Mandala
Erica
So,
picture this: you take the whole big, beautiful, head-spinning
universe—all the
stars, galaxies, and your own little soul’s journey—and you squish it
down into
a single, stunning, symmetrical circle. That, is a mandala.
Mandala comes from ancient Sanskrit, but it just means… “circle.”
Simple as
that, and yet not simple at all. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions,
these
intricate, radiating designs are like spiritual power tools. They can
be a map
for meditation, a whisper of a prayer, or a dazzling snapshot of cosmic
order.
But here’s the really fun part: you don’t have to just look at them.
You can
paint your own universe into being. Every year, my mentor Mr. Paul Chek
hosts a
kind of magical, two-day artist’s camp at his estate in San Diego. For
nine
glorious hours each day, a room full of 30 people dive headfirst into
color and
geometry, each painting their own mandala. The grand finale isn’t a
critique;
it’s a “reading.” Paul looks at each finished piece—a swirl of
subconscious
choices—and offers insights. It’s like having your soul’s weather
forecast
interpreted.
This idea that a circle can confess your deepest truths isn’t new. The
great
philosopher Carl Jung spoke in length of this! He used mandala
painting as
a therapeutic flashlight, shining it into the dusty corners of the
unconscious.
He saw them as spontaneous maps of the Self—portals to inner wholeness
that
help stitch our psyche back together and guide us toward becoming our
truest,
most integrated selves. They’re born in dreams and used to restore
balance.
Pretty powerful stuff for a doodle!
After an amazing experience at Paul’s 2025 workshop, I decided to make
this my
own yearly ritual. So, for 2026, I grabbed my brushes. The strategy? To
have no
strategy. The goal is to let artistic energy throw a party on the
canvas, with
zero resistance and no attachment to the guest list. We do this at the
year’s
start because it acts as a kind of psychic axis, a roadmap for the
months
ahead. Think of it as the ancient, deeply personal ancestor of the
vision
board—except these New Year goals bubble up straight from your
subconscious,
not from a Pinterest list.
The trick is to embrace total spontaneity, whimsy, and play. Let
whatever wants
to appear, just… appear.
Not an artist? Everyone has creativity, and a large part of this
practice is
the discipline needed to sit for many hours concentrating on one thing.
This
allows the alignment of creativity to flow. The great thing about
acrylic is
that it is fast drying, easily forgivable, good for fine lines and
detail, and
easy to cover up any eye sores. Remember there are no mistakes in art.
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