For those of you who have trouble with traditional meditation, there are alternatives. I use this practice on a regular basis and teach it to others. I create mandalas in all ways, and some time ago developed the Mandala Sojourn Project.

This is the beginning. This one is small, 4″ x 4″, utilizing white oil-based paint on black cardstock. I have photographed individual steps, so you can see the progression.

 

The white paint is a different medium than I am used to. The black card stock is absorbent and soaks up much of the paint in the beginning, giving a shading effect.

 

It is about symmetry, but not perfection.

 

Because the white paint applicator is thicker, details are adapted. The two places where I accidentally got paint where I didn’t want it will be incorporated into the design.

 

One of the nice things about a meditative mandala is that you don’t have to finish it in one sitting. You can work for 20 minutes and come back to it later. Start slowly, even 5 minutes at a time, to get used to the focus.

 

Because it is paint and not black ink, I have had to allow for several discrepancies in the shading. I think the variations actually enhance it.

 

Completed. It is not about the finished product, but about the process, about the journey. If one focuses on imperfections, one misses the beauty of the whole. It will be signed on the back and not the front, because traditionally, the spirit is the creator, the body merely the facilitator.