Mandalas - June McLeod

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'Colour knowledge is transformational but ultimately only useful when made practical in your daily life. Live it, use it, feel it and only then will the secrets of colour give themselves up to you' June McLeod.

The mandala is a circular colour healing tool used for divining, healing and meditation dating back to ancient times.In Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, mandala means 'sacred circle'. Hindus, Tibetan, Buddhist Monks & Native American Indians all use mandalas as a way of evoking spiritual energy, meditation & healing. Mandalas are an exciting and informative tool to work with once you have grasped the fundamentals of colours and their meanings. In her books June shares much information on mandalas and how to use them to help yourself and your students.

Colouring a mandala will allow you to work with colour and unlock deep-seated emotions and explore your unconcious thoughts and feelings. The experience of colouring in a mandala is very powerful and transformational and can be enhanced by listening to carefully chosen classical music.

When used in colour psychology and colour therapy sessions ( only touched upon in colour therapy work)  by a professional who knows their onions, great and wonderful results are gleaned from the completed mandala that will help to transform the life and understanding of the person involved in the process. To be truly proficient in reading a completed mandala, one must be proficient in their colour psychology knowledge, colours, placement and the human psyche. No man feat but well worth the years studying to perfect your craft, I love working with mandalas and am in awe at the amount of information that is gleaned from each mandala.

June McLeod takes her inspiration from the natural world that surrounds us all,  using the circle shape in her work and when training students and groups.

 She asks:

'Why are we always putting things in boxes, even ourselves, although nature doesnt box things.Why do we love to straighten things out?.In nature there are spirals, curves and circles.There are no straight lines in nature,yet we build square rooms to live in'

June teaches her students the circle is the perfect shape for colour therapy, colour psychology.

Colour and the circle is her trademark, and one of the many findings her detailed colour research has uncovered over the years for the benefit of all.

The 5 elements and circles are represented throughout. We see spinning circular patterns in rivers, streams, whirlpools,oceans and the movements of the cloud systems, In the earth circles are formed by most insects, in the air by tornadoes,hurricanes and cyclones, the planets continue the circular theme and in the fire we see spinning flames dancing.

 Most animals and the birds naturally work within a circular territory and sleep in the circular shape, even the birds build nests in circles.The tides, the seasons,the cycles of sowing and harvesting, the weeks and months of our calendar, all form circles and we find ourselves saying 'we have come full circle'.

"You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round..........

The sky is round, and I have heard the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars.

The wind, in its greatest power whirls, birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours .....

Even th seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves"

Black Elk, Oglala Sioux Holy Man. 1863-1950

The circle is a stress-less form that helps us to focus inward. We naturally feel more comfortable and at ease  in circular buildings.

 'There are no straight lines in nature yet we build square rooms to live in'. June McLeod.

Not surprising that we are more creative and relax more and feel better and healthier in part or fully circular rooms. Architects and house builders take note.

The circle is associated with wholeness: there is no beginning or end, it reverberates in total harmony from its centre, a stress-less form that represents unity, harmony & the cycle of life, this circular shape helps us to focus inwards. The wheel is a circle and the term cycle represents a circle in motion.

The mandala is a circular shape and has been used for centuries for health healing and divining. The circle moves in fluid motion, we even use the term 'coming full circle' to describe the natural flow and completion of a life cycle, be it momentous or insignificant.

 An important part of Junes work is the mandala, it stands supreme and neck and neck with her colour numerology - the karmagraph method as two of the most accurate divining tools. The mandala is a circular healing tool used for divining, healing and meditation dating back to ancient times. In Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, mandala means 'sacred circle'. Hindus, Tibetans, Buddhist Monks and Native American Indians all use mandalas as a way of evoking spiritual energy, meditation and healing.

 Carl Jung used mandalas with his clients and for his own personal growth, his studies revealed their creation allowed a deep healing to take place from within the human psyche. Mandalas exist naturally in nature, they can be seen in snowflakes, sea shells, water, tree trunks, flowers and even in the human eye.

Mandalas are circular in shape, the circle is a symbol of wholeness, is a stressless form that represents unity, harmony and the cycle of life; this circular shape helps us to focus inwards.

Colouring a mandala will allow you to work with colour therapy tools while unlocking deep seated emotions and to explore your unconcious thoughts and feelings. The experience of colouring in a mandala is very powerful and transformational and can be enhanced by listening to carefully chosen music while colouring the mandala.

Mandalas are an exciting, fun, creative and informative tool to work with and are an integral part of Junes work and teachings for individuals, groups and business.

June writes comprehensively about mandalas in Colour Psychology Today and also in  Mandalas - for personal development and business success that also contains 160 blank mandalas to colour in, to copy and to share for personal  use and for colour therapy and colour psychology workshops and classes.

'Creativity sparks innovation and will deliver value and performance across an entire organisation. Colour psychology,creativity and innovation go together like strawberries,scones  and cream'.

Academics find it hard to be creative and most believe they cant be creative as their use of their logical mind,the left brain is so active,yet they need to be creative to rebalance.

 Did you know children from 2-7 are very creative, according to research they gradually lose their creativity  as they progress through the education system. It is usual to find teens are the least creative,  most have lost their free hand creative spark between the ages of 13yrs to 16 yrs.

 Yet when creativity is encouraged and offered to all ages on a regular weekly basis in education, the children thrive and perform beyond expectations, with their creative spark intact, alive and well.

ART THERAPY

Art making and interacting when creating helps people to tell their stories and to express themselves, especially when it may be difficult to express themselves verbally. In a safe evironment with directional guided art therapy people can find their voice.  We now know image language comes before verbal language, therefore the importance of creativity and art therapy for health well-being and self development should not be under estimated. June combines mandalas and art therapy with her extensive knowledge of colour psychology, guiding the participant from the outset, directing the picture content, not the placement nor the colour choices. By working together to discuss the completed project June and student can have a three way conversation together with the completed image as the meaning emerges.There are real skills involved in maximising these benefits, both interpersonal and creative that are valuable. Understanding therapeutic relationship is the most important skill in helping people. With art therapy and colour psychology we work with people rather than do things to them.