Mandalas have been the focus of meditation, contemplation and admiration for years too numerous to count. Since before the dawn of recorded history, humanity's intimate connection to the mandala has been a vibrant link to our universal ancestry. It is a sacred diagram that displays the structure of the spirit and the interwoven nature of the cosmos. Many have studied their design, their inherent centrality, as a path toward achieving an ideal centrality in their own selves. Such interaction with a mandala is a process of approaching enlightenment. Its elements are the essence of life, the myriad layers of existence, of being, of living, so that each mandala is but one of an infinite number of possible manifestations of the self. Its creation is the gathering of intangibles, the construction of an architecture of peace and order within a swirling, chaotic world. It is a pulse point on the universal collective consciousness. The mandala represents the center of the universe and the outward-expanding awareness of the human experience. It is a quest to rediscover that center, the nucleus, the focal point for all things. The journey's conclusion, our eventual return to that center, is inevitable—only the path may vary.
The circle is the most archetypal form, its shape is simple yet within its potential resides all that is possible. It is symbolic of the universe without and within, the space that stretches away from us and toward the deepest recesses of the self. It is simple, efficient and beautiful. It is ancient yet constantly reborn. It is the cycle of days, years and eons; it is birth and death and rebirth; it is the sun in the sky and the droplets in the clouds; it is the primeval source of man, and by extension, consciousness; it is knowing, forgetting and remembering; it is the ring of fire around which our ancestors sat and the horizon which marked the boundaries of their world; it is the mandala inscribed in the galactic core. The circle is the complete geometry of the spirit, of the cosmos, and of the unity of the two. It is the gate, the heart, the breath. It is within us all.
Kohlinanah mandala
evali mandala
Artist statement
I've been drawing mandalas in one form or another for as long as I can remember, before I understood either their spiritual or their psychological significance. Since then I've learned much about them that has come to fascinate me, not the least of which are their amazing Jungian references to some unknown yet common universal link between us all, as well as between us and our distant, forgotten origins.
All of my mandalas are in black and white. They are about the apparent duality of the universe—darkness and light, center and periphery, positive and negative, being and non-being, even the simultaneously unique and infinite arrangement of elementary particles that make up everything in the universe, from stones to stars to the spirit within each of us. The black is representative of matter, mystery and the unconscious. The white represents energy, knowledge and the conscious self. The mandala brings these contrasting elements together and presents a vision of the true unity that surrounds us. Each mandala is an instant, and at the same time an eternity—a captured moment, a feeling that will never be repeated.
I create my mandalas using pen and ink on acid-free paper, over a lightly-penciled grid to ensure a degree of symmetry. This allows me to be true to what I perceive as the execution of all universal structures—perfect in their abstract forms, yet each with its own unique fluctuation and variety. Sometimes the images have been swimming around in my head for weeks, sometimes I don't have a clue what's coming next. But always they feel right and proper, as if I'm uncovering an ancient truth that has lain dormant and forgotten for ages.
I'm a part-time mandala artist, occasional writer, chronic over-thinker, and webmaster of mandalaZone.com. I'm fascinated by origins and causes, and the deeply-hidden reasons behind everything. This is why I’m so interested in mandalas. They are the underlying pattern for everything in the universe—physical, mental and spiritual, though at their core these three are essentially one. The mandala is a map of the universe within us as well as without. It shows us the connected nature of all being, the interrelations that lie behind the apparent chaos. It illuminates the countless intimate connections between ourselves and the world around us. It teaches us that deep within we hold the key to a serenity and strength beyond our wildest imaginings.
text and art by: Peter Patrick Barreda
http://www.mandalazone.com/artist.html