by Jean-Louis de Biasi
(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)
Spiritual traditions are part of the human DNA. Despite all the good arguments coming from atheism, the presence of an invisible world has been a belief shared by human beings from the time they began walking on their two legs to discover the world.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, eastern spiritualities have won a clear popularity among people eager to lift the veil on religious mysteries. For the Theosophical movement, for example, Tibet, the Himalayas, and India were places where Spiritual Masters were supposed to live. The mystical center of the world and the mysterious subterranean city called Agartha were in the Himalayas. Buddhists and Hindus perpetuated advanced techniques of meditation and the development of inner powers. Meanwhile in the Western World, monotheistic religions continued to control the minds of Westerners by imposing religious dogmas, shaping a strong hierarchy of powers descending from God, to the Pope and Cardinals (Priests), then to Kings, and then the people. Monks kept a kind of independence vis-à-vis the religious establishment. Occult groups perpetuating Hermeticism, Theurgy, Kabbalah, and the Rose Cross tried for hundreds of years to keep the ancient Western Traditions alive. Some of these occult groups are still alive, and I have the privilege to be the head of two of them, the Aurum Solis and the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose Cross. Learning Western Philosophy and esoteric traditions helped me develop the ability to recognize hidden messages left by ancient initiates.
Speaking about messages, we are often thinking about ancient books, parchments, secret codes, etc. In fact, art and architecture have been a wonderful way to pass down such an ancient heritage coming from a time before the rise of monotheistic religions. Most of this heritage is often hidden in plain sight, and it is wonderful to still be able to decipher it. The main difference between Eastern and Western traditions has been this concealment of esoteric teachings. This is also one of the reasons why Buddhism and Hinduism have become so popular. One of the most obvious subjects that links spiritual practice and art has been mandalas, the most famous of which are authentic Tibetan mandalas. As you may know, they are symbolic representations of the universe. The belief is that this beautiful artwork is not a simple drawing or sand painting, but the representation of a spiritual vision that can be seen also as the reflection of our inner world. The process of creating it in a specific way, using prayers, mantras, and visualization while mixing pigments and painting it, creates a performative artwork. This results in a real invisible power that can act as a catalyst of energies capable of modifying your state of consciousness. What I mean is that you can just look at an authentic mandala made according to the occult rules, and you will experience a complete spiritual experience. An authentic mandala is multi-dimensional. It exists in this world as a beautiful piece of art, but it should be seen also as a gate to the spiritual world, symbolically illustrated. A meditation will allow you to go from this world to another on a real shamanic journey. Of course, knowing the pronunciation of the mantras, the names of the divinities, and the secret words of power may help. However, I can assure you that just being in the presence of such a mandala is capable of modifying the energy of a place and consequently affecting your state of consciousness. It could be surprising to know that such symbolic representations of the universe are not limited to these Eastern traditions. I can give you two examples among many. The first one can be found in the tradition of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States. The Hopi and Zuni tribes have developed a specific kind of painting that has exactly the same purpose and process as the Tibetan Mandalas. In the Western world, various kinds of symbolic representations of the Universe can be found in religious buildings: ceilings, stained glass, and pavements. In The Hidden Mandala Coloring Book, that has been just published, I chose to focus on the latter. While traveling all around the Mediterranean world, I have been surprised to see a real continuity in the patterns used by the masters. From the early Roman world to the Renaissance and beyond, we can easily recognize similar interlacing. Even if the purpose was not the same, we can see such designs in the Celtic and Gallic arts.
Of course, we can find mosaic floors with human and animal representations. However, labyrinths and other interlacing constitutes a very rich symbolic language. Mathematics and geometry have been used for these creations. In the introduction of this coloring book, I talked about the symbolism of numbers and shapes. While traveling in Italy with my wife, who is a talented mosaicist, I took hundreds of photos of these ancient pavements, some of them partially destroyed. Then I recreated the original patterns, completing the missing parts. Doing that has been very rewarding. I realized even more deeply the purpose of the numbers and the interlacing. There is a real connection between our minds, our souls, and these symbolic patterns. Every time we use them, whether by drawing or coloring, our heart begins to slow down, our blood pressure decreases, and our mind reaches a state of balance and peace. Hundreds of coloring books have been published in recent years. I can assure you that coloring stars, flowers, angels, or unicorns has no effect whatsoever on your state of consciousness. Of course, someone doing that will be more relaxed only by the fact that he is focusing on an artistic activity and avoiding the usual daily stress. Using symbolic patterns that have been inherited for ancient masters is totally different. Anyone can feel the difference after a few minutes of coloring.
As I explain this process, I am looking at a few designs that are in this coloring book and I want to give you right now the opportunity to begin your inner experience. I just chose for you a representation of one of the mosaics that comes from Ravenna in Italy. The numbers are important in this pattern. To access, simply join the public Hidden Mandalas Facebook Group; once you've joined the group, you will be able to download this mandala in a PDF format. This sample is slightly different from the one you will find in the book itself, but the symbols and numbers are similar.
After downloading the mandala and printing it on heavy paper, you can prepare your coloring time and proceed. As a suggestion, I would like to give you a short ritual process you can use for this one.
Choose eight beeswax candles and natural incense. You can choose the latter in relation to the Egyptian God Thot (Djehuti), who is also called Lord of Khemenu. Place your chair facing east, along with the table you will use for coloring the mandala. Your colored pencils and pencil eraser should be ready on the table.
Stand up and declaim:
"Thot, noble Ibis, I call upon you!
Manifest your presence!
O God who loves Knoum;
O writer of the Ennead;
Great God who resides in the sacred city of Hermopolis, manifest yourself at this instant!
Hear my call!
Let your manifestation be powerful and let it make me great!
O Thot may we speak of your valiant actions and tell you with the multitude: 'Great are you
Thot and great are your acts!'"
Light the eight candles from the right (south) to the left (north).
Sit and color the mandala. I recommend coloring this specific one from the center to the exterior circle. If you do not achieve the mandala in one period, you should use the opening again, to declaim the hymn.
When your coloring process is achieved, you can proceed with the closing.
Stand up and declaim the following prayer of closing.
"O Eternal, we have known thy light supreme, which can be seen only by the spirit. We have understood thee, O Life of Life, O Thou who bring all into being. We have known in thee the eternal permanence of all nature. O God, let this hymn, this whole-hearted adoration, be an expression of our love.
We ask of thee only one favor, O Eternal One: that Thou wilt keep us constant in our Love of knowing thee, and that we will never be far from this kind of life."
Then extinguish the candles.
I would like to finish this article by an inviting you to send in your colored mandala to the Hidden Mandala Facebook group, either by scanning it or taking a photo of it. On February 1, 2017, I will open an online vote for your artistic interpretations of this Italian mandala. I will personally send a copy of my signed Hidden Mandala Coloring Book to the person who colored the mandala selected by your votes.
Once the book has been released, I invite you to continue to post your colored mandalas in the same Facebook group. We will also have the opportunity to post information about mandalas, to have discussions, to share Western Mandalas, and more.
I wish you a very good spiritual and artistic journey in this amazing world of Western Mandalas.
Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2016. All rights reserved.
"Life happens. Life in the flow."
We learn over time that nobody can solve our problems, but someone can guide you how to solve the problem. You may receive guidance through a teacher, a guru or even strangers that you run into every day. As we practice yoga we learn that the more we know, the less we truly know. Every day I am reminded how much I truly do not know; a very humbling experience.
Yoga teaches me to be present. To just live for being and enjoying life as it is right NOW. Not ten minutes from now, no five days ago, but right now. We are taught to get out of our heads, to release worries and fears of the past or the future and to only live for this very moment. Presence.
"Lead me from untruth to truth, lead me from darkness to light." ~ Buddha
Through yoga we are reminded that we do have a dark side as well as a light side. We are not to repress the dark side, but embrace that side of our Self. We are the yin and the yang. We ultimately cleanse the dark stuff we hold inside. We shine the light on this. We must make friends with dark side. Both positive and negative balance out the whole. Daily practice refines and improves our inner vision to see our Self more clearly. We no longer need to run from fears. Face them and say I'm not running from you anymore. So much is in our heads, so much dark is only in our heads, self-doubt judgment betrayal. Yoga grounds the body so that the light and dark sides of ourselves become clear. So much is truly untrue. But as we diligently practice we are able to find the middle ground and walk our centered balanced line in life. We gain balance in centered lightheartedness. We can have harmony in both light and dark.
"Yoga tells us that the world is actually a projection of our own thoughts and we can modify our inner world to manifest into our outer world. When our inside realm is at peace and in harmony, our outer world shines this projection back at us." ~ David, Jiva Mukti Yoga co-founder
Yoga is observation.
We can observe our world and see what part that is in us is begin reflected back to us. We can then see what part of us needs modification or adjustment in order to have our outer reality reflect back to us the peace, happiness and love we so greatly desire and deserve.
Yoga is already inside of you. Happiness is there. Yoga helps you peel away the onion layers to get to the core. To freedom. The deepest Divine connection to the Ultimate Light Source.
Come out of wanting and back into acceptance and Joy. A yogi or yogini can turn any situation into bliss. That is a yogi. Yoga is being now. Ultimate yoga is meditation. Just BE.
Yoga is love.
"Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Through a dedicated practice of all forms of yoga we can participate in the world with a sense of freedom, unaffected from trauma, depression, anger, etc. The freedom is balance in both.
Maggie Anderson is a Yoga & Spiritual Teacher, Reiki Master Teacher, Integrated Energy Therapy® Master Instructor, Soul Coach®, Past Life Coach, Magnified Healing® Master Teacher and Angelights Messenger. She is the author of How I Found My True Inner Peace and Divine Embrace. You can contact Maggie at SpiritualCompassConnection.com.
"Follow Your Bliss. It's Your Spiritual Compass."