Mandala Meditation for the Long Winter

February 16, 2009 · Posted under Living Yoga 

Mandalas are symbolic pictures used for meditation. If the dreary winter skies and frigid temperatures have dampened your spirit, try this visual form of mediation to clear the mind and renew the spirit.

Situate yourself so that the mandala image rests at eye level at about an arm’s length. Straighten your spine to sit tall, fingers laced together with palms open. Rest your gaze on the mandala while keeping your eyes relaxed and soft. Blink only as often as needed and remain focused on the image. When your attention wanders, bring it back to the mandala without judgement- do not be distracted by thoughts that arise. Try to keep your attention focused to the image for 3-5 minutes, but if you become uncomfortable end the meditation.

The weather is a symbol of endless change. It offers a lesson in acceptance. If we find it difficult to accept the weather regardless of any plans we have made, we have a long way to travel on our spiritual journey.

Look at the sun in each of the four corners. It is always there, driving life’s energies, even when obscured by cloud. In the same way, our identity and our spirit are unaltered by shifts of fortune. Now concentrate on the depiction of clouds, rain, rainbows, snow and rough seas. All this weather belongs to one vast self-regulating global system, which the mandala as a whole symbolizes. Lastly, focus on the central point of the mandala- the still source of the endless streams of energy that bring all weathers and all other changes into the cosmos. This is the energy from which we are made. Take the mandala deep into your mind where that energy finds its still center.

  

 

You can find this mandala and 51 others to help you grow in peace and awareness in David Fontana’s book, Meditating with Mandalas. Duncan Baird Publishers Ltd, London.

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Comments (1)

  1. Juan on January 18, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    has anyone read “the secret language of symbols” by david fontana or “Meditating with mandalas” or anything for that matter?, He seems very interesting

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