. ... Thus the reality of a lower dimension is not devaluated or eliminated by the higher one, but only relativized.

~Lama Anagarika Govinda

Here's a Labyrinth Template to Play With

More coloring pages can be found on my new website, Mandala Madness.

A short history of the labyrinth

The classic eleven circuit labyrinth was laid on the floor of Chartres Cathedral in about 1201. The oldest labyrinth associated with Christianity dates from the 4th Century and is found at Repartus, Orleansville in Algeria.

.. So sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, and can be found in its entirety here: A Short History of the Labyrinth

A labyrinth Poem

Rows of ragged rocks outline a path for healing?

Brown, decaying leaves hug the winter ground – a blanket to transform?

The labyrinth awaits the sojourner--
almost calls her name--
Will you enter my simple boundaries
and journey my paths
One Step at a Time?

... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, and can be found in its entirety here: A Labyrinth Poem

Visiting Labyrinths

People have been creating and walking labyrinths for thousands of years. 

This small collection of labyrinths has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, they can be found here: Visiting Labyrinths. 

What is a Labyrinth?

The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool that has been used throughout the world for over four thousand years. A labyrinth is a circuitous path with one entrance point that leads through a series of switch-backs to its center.

.... I am sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, it can be found here: What Is A Labyrinth?

Your life is a sacred journey

Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way..

... so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com, and can be found here: Your life is a sacred journey

The Land's End Labyrinth

From San Francisco Labyrinths,
here are some beautiful images of the Land's End labyrinth.

... So sorry. This post has been moved to my new website, Mandala Madness, hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com. It can be found in its entirety here: The Land's End Labyrinth

Blessing Of Light

May the blessing of light be on you,
light without and light within.

May the blessed sun shine on you
and warm your heart till it glows
like a great peat fire,

so that the stranger may come
and warm himself at it,
and also a friend.
-oOo-

This free desktop wallpaper can be downloaded at Flickr.
Enjoy!