"Ripples of Peace"

Peace ripples through me

when I let go of

what might've been

and see the beauty of...

what is.

~Cheryl Finley

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My first in the Mandalas for Peace series. Created in the wee hours of the morning - the dawning of day one of the Mandalas for Peace Project - focus: "Community" - details here.

Mandalas for Peace Project

The Mandalas for Peace Project was inspired by the wonderful, creative beings of love and light at the Mandala Oasis Yahoo Community* . Every time we talk and share our mandalas... inspiration, insight and enthusiasm are born. Our hearts are touched and beautiful things happen, and the Mandalas for Peace Project is one of them. *(What's a mandala? Click on the above Mandala Oasis Yahoo Community link to learn more.) - Click here for a quick "how to" for making mandalas. Click here and scroll to see the blog comments from others who've been inspired to make mandalas; and the blessing it has been for them.

12/1/08 - Update - The Mandalas for Peace Project is ongoing (instead of just nine weeks as mentioned in the original post). The premise of the Project is to consciously create mandalas from the energy and intention of peace...and to share that peace and inspiration with the world via our mandalas...and our life. Creating in the name of peace is what it's this project is all about. We hope you'll join us and share your mandalas on your blog and with the Mandala Oasis members. We invite you to join the Mandalas for Peace webring and post the logo on your blog or website.
Peace.

"Gratitude-joy!"

Ahh...gazing upon this mandala sets my heart aflutter. I realize that this is what my gratitude for joy feels like...and looks like. Thank you Gratitude-joy for showing your face to me...for coursing through my being. -- Some heart-thoughts in honor of our kinship:

I am Gratitude-joy!

I dance in your heart

and set your soul a-purring...

...and

making your heart...content.

~ ~ ~ ~

I am thankful

that Gratitude-joy...

lives in me...

moves through me...

as

love...

peace...

beauty...

love...

creativity...

gratitude...

and joy

All is well...

Gratitude-joy is here.

"Cosmic Sunflower"

What presence the sunflower has. Statuesque. Bold. Dramatic, yet simple. The casual elegance of the sunflower has captured my heart and imagination. It speaks volumes without uttering a word. Ah, the power of its presence...not many can resist a smile while amid sunflowers. In a breath, they court your heart, and we are theirs....smiling and smitten.

Thank you, dear sunflower!

This post is in honor of the Autumn creativity prompt at The Mandala Oasis Yahoo Community.

Swirl

Namaste / Honoring

As I look gaze upon this mandala, I see "honoring" - Namaste - the divine within me, salutes the divine within you.

The left side with the darker blue, and the right side with the lighter blue that surrounds the green. Working spontaneously and intuitively I didn't know what this mandala would look like when I finished it. A few days later that I noticed the two blues... placed like bookends on each side...supporting what's in between; what's at the center. I made this mandala on 9/11... a way of honoring where I was in my heart center; an honoring for all whose lives were changed that day. Namaste.

"New Vistas"

New vistas beckon...

This mandala is a departure for me.

What are all those squares doing in my mandala? Afterall... I'm a swirl girl.

Not on this day though. Those squares must've shown up for a reason.

Well, I did make this mandala on Septemeber 11th.

I think it's my soul's way of acknowledging

that on that day our world was forever changed, dramatically...

and therefore so was I...and so were we all.

I now know this mandala is honoring and acknowledging

that there's been a huge change...

and inspite of it we must see new, improved vistas...for peace and love.

~ ~ ~

I am in awe...yet again of this Mandala Medicine ..it knows just what it's doing. It reveals new journeys and impressions, that make up the Mosaic of the Soul. Thank you, Mandala Medicine for being a soothing, homeopathic balm.

~ ~ ~

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."

~Aaron Rose

Mystery

This mandala is a bit of a mystery. I just noticed though, that the curvaceous triangle that evolved as I worked on it is very similar to this mandala that I made a few months ago. I'm looking forward to discovering...and decoding the symbols and shapes that continue to show up - as well as the colors. Right now, I'm just embracing, and contemplating the mystery.

Tasty Tropical Breezes

"The really nice breezes blow through my body,

and into my soul. " ~Astrid Alauda

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"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm,but to add color to my sunset sky." ~Rabindranath Tagore

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"Only those in tune with nature seem to pick up on the energy in wind. All sorts of things get swept off in the breeze - ghosts, pieces of soul, voices unsung, thoughts repressed, love uncherished, and a thousands galore of spiritual ether. Wind is an emotional rush because emotions are rushing by." ~Drew Sirtors

"I Love What I See"

The Great Vision of my life

has courted me...and I say "I do".

I love what I see

and what It has shown me.

I love working to bring that Vision into being.

I am thankful for, and I LOVE

the Dream Team that Life has given me,

and I joyfull give to the them.

My heart glad!

The Great Vision of my life

has courted me...

I lovingly surrender and say "yes" to Its proposal.

I say "yes" to the Beloved Vision

that flows to and through me.

"Yes, I will bring you into this world.

Thank you for choosing me."

I love what I see...

I am thrilled to let it pour through me...

now and forever more.

Colorful Horizons

This mandala adorns a blank page in a brand new turquoise journal,

which hold notes, ideas and plans of action

for a new project I am birthing.

It reminds me that life's horizons are...

colorful...

vibrant...

and expanding

...blooming as I like to say.

It reminds me that not only is my project counting on me to birth it...

it reminds me that everything expands

or contracts as is needed for it to be so...

this includes my well being.

Thank you.

Shower of Light

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light. ~Mary Dunbar

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There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~Edith Wharton

Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.
~Michael Strassfeld
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People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.
~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Celtic Circle

It's all about perspective.

It amazes me how this mandala moves...and is an optical illusion.

Sometimes I see the Celtic Cross

and sometimes I see the pinwheel moving and drawing me in.

There's also the rope-like circle of pink, purple and blue

that plays hide and seek with me.

Other images continue to reveal themselves

each time I view this mandala.

This could also be called "The One and the Many"

which we work with in SoulCollage.

That's the idea that we all are "the many"...varied expressions

of "the One" creative source.

It reminds us of our indivisability from the One.

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Another spontaneous image...shines through.

Thank you mandala journey.

"Getting to the Point" - Creativity Prompt

I was in need of shifting from my logical left-brain into my intuitive, spontaneous, creative right-brain. This mandala process has deepened my kindship with spontaneity and intuition, yet from time to time my rational mind has tried to rule; and I want to allow this mandala process continue to take me deeper into my heart. So...

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...I gave myself a time limit for creating a mandala. ..rather exciting. I set my timer for 20 minutes, ...it was both exhilarating and relaxing. After 10 minutes I was more than half-way done. I was not attached to the outcome of what I was making, I was just having a good time. It feels so good to let the Creative Spirit soar!

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Soon after the mandala was done I noticed that all the pathways joined into one point and I heard withn me: 'Getting to the Point'... the most important point whatever it might be in the moment for me. That message is steering me back to where I need to be in many areas of my life, that's where I've set my intention and attention. Thank you Mandala Process!

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I invite you to give it a try! Gather your materials. Set your timer for 20 minutes or so, and go for it! If you're new to making mandalas for self-expression & self-discovery I explain it here . And, since it's all about expressing what's inside of you, artistic experience in not necessary. Whatever comes up and out is what's meant to surface. - I invite you to share your mandalas with us at the Mandala Oasis Yahoo! Community. We are wild about mandalas, and you are most welcomed to join us!

Blooming Life!

From the Center

...life begins

an egg...

a seed...

and soon...life blooms...here

....or there

And for that...

I am deeply grateful

Blooming Butterfly 2

Colorful, vibrant, transformative life!

It's blooming out...

all over!

Angel of Resoration

After hearing whispers of "restore" in my ear over the last few weeks, I knew that was something for me to surrender to...to give myself; time to restore my soul, allowing myself to balance being a human "being" vs. so much a human "doing". Over that period of weeks...this mandala was created.

"Intention's Journey"

Intentions - a Haiku:

Our intentions are

the atomosphere in which we

live our truth out loud

~Cheryl Finley

For more on this mandala click here.

"Ultimate Center"

"The cyclone derives its powers from a calm center. So does a person." ~Norman Vincent Peale

"I am, indeed, a king, because I know rule myself." ~Pietro Aretino, 10 May 1537

For more on this mandala, click here.

"Life...a richly textured journey..."

"...and when you get the choice to sit it our or dance... I hope you dance" ~Lee Ann Womack

From her song I Hope You Dance...which you can enjoy by clicking here.

For more on this mandala click here.

"Ode to the Mustard Seed"

"I tell you with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. "~Matthew 17:20

"Faith is a passionate intuition." ~William Wordsworth

"Faith is spiritualized imagination." ~Henry Ward Beecher

"Faith is courage; it is creative... while despair is always destructive." ~David S. Muzzey

"To me faith means not worrying." ~John Dewey

"Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch." ~Ramona C. Carroll

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." ~Martin Luther King Jr.

For more on this mandala, click here.

"Powerful Beyond Measure"

The Magenta Path in this mandala...is it a fork in the road...or... a merging? - Our awareness of where we are with that question is but one ingredient that has the potential to make each one of us fully conscious...that we are...Powerful Beyond Measure.

So...are are you "forking"...or "merging" on your journey right now? For more insight on this, and on embracing being Powerful Beyond Measure click here.

"Peace.. blooming out all over"

My heart (and face) smiled when I came across the quote below. Surely..it's an ideal recipe for peace...to bloom all over! Here are a few recipes for peace...

"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." ~Robert Fulghum

"Let there be peace on earthAnd let it begin with me."
~Seymour Miller & Jill Jackson, "Let There Be Peace on Earth," 1955

For more on this mandala, click here.

"Spiritual Insight"

"The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light..." ~Luke 11:34

This mandala spontaneously took shape while I was listening to an inspiring message on CD from Rev. Michael Beckwith of Agape Spiritual Center. Ahh...what an affirmation that the mandala outpictured the gift I was receiving from him... "spiritual insight"! To read more of my story about this mandala and this insight click here.

Inspiration: Anne Frank

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

This warms my heart and makes me smile...for I know this is the truth. When we improve ourselves... our home, our body, our consciousness..our world; the Ripple Effect of that makes the world a better place.

It reminds me of one of my favorite songs...that improves the way I feel whenever I sing it, or hum it.. "Let there be Peace on Earth...and let it begin with me."

Have a wonder-filled week!

Creatvity Prompt: "Explore a Practice"

Making mandalas is a practice for me... as is: journaling, blogging, SoulCollage® as well as making jewelry. They are all practices that stir up creative bliss and fulfilment in me; especially while I'm listening to instrumental music, scored for the ocassion. Sharing these kinds of ideas with kindred-others is also a practice which is satisfies my soul...and we do a lot of that at the Mandala Oasis Yahoo! Community.

The website, Spirituality & Practice, has an entire section called "Explore a Practice" at their right-hand sidebar. There are lots of subjects that could very well resonate with where you are currently on your journey thorugh life. One of them might even inspire a creating a mandala, or an inner-shift you've been wanting. Recently I realized that more and more, the mandalas I've made have been a - "storyboarding of wisdom" - guiding me to a new awareness... and prompting me to take heed. - I love that about this intuitive creativity that always steers me to where I need be, what I need to do..or not do.

If you do decide to partake of one of the practices, or tell us about an exisiting one...you are invited to share it with us at our very kindred online community, The Mandala Oasis. which you can link to at the top of this site, or at the link within this post.
Abundant blessings to you...
~Cheryl

Click here for the Spirituality & Practice website.

Note: All purple text is a linkable

"Blooming Butterfly"

I smile when I look at this...thinking...

Surely, this is what a butterfly looks like

when it lies on it's back...right?

With wings open wide to the sky...

...its heart would surely be a fragrant flower...

radiating....

blooming...

and humming

like a honey bee...

or the purr of a kitty.

I realize that I too...am blooming...

awakening...and being refreshened.

I am experiencing a renaissance.

My heart and I are

blooming...

like the butterfly...

and for that, I am deeply grateful.

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"The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly." ~Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun

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"Butterflies are self propelled flowers." ~R.H. Heinlein

"Chrysanthemum"

This series of mandals is dedicated my cyber-pal, Leah, and her Creative Every Day Project which keeps us mindful to be and live from our innate creativity..every day.

This is the fourth mandala created from the center - and this way of creating them does have a centering affect. I feel like it's getting me ready on the inside so I can do what I need to do on the outside. It's like Mandala Yoga, which we talked about this week at the Mandala Oasis Yahoo Community. It's amazing. I feel that by making the mandala in this way it has created an internal shift within me...and I like it. I'll continue to experiment with this method to see the effects it has on me.

And...I was curious about the chrysanthemum history and symbolism. And...what I found out after making this mandala is uncanny! For example..it's the official flower of the city of Chicago...where I reside; and that "chrys" means golden which was its original color...and I made mine golden yellow. This mandala is also a portal to that calm center inside of me...and I will continue meditate on it. What a gift this chrysanthemum mandala is!

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Note...the purple text...is a link...

"Beam me up Scotty"

I see this as an aerial view...

Depicting my daily comings and goings...

And then here comes this...thing

descending in the middle of everything to

'Beam me up, Scotty"...to make sure I'm

"living from the Center."

And..the mandorla cluster in the center

is mystical, friendly and powerful.

"Dream Catcher"

The mandorlas

keep beckoning me...

this time in a cluster...

to catch and nurture my dreams

"Slices of Life"

gratitude....love...harmony....

joy...peace...intuition....

self-compassion...Grace...

gratitude....

All slices of a well-fed life...

....with more to come...

"Entangled"

This 'entangled' energy showed up again; and..that's how I was feeling. Too many thoughts at once going on in my head..even new thoughts creeping in from outside the circle, yikes...make it stop! And...stop it did.

After making this mandala I had a great sense of release...and I was inspired to begin making mandalas from the center, outward..which I've never been moved to do that before. Yes! An inner-shift has occured! This new approach to making mandalas is a metaphor and a map for what I want to ...and must... create in my life...more order and harmony. Interesting...that was the very first mandala of the week 'Harmony & Flow'.

I continue to marvel and appreciate this intuitive creativity that informs me of...me. The mandalas that followed this one were made from the inside, out... from center, to perimeter. Hmm...that's a good way to create the order and harmony I need; from the inside, out...starting at and living from.... the Center.

"Venus Flytrap"

This week's Inspire Me Thursday prompt: Healing synchronistically corresponds to the Mandala Healing teleclass series I am hosting with the renowned Judith Cornell - click here for details.

Making Mandala Medicine, SoulCollage® , making jewelry as well as other creative expression IS all healing...from the inside, out.

Being creative, and having others to share it with has made a huge difference in my qualitiy of life on the healing front. Thank Goodness for all of the healing arts!

I made this mandala while hanging out with my daughter, Kamaria, over the July 4th holiday; just playing around with markers while we were watching a movie.

Initially I thought and saw "pea pods", but after a while, I knew it had a higher calling...

Venus Flytrap!

I see this as a vibrant, whimsical and healing image....gobbling up the old thought patterns, and old energy that no longer serves me...and transmuting it into glorious, colorful beauty...while exhaling it back into the atmosphere...imparting beauty...and exhilarating joy!

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FYI: The purple words on all posts are links.

"Harmony & Flow"

Elements of harmony....

trust...surrender...

and to...

Row, row, row your boat "gently" down the stream.

rhythm
harmony

flow

"Gyrating with joy...I take flight"

I enter the door...

the door of my heart....

the door of my soul....

The place where I "be still and know"....

I feel the thrill down deep in my bones....

I declare: "Yes, I am willing to cross a new threshold...

to choose a new door....

where my dreams take flight.

Where...I am the co-pilot of my course...

In partnership with the divine Pilot.

I enter my heart's door...

ready,

courageous,

eager,

willing,

and with persistence...

and heartfelt gratitude.

Gyrating with joy...I take flight!"

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P.S. I realize I have the last two colors out of the conventional order...but I figure, Spirit knows what she's doing...so I just keep aware of that. I see it as my third eye is summoning more of my attention...so this is all very interesting; especially when I consider this post , and this one.

Things continue to evolve.

"Ancient Portal"

Ancient portal....

This feels a bit mysterious....

and ancient to me...

I sense that wisdom...

and and ideas will speak

to me from that deep blue

Ancient Portal...

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Of the third-eye chakra, S. Fincher* writes: "This chakra is the center for creative visualization and through this chakra you receie information from your higher self. The challenge of this chakra is to accept your ability to see beyond what is on the surface...and questions, and continue to seek the truth. When dark blue appears in your mandalas, consider whether your intuitive abilities are being expanded."

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That's what I love about this Mandala Medicine - We simply create spontaneously inside the circle we deem "sacred", and Spirit reveals what we need to know and see. All I...we... have to do is continue to seek...to have a passion for the mystery.......and allow it to unfold.

I love it!

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*In the book Coloring Mandalas (Book One) page 19

"The Center Beckons..."

An invitation to the enter....

the Center

is always there...

Its stillness beckons us.

It does not clamour

for our attention...

it just remains in the

fullness of Itself...

being what it is.

The invitation comes

from all sides, and directions..

from above and below...

It comes on the breeze

through the trees...

in the birds' sweet songs...

in the magnificient

orange sunsets...

and in the

presence of the marvelous moon..

The Center beckons us...

back to Itself...

back to ourSelves...

...and I am grateful.

"Becoming..."

I am entering uncharted territory....entering they mystery...

although...the intentions I've set forth are bearing fruit....

so...some of the mystery is becoming...

de-mystified....

manifested...

a new enthusiasm,

....courage and

confidence has emerged....

gifts of the Spriit!

With these gifts...I am closer

to my Land of Oz

than I ever have been.

The irony is...Dorothy...

you are already home!

Home in my skin...

Home in my soul...

Home in my breath...

Home in being deeply ripened

to further bring all the facets...

and jewels of my life's work....

...my soul's mission....

into form...

to help awaken joy....

and heal the world...

...so we can all dip into our

Oasis of Self....

and self...

and embrace, and love it all!

Ah...this "Life U"....

is enticing us....

challenging us into Be-ing

the fullness of

what we are

already..."becoming."

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I'm dipping my toe into the Oasis of coloring mandalas, something new for me. Oh my...there is no end to this glorious, sacred unfolding mystery. This mandala is from Susanne Fincher's workbook: Color Mandalas For Insight Healing and Self-Expression. Oh my!...a rebirthing is taking place....an Awakening...is in the works! And...at every turn Life winks at me...flirts with me...confirming this! Ahh...Life is Grand!

"Joy of Expressing"

This is my joy...

of expressing

life...

creativity...

love...

joy....

and sharing

in community.

This is my heart...

expanding...

leaping...

dancing....

and singing!

This ...

is my joy!

Thank you

for sharing yours

with me!

"Room to Grow"

Giving myself...

breathing space...

in people,

places...

and things...

Knowing myself.

And knowing

that I need....

breathing space...

room to grow.

"Lift Off!"

Lift off!

The sky...

of my imagination..

and passion...

is the

limit!

"Entering New Territory"

Consciously choosing...

Pioneering...

entering new territory....

and glorious terrain!

Uncharted.

Deliberate.

Intended.

Courageous.

Elation!

Horizons expand...

Evolving options...

Joy!

Intertwined Mandorlas

colorful... connecting mandorlas

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I've been drawn to make this shape for over a year now.

I made this mandala in Nov. 2007 and I've

learned this shape is a mandorla.

It has been manifesting

as eyes in my mandala work.

Talk about mandalas being a mirror of the soul...

this one reveals how important meaningful

connections are to me.

Connections...

with my Self...

my family...

and my family of friends.

It reminds me of onion skin layers

so closely connected...

and revealing more of itself

with every peeling-back of the layers.

Just like us.

Each experience...

each thought...

each reaction...

each response...

...or lack thereof

reveals more of what's at core...

revealing more of "us"...

and more about "us"...

to "us"...

layer... by layer.

Eye See With the Heart

Today eye seek to see...

with...

the energy of my heart

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Today I allow my heart's eye

to shine light in the corners

of my psyche...

to coax self-compassion

from the corners...

and shadows...

so it can

rain on me...

so it can reign...

through me.

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Reign on me, heart energy...reign, reign, reign

I am open to your reign....

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The Barbara Striesand movie (which I saw recently) and song lyrics - On a Clear Day... just flashed into my awareness - and oh...is it so true. On a clear day, we can see forever.

Synergy Mandala - Mandorla

Synergy occurs when...

the total is greater

than the sum of its parts...

like our energy

..at the Mandala Oasis.

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That's what this mandala represents...

Synergy created

in the combined

energy of

"connection"

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Synergy is found...

in unity...

...the area in common.

In this case where the

two overlapping circles....

create the almond shape, called

the Mandorla

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Synchronistic synergy abounds...