The Mandala

Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle. Carl G. Jung, who mapped the psyche, was fascinated with the mandala. When first deciding to make your own path it is frightening and difficult for anyone and leaves you vulnerable, this is where Jung was when he discovered the value of mandalas. Every morning he sketched a circular drawing and he found that the drawing corresponded to his inner situation on a daily basis (Jung, Carl. “Confrontation with the Unconscious,” in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, pp 170-199.) Here is what Jung wrote of his own experiences with mandala drawing,

My mandalas were cryptograms concerning the state of the self which were
presented to me anew each day. In them I saw the self—that is, my whole
being—actively at work. To be sure, at first I could only dimly understand
them; but they seemed to me highly significant, and I guarded them like precious
pearls. I had the distinct feeling that they were something central, and
in time I acquired through them a living conception of the self. The self,
I thought, was like the monad which I am, and which is my world. The
mandala represents this monad, and corresponds to the microcosmic nature of the
psyche. (Pp 196)

For Carl Jung then, mandalas were expressions from the self. As Jung discovered, it is important to not set a goal while exploring the self. I would explain it this way, if I set myself a goal to find the artist in me, then I might not encounter the mother in me, or the inner child. Am I looking for a me that I already know? If I am busy looking for the me that I expect to find, then the self will elude me again. As Jung wrote, it is important to let us, “be carried along by the current, (pp 196).”

Another definition of the mandala is

A place where inner world, called the Self, and the outer world, called the
Universe, get together in your body. The mandala is your body, which represents
the entire universe. [It is,] the union or harmony of self and the universe,
inner world and outer world.

("Microcosmic symbol of the universe
and of the collective consciousness"--definition by Jung and Eliade) [Edited for
mistakes.]
Comment to author: miyash@sils.umich.edu
Revised:
November 3, 1996
URL: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~miyash/mandalathoery.html

Or, put another way:

If you’ve ever kept a photograph of your loved ones or looked at yourself in a mirror, then Michael Brown would say that these are ways of remaining connected to our loved ones. Furthermore, he would say that what we were seeing reflected in mirrors or photographs were views or images of the outside world. Mandalas are reflections too; they reflect our inner self, the inner workings of our psyche or soul. Brown writes,

… Mandalas can help us see what is going on within us, in our heart and
soul. They can help us remain connected to our Selves in fundamental ways and
can help us understand the meaning of important life experiences when we learn
how to create and interpret them. [And] …when we begin to take all of ourselves
into account, when we begin to honor and balance the dynamic forces within us,
we can act in the world in ways that honor our essential wholeness, get our
needs met, and allow us to share with others the very best within us.
(MANDALA SYMBOLISM (Reprinted from Coastal Pathways, Volume 3, No. 6,
July, 1991, Virginia Beach, Va) http://www.michaelbrown.org/html/mandala_symbolism.html)

Following is a progression of the mandalas I sketched beginning with my first one from 1998.

Note in reply to Bernie's comment I thought to include my 11 year old son's anime art work: