There was a beautifully powerful yet gentle energy whilst creating this piece and many many hours of quiet contemplation. There is something about the constant flow of the ocean, the soft breeze, and sound of crashing waves that is entrancing. It captivates and pulls our thoughts into its rhythms.There is so much we can learn from the sea. 

Our lives flow just like the water does.
Sometimes there are big waves that carry something further or in a direction that was unintended. At other times it seems like the water is almost at a standstill. Sometimes the waves crash so hard that you fear they’ll destroy everything. And that exactly is how life goes. We are always moving forward—no matter how slowly, quickly, hard, or stuck we are. We are always moving. Everything is always changing. And whether we are at a high point or low point, it is all relative and can completely turn around within a moment. The only permanent continuity we have in life is continuity itself.

Don’t give up when something is worth it.
I love this quote by Sarah Kay, “There is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.” I am a firm believer that if something is worth it, you should fight for it no matter how many times it doesn’t work out. If at any point it’s no longer worth it, let it go. But as long as it is, don’t give up.

We don’t know everything about ourselves.
We don’t know everything that is within the vast depths of the ocean or indeed within ourselves. We are constantly growing, changing, and sometimes even blocking parts of ourselves off from our own minds. It is important to take the time to dive into our own lives every now and then to explore and understand who we truly are.

Blue and turquoise are the most calming and healing colours that I know.
There is something so serene about them. Someone once told me that blue was their favourite colour because it is peaceful and reminded them of the sea. I think I finally understand why.

There is always more to explore.
The sea has a lot more to teach us. Its depths reach far below the surface and its vast sparkling blue stretches far out into the horizon. I can’t even fathom how it would be possible to explore every part of that. In the same way, there is always more to explore around you. So learn more about the people in your life or the places that you go. Just don’t ever think you know it all, because truly you never will.

We are a part of something bigger.
The sea doesn’t just exist on its own. It is part of an entire water cycle and an entire network of life. And so are each of us. We are not meant to just live our own lives and be done. We are meant to be part of the greater whole of this world and play our role in shaping it, whatever that role may be.

This piece measures 100cm x 100cm, Acrylic and Metallic Pen on Fine Grain Canvas. The piece has been sold to two beautiful people from County Cork. May it bring them much peace and joy. Greeting Cards featuring this piece will be available soon.

Sometimes, we need to pause - to step back from the hustle and bustle of daily life. One way to do this is to get away from our daily life and go on retreat. Far more than a holiday, a retreat offers us time for ourselves to rest, heal, reflect and to renew our spirit. It is a time to nurture ourselves, to cocoon ourselves so that we may re-emerge renewed, refreshed, and ready to return to our lives with a fresh and invigorated perspective. A retreat gives us time for uninterrupted meditation so that we may go deep within and spend that vital time with ourselves. 

When we spend days in contemplation and meditation, we can more readily respond to our heart when it speaks to us. We are able to become more present to ourselves and what surrounds us.  We can give ourselves our full attention. We can put the oxygen masks on ourselves first, be present for ourselves, enabling us to be more present and helpful to those around us.
 
Going on retreat is an excellent way to do this. I am delighted to announce the first Healing Creations Mandala Retreat to take place in Ireland. Previously, retreats have been held in the ancient city of Fez in Morocco and so it will be lovely to do this work on home ground. Lisnavagh House offers the ultimate mix of homeliness and grandeur, making it a most appealing destination for those seeking somewhere unique. I could not imagine a nicer and more relaxed place to do the work we will be doing on this retreat.  

Situated on the Carlow/Wicklow border about an hour or so from Dublin, there are striking panoramic views of the Wicklow Hills, Blackstairs Mountains and Mount Leinster beyond the estate’s 600 acres of woods and farmland. Here you will gift yourself with wellness on all levels. 

"When we spend days in contemplation and meditation, we can more easily respond to our heart when it speaks to us."

Join me for a 2 night mandala creative visioning retreat at this unique venue. During the weekend we will look back with gratitude on all you have accomplished in the past year. Perhaps you have accomplished a lot, perhaps you feel it is a little. Giving gratitude even from the smallest things is so very energetically powerful. All of your food will be provided, organic and cooked to perfection, nourishing your physical body too. 

Mandala art is an energetic tool to free your expression and awaken your creativity and vision. Creating mandalas brings about a relaxed mental attitude and frees internal dialogue so that you can be in touch with your own inner self. On this retreat, we will be creating a personal mandala to embody all that you wish to manifest in the coming year of 2018. There is absolutely no need to be artistic to do this work, this is about process and I will guide you all the way.

Through our mandalas and meditations, we will look at various aspects of our 'selves' and come to realise that all we do is connected. Each section of our vision mandala will reflect an aspect of ourselves according to the Feng Shui principles:

• Wealth & Abundance
• Admiration & Reputation
• Relationship & Love
• Family & Stability
• Children & Creativity
• Skill & Wisdom
• Career & Life Path
• Travel & Helpful People
• Health

Working within a circle requires wholeness, it makes you look at the full picture. We begin to get a sense that all is connected, and indeed that all of these parts of our lives are inextricably linked. Helping one, will help the other and so on. 
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You will return to the outer world transformed, refreshed and rejuvenated and filled with new ideas and focus on where you want to go in your life.
From this retreat you will:

• Come away with a beautiful personalised vision mandala
• Reflect on the past year, your achievements, learning, and challenges
• Set an intention for the next year, name your vision and connect with your purpose
• Step into the next year with trust and faith in your dreams and desires
• Gain clarity first and foremost how you want to feel in your life, which in turn leads to what you want to manifest in the physical world.
• Enjoy reflective meditations to explore & create your vision
• leave feeling prepared, empowered, motivated and inspired to create an amazing year in 2018.
• Share, connect with like minded people, have fun and enjoy the creative process in a safe space.
• Feel energised and connected to yourself and your purpose

Marcus Aurelius quoted: “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” When we truly get in touch with our true nature, we gain clarity; we are in total peace. Imagine you are sitting in the eye of hurricane, you feel the sense of peace, stillness and calmness. If you begin to move away from the centre, everything will fall back into chaos and distortion. And when you can get to the place of your true centre, you begin to gain true perception.

Without the pull of deadlines, relationships, the Internet, or other media, we can gift ourselves this time to tune in deeply to our own solitude where we can fully reflect on our joys, sorrows, and fears, owning and releasing them as needed. Lisnavagh House offers wonderfully peaceful accommodations. You can stay in the big house or in the quirkily converted stables. You won’t find televisions, radios, or minibars in the Lisnavagh bedrooms. The unique and dramatically different bedrooms are tranquil and calm - ideal for sleeping well.
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We may even come to know and understand our life path and what direction we want to follow more deeply. When we return home, we can bring with us a little piece of this time alone and perhaps create a space for deep contemplation and meditation on a daily basis. We can also come back to our lives renewed, refreshed and ready to take on the world.
Read more about the retreat at Lisnavgh House.

"After drawing my circles with the compass, I relaxed into a meditative, quiet space and let my hand be guided into creating shapes and  choosing the colours. In this stillness, questions, insights  arose from a deep place, reminding me of what my heart and soul is really seeking. Since that day, whenever I now look at my Mandala, I am taken back to that place of stillness and centeredness. Thank you Patricia for creating that space." Noreen O'Donoghoe, participant at Mandala Workshop at The October Gallery London.

"A short note to thank you for the wonderful workshop you shared with us on the sacred art of mandala meditation and creation. I enjoyed a deeply calming, healing, and restorative experience - a true disconnect from the external 'chaos'. The combination of creativity, stillness and connection was supportive, light and fun.  Although it was my first experience exploring this holistic art, I felt very at ease and 'free'. I look forward to much more creation, connection and sharing through the magical medium of mandala." With love and light, Anna, Punchestown workshop.

Taking time out to nourish our minds and our spirits is now more important than ever. Today, personally, I have had a day of it; between a sick child, work issues in a job that increasingly does not feel like a fit for me. Then there are family obligations and an ever increasing to do list as well as noisy road works outside the house...I began to worry. The inner voice began to pipe up in a big way, telling me of all the things that would go wrong if I left my stable job. How I am not a good mother. How I couldn't possibly make a living doing what I love. How I wasn't good enough to do it. Blah. Blah. A big huge knot had formed in my stomach.

I caught the voice. I took some time out to meditate and to draw a small mandala in my journal and things began to calm a little. I will continue on a larger piece this evening for sure.  I realised that the problems that the voice in my head was creating are not actual problems. They're just things that haven't happened yet, things that could happen tomorrow or next week. I have a job. I have a pay check. What I in fact need to do is to become still and to gather information in order to make an informed decision on my future. I realised that the roadworks are outside of my control and will finish soon. That I am in fact doing the best I can in mothering my child and feeling guilty for taking time off work to mind her is in fact a waste of time.

Through mandala art and meditation, it is possible for that voice inside your head to suddenly stop. You realize, "Wow, it's so beautifully quiet". This is exactly what you need to make effective choices. You need to be present. You need to be free of anything other than what is happening now. Today, I floundered. And I will flounder again and again. But I have a skill to help me return to my still point. A point where I can make sense of the world and a point where I can put a halt to the oft irrational voice that goes on inside my head. And I know it is not just me. We all have this to some extent, it increases and decreases in volume at different times. If mandalas can help me, they can help you too.

I regularly give full day mandala workshops to share a little of the experience with others. Let me tell you a little of what to expect on the full day workshop. I initially give a short presentation on mandala and how I came to create them. We look briefly at the history and philosophy behind mandala which is fascinating. We then undertake a short guided meditation where we can really get in touch with our mind and bodies to see where we might be holding tension or dis-ease within our bodies and energy centres.

I then guide the group on creating their own mandala from scratch. We work in silence i.e. no talking, but I do ramp up the music which is carefully chosen to bring you on an internal journey. The journey can bring you deep, and often things can come up into awareness from the subconscious realms. This means that we can bring awareness to them and begin to heal them. The creation phase lasts about three hours with a break for lunch in between.

Towards the end of the day, I will guide you on a deep Yoga Nidra practice, a lying down mediation which is utterly relaxing. It lasts about forty minutes. You drift in and out of consciousness during it and it really seeds the inner work that you have done with your mandala during the day. After the deep meditation, we have a share group where you are welcome to share your experiences of the day with the group in a safe environment. There is absolutely no obligation to share if you would rather not.

"After drawing my circles with the compass, I relaxed into a meditative, quiet space and let my hand be guided into creating shapes and  choosing the colours. In this stillness, questions, insights  arose from a deep place, reminding me of what my heart and soul is really seeking. Since that day, whenever I now look at my Mandala, I am taken back to that place of stillness and centredness. Thank you Patricia for creating that space." Noreen O'Donoghoe, participant at Mandala Workshop at The October Gallery London

It is always a lovely day, and I look forward to hosting and holding the space each and every time. There is no need to be artistic to create or engage with mandala, they are within each and every one of us. The next workshop will be happening in Aras Chronain in Clondalkin, Dublin on Saturday September 23rd. Why not give it a try?

When I create or look at mandalas, they teach me so much. They help me overcome the struggles and strains of everyday life and provide a deeper look into what is going on. How I might rise above a particular struggle. Whilst creating this mandala, there was a strong feeling of moving in very close and out very far. Some parts remind me of outer space, the universe afar. And then other parts took me deep into the microscopic. As though looking at plants or cells under a microscope. There was an overwhelming sense of all of this being intricately and fundamentally connected. The energy of both the microcosm and the macrocosm being one.

The central piece of the mandala is reminiscent of a Lotus flower blooming. One of the most interesting symbolic aspects of this plant is how it comes to life. Typically the lotus (often known as the water lily) is born from deep murk and mire. From the darkest mucky muddy waters, this brilliant blossom emerges. It is the metaphor for life as we know it. My own journey began in the murky depths of a divorce and life throwing a particularly sharp curve-ball which left me reeling.

Things happen in all of our lives, both good a bad. Most of us at some stage get thrown a curve-ball. We struggle. It is what we make of that situation that counts. We have two choices. We can crawl under our misery, never lifting our heads to the light that beckons us. That is option one. Or there is option two; we can be like the lotus. We can make the best of a bad situation and work through it and rise above it. Lotus flower meanings are all about aspiring to express, to live, to share beauty. To move through the darkness and murk and out into the light.  It doesn't have to be in the big whopper situations of divorce or grief or job loss...which hopefully don't happen all that often! But we can take that lesson into the smaller areas of life. Because as in this mandala, the energy of the big things (the macroscopic) and those of the small things (the microscopic) are one and the same.

 This work measures 70cm x 70cm  and was created on canvas using acrylic paints and metallic pens. The original has now been sold, but limited edition prints are available.

Today's mandala is another Zodiac mandala created around a Metatron's Cube. From the cube, I have again pulled the Star Tetrahedon, one of the five Platonic solids. It feels to be a shape I am very drawn to at the moment. So let me tell you a little of the meaning behind this shape.
 
Working within Metatron's Cube, we find that it contains not one tetrahedron but two, one within the other, each an exact reflection of the other. 

These two tetrahedrons are known as the star tetrahedron also known as the 'Merkaba', the ancient Egyptian vehicle of light. This shape represents the innermost law of the physical world:  the inseparable relationship between the two complementary halves – the positive and negative. The manifest and the unmanifest; look around you. Everything that you see was once merely an idea in somebody's head, their spirit and will power brought it into being in the physical material world. This shape also embodies the masculine and the feminine aspects which form a perfect equilibrium.  In creation these two overlapping shapes rule as two opposite laws: the law of spirit and the law of matter.

The Star Tetrahedron models the energetic body of the human being, the blending of Heaven and Earth, Male and Female, and was known in the esoteric knowledge of Ancient Egypt as the ‘Mer-Ka-Ba’. 

• Mer means connecting thread- Light
• Ka means The Spirit or Astral Self
• Ba means The Body or Physical Self

The two tetrahedrons contained within each other represent the two poles of creation in complete balance; spirit and matter.  It is the inner law that operates through all forms. Whether it is that of a plant, an animal or a human, the body of each of these is subject to the laws of the three-dimensional world.  Hidden and invisible within this body, however, is the higher divine self. And it is this balance between these two worlds that many of us seek. There is only one creature which is able consciously to combine the two laws of spirit and matter and that is a human being.

He/she is the connecting link between the world of the spirit and that of matter.  We are able to live at one and the same time by the laws of both worlds.  By meditating upon the shape of the Merkaba/Star Tetrahedron, or by visualising ourselves held within the rotating shape during closed eye meditation, we can amplify the connection between both worlds. Some of you may already do this, and for others this may be a completely new concept! The Merkaba enables us to experience expanded awareness, connects us with elevated potentials of consciousness, and restores access and memory of the infinite possibilities of our innate being.

When the Merkaba meditation is performed correctly, the Merkaba seamlessly integrates our feminine (intuitive, receptive) and masculine (active, dynamic) aspects of mind and spirit. The world at present appears unbalanced and in turmoil, and it is only by achieving inner balance that we can begin to reflect and manifest that balance into the outer world.

This was a very powerful piece to create and came through very quickly. Bar having the initial intention to work within the sacred geometry of Metatron's Cube, the star tetrahedon then emerged as did the twelve Zodiac circles.

Metatron's Cube is birthed from the Flower of Life pattern. From this initial pattern, thirteen circles are pulled out. Thirteen represents the thirteen moons of the year, the feminine. There are thirteen weeks in a season and so on. You then join the centre of each of these circles with the the centre of all the others by drawing straight lines, representing the masculine energy as you can see in the drawing above. These energies are not gender specific, but are contained with in all of us and ideally should be in balance as much as possible.

From the completed Metatron's Cube it is then possible to pull through the five Platonic Solids: tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron or icosahedron. These solids describe and symbolize the five elements or states of matter of earth, water, fire, air and aether/spirit.

• Earth = cube
• Air = octahedron
• Water = icosahedron
• Fire = tetrahedron
• Aether = dodecahedron

These shapes regularly occur in nature and ancient cultures and peoples often built their monuments or sites of worship, with these shapes.

In this particular piece, I have pulled through the Tetrahedron representing the element of Fire which is linked to the Solar Plexus; the center for personal power and acceptance. It creates the natural balance between the physical and spiritual. Each side sits flat, no matter how it is turned, making it the perfect symbol for balance and stability. The shape is also linked to creating change in our lives.

When I had finished working with the initial interior star tetrahedron, I was left with six outlying circles. The six then became twelve in the outer rings and something in me thought to put the zodiacal signs within these circles. It then struck me that the initial pattern had thirteen circles and not twelve. Interestingly in astrology, there is thought to have been a thirteenth astrological sign known as Ophiuchus. The Babylonians merely left out the Ophiuchus 3,000 years ago because only twelve are needed. This means that the Ophiuchis Zodiac has always been there.

The thirteen zodiac signs was already proposed back by Stephen Schmidt back in the 1970s but since it drew much controversy, only twelve were retained.

Ophiuchus Meaning & Date

Ophiuchus is the only horoscope that is based on actual person. Its origin is based on a constellation called by the same name which means Serpent-bearer in Greek. It is also linked to Kundalini energy. The constellation was discovered by Ptolemy and it is also associated with healers, doctors and physicians.

People born from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17 will have this Zodiac sign. Ophiuchus will get along well with Capricorn, Pisces, Cancer, Libra and Virgo. On the other hand, they will have a hard time with those who are Sagittarius, Aries, Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini, Leo and Scorpio

You can see the dates of the Zodiac signs below with Ophiuchus included...you might not be the sign you thought you were!

"We are born at a given moment in a given place and like vintage years of wine we have the qualities of the year and of the season in which we are born. Astrology does not lay claim to anything else."
- C.G.Jung

This work measures 70cm x 70cm and has already been sold and will be winging itself all the way to Illinois. If you would like me to create a personal Zodiac Mandala for you, please mail me at peace@healingcreations.ie

You may remember that a couple of weeks back I shared with you an unfinished piece. After many many hours work, it is finally completed. It has been quite a journey, this one. I have tried to capture it as best I can with my camera, but the true colour and detail are proving elusive.

Last night as I put the final touches to this mandala, I experienced such an overwhelming opening of the heart. I could almost feel it expand in my chest. There and then I resolved to call the piece 'Heart Opening'. Then literally 2 seconds later, my phone lit up with a mail from a photographer friend, Peter Maeck. Peter shares a piece of his work every other day, and I love seeing his work come into my mailbox. I opened the attachment on the mail to find the photograph above entitled...you guessed it "Open Heart'!!

It always makes me smile the synchronicities that arise around this work. So this week it is all about opening the heart space. As many of you know, in Yoga, much emphasis is placed on opening the heart. And I believe that meditating on mandala and engaging with the geometries can also have a similar affect. So what does it mean, this opening of the heart?

Throughout our lives, things we have been taught, experiences that we may have had where we have been hurt in some way, cause us to put a protective barrier around our heart.  If you take the time to meditate, gaze at the mandala, close your eyes and tune inside. Take a deep, slow gentle breath in and fill your body with awareness. Begin to feel heart your heart radiating and your whole body tingle with aliveness. Allow your heart to fill with gratitude, even if it is for something as small as a hot cup of tea.

Allow yourself to breathe any toxins out and to let go of any hurt you may feel. Rest in stillness for a moment before breathing in again. Breathing deeply and easily you will feel yourself dropping inside, connecting and coming to inner peace. Feel the flow of life gently flowing through your body.

Our hearts are like a pipelines that carry life force energy and emotion through us. Our heart starts out very open as babies and usually closes down as we get hurt in big and small ways whilst growing up. With this shutting down we can lose our passion and aliveness. We become stressed and anxious and lose our connection to who it is that we truly are.

I read recently that Carl Jung on a trip to Africa was speaking to a shaman there, the shaman said 'You white men, you think from the wrong place.' Jung replied, 'How do you mean?' The shaman pointed to his head and said 'You think from here.' And Jung asked 'Where do you think from?' And the shaman pointed to his heart. (I think the book was Carl Jung by Claire Dunne)

So this mandala urges us to bring awareness to the heart space. If you find yourself too much in the head space, become aware of your breath and move awareness to the heart. It is a life changing habit to engage in!

I am delighted to say that on Friday I collected the first of a series of limited edition prints which are now available of two of the very large pieces. These are two of my favourite mandalas, and more will be coming soon! The prints are smaller than the originals at 30cm x 30cm. They have been scanned to a very high quality and reproduced in fine print. I am so happy with the quality of these and the amazing job of scanning and printing that The copper House Fine Art Printing Studio here in Dublin did with the pieces without loosing a milligram of detail! They feel very sumptuous indeed, almost like velvet.  All prints are limited edition of 100 and are fine art archival pigment print on acid free paper. This means that the inks used will not change colour over time & will last 80yrs + under archival conditions. Each print is signed and numbered and comes emboss-stamped by The Copper House Fine Art Printing Studio and is printed on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Paper.

So today I am going to share with you again one of these two pieces, but I will look at it from a different angle than before. This piece is hanging on the wall in my home and it is one that I contemplate and meditate with regularly. I ended up calling it 'The Infinite Garden'.

The idea of paradise as a garden is a very ancient one, pre-dating the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, by centuries. Within the Islamic context the key elements of flowing water, shade and exuberant foliage powerfully convey ideas of both spiritual and physical refreshment.

One of the first references of a paradise garden can be found in the first writings known to man, dating from around 4000 BC during the Sumerian period in Mesopotamia. The Babylonians in turn described their divine paradise in the Epic of Gilgamesh (2700 BC) : “In this immortal garden stands the tree … beside a sacred fount the tree is placed”.

The word ‘paradise’ comes from the Persian word pairidaeza – the Persians being one of the earliest peoples to ,cultivate and maintain gardens. Petri means around and deaza means wall, thus the word suggests an area isolated from its surroundings, enclosed by walls.

The term “Garden of Eden” suggests the spiritual peace and harmony of man’s primordial state. Gardens of Eternity, Delight, Bliss, Refuge. “Gardens underneath which rivers flow”. On one level this evokes the literal image of water flowing beneath in order to irrigate the flowerbeds, but on a deeper level it suggests the nurturing of the ‘garden within’ by the ever-flowing waters of the spirit which purify the soul.

Indeed, water is symbolic of the soul in many traditions, reflecting the soul’s ability to renew itself while remaining true to its source. When contemplating this mandala, the upper square feels like this walled garden of human consciousness. The square beneath brings to mind water flowing beneath this garden.  We plant seeds in our gardens in order for them to grow, and so too we plant seeds in our consciousness to expand our realities, to bring us to a higher plane. Other seeds are not deliberately planted, but are blown by the wind or dropped by the birds. So too is our consciousness affected by all around us.

This mandala asks, what seeds are you planting in your garden? Are you nurturing them by allowing the river to flow effortlessly beneath?

In this post I am going to share with you a work that is not yet finished. I am currently in the process of making it and it is the most detailed work that I have done to date. When I begin to create, there is always a feeling that I want to do it, an itch that has to be scratched if you like. But there is never any idea in my mind as to what will happen once that first central bindu (point) is placed on the page or canvas. It is an activity of pure trust.

And that for me is the magic. It is a magic that we can bring into other parts of our lives too. I know I am! Often we have ideas that come at the strangest times, we think 'Yes! I could do that. I really could.' Then 10 minutes later our brain has kicked in with all of the reasons why you couldn't, shouldn't..."I don't have enough time, not til the kids grow up, when I retire, people will laugh at me"...and on and on it goes.

But what if we just acted on these ideas. Right there and then. What is the worst that could happen? Yes, the idea could fail, nine out of ten do after all. But then again, it is the people who never try who never make mistakes. It is perfectly okay to make mistakes. In fact in the mandala process for example, some of my most interesting work has happened when a pen has leaked leaving a big blob where I didn't want it. So I go ahead and work with the blob instead of fighting the blob. It can be fascinating. There are no mistakes as they say!

Below is a great quote from artist Chuck Close, and I think he nails it.

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.”

For me, inspiration occurs during process. Once the initial action is taken. We work with the universe. Together with the creative energy. This isn't just true for art or creative pursuits, but for everything in life. If you have an idea or something in you simmering, why not take one small action this week towards it. It could be as simple as picking up the phone. One step. Each day. One step. Each day. And you will be amazed at the momentum that gathers. Have fun with it. Don't attach too much to the outcome. Simply TRUST! Yourself and the beautiful process.

This mandala was inspired after a trip to the ancient monastic site of Glendalough in County Wicklow here in Ireland. You can see also a photo of the round tower with a celtic cross beside it. In medieval Ireland, round towers had many uses. They acted as beacons to point pilgrims from afar. They were also bell towers (their Gaeilic name is Cloig-theach meaning bell-tower). They served as storehouses for food supplies and valuable manuscripts and treasures. They were lookouts and places of safety in times of attack.

As I stood looking up at the tower, the birds were wheeling in and out of the windows at the top. Magical. The leaves on the trees were so beautiful, the lakes like glass and a stillness in the air with the smell of Autumn. For me, the tower appeared to be a symbol of fortitude, pointing towards the sky, the heavens, the universe, something bigger than ourselves. I noticed that as the birds moved in and out through the windows, there was one bird who was dancing away from the others.

The mandala was completed the same weekend as I visited and it was a very peaceful experience to create. I never have any intention with the pieces and so it is always a surprise as to what will emerge. It feels as though the bird flock are circling within the safety of the the thick walls of the tower, or the perimeter…perhaps a metaphor for our society and the expectations and rules imposed therein. One solo bird has broken through the thick wall and is flying away into an infinite unknown. The bird has chosen to leave the place of safety and to explore further afield.

It then brought to mind Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Picture a cave with a small tunnel of light leading out and hundreds of people tied up so that they cannot move. They just look straight ahead all day long because that is all they know. There is a fire lit and on the wall in front of them, the prisioners can see shadows dancing. They believe that this shadow show is reality, because they have never seen the real thing. They accept this.

So that is how life goes on in the cave until one fine day, one of the prisoners manages to break free and takes a chance and leaves the cave. It takes a while for his eyes to adjust but gradually he sees that there is a much brighter speck of light at the end of another tunnel. He goes down that tunnel... and wow, you can imagine how amazing and beautiful the real world looks to him compared to that two-dimensional dark cave of shadows that he has spent all his life in until now.

Wanting to share what he found with his fellow prisoners, the freed prisoner goes back down the tunnel into the cave and explains to everyone that they're all trapped in this cave and everything they think is real is actually an illusion, only a shadow world. His story falls upon deaf ears. The other prisoners think he is crazy. He keeps trying to convince them. He manages to persuade a few... but the rest choose to remain where they are in the safety of what they know to be true.

This round tower at Glendalough has stood for almost one thousand years and is still in near perfect condition . One thousand years standing unchanged, without yielding to the forces of nature or man. We too in our own lives often become complacent and stay still and unchanging within our perceived realities. It is comfortable I suppose. We talk to the same people, take the same route home from work, sit in the same seat at the table.

This mandala seems to say "why not push at the wall of comfort a little. Talk to somebody that you don’t normally talk to. Take a different route when traveling. Sit in a different seat at the dinner table (note: this tiny change can confound family members and can be quite amusing!) Or do something completely and utterly outside of your comfort zone! Dance away from the flock for a bit."