To Inspire, Transform & Heal

Linda Wiggen Kraft
Creativity for the Soul

A Month for Mandalas – Planting Mandalas, Mindfullness & Prayers

Planting Mandalas, Mindfullness & Prayers – Connection to Creativity & Nature

clouds-2-kaleidragram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogAir – Sky & Clouds

This is the invitation and a beginning for A Month for Mandalas – Session 2. This blog explains what it is all about.

clouds-1-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogAir – Sky & Clouds 2

THEME

– For session 2 of A Month for Mandalas, the theme is Planting Mandalas, Mindfullness & Prayers – Connection to Creativity & Nature. This session combines my loves of creating mandalas, gardens and nature. It is about expressing deep creativity, awareness, gratitude and prayer through the four Western elements that make up nature: earth, air, water and fire.

 

 

 

blue-sky-branches-yellow-leaf-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogAir – Sky, Leaves & Branches

The mandalas shared in this blog are “Kaleidagrams” * of each of these four elements. The mandalas were created with an IPhone camera app that transforms the camera images to mandala kaleidoscope images and videos. Look closely and you can see each of these four elements in the photos and videos. One mandala in this blog combines words with a mandala image. Mandalas can be created without words, which is a more traditional way, or with words to create a type of art journaling.

 

 

sky-branches-2-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soulAir – Sky & Branches

WHAT IS A MONTH FOR MANDALAS

– A Month For Mandalas is a time of creative inspiration and expression. A Month For Mandalas, does not mean creating one mandala a day for a month. It is an invitation to create whatever works best. That could be one-a-day or only one during the entire month. Let this first blog be an inspiration to create and connect. You can use the “Creativity Prompt” and guided meditation to start creating.

 

 

 

 

earth-1-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogEarth – Grass Seed, Soil, Grass & Mulch

There are actually 5 weeks in this session. This first week is an introduction, overview, invitation and beginning . Each following week has is a different theme, creativity prompt, guided meditation and sharing of mandalas.
For more info and inspiration please see Session 1, A Month for Mandalas or one of the 100 Days for Mandalas sessions. Here is a link to session 1.  There are five sessions for 100 Days for Mandalas. Go to categories on the right column on the blog to link to more.

 

 

earth-small-stones-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogEarth – Small Stones

 

 

 

CREATING MANDALAS – Mandalas are images created in a circular form, they can be created with art materials, with materials found in nature, with cameras, or with any media for creative expression. Mandalas can be created with images alone, or words and images together.

 

 

earth-flowers-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soulEarth – Flowers

 

 

A Month for Mandalas is a time of deep creativity, with the sacred circle of a mandala holding you in its centering space. Mandalas are the form of a circle and sphere that we are so familiar with. We live upon the circular earth; the year is a circular pattern; and the circular sun, moon and stars shine down on us.

 

 

candle-flame-3-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogFire – Candle Flame

VIDEO OF CANDLE FLAME -video-kaleidagram
(click on link to see video and use back arrow to return to blog)

 

 asclepias-fire-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogFire – Colors of Fire in Flowers – Asclepias – Butterfly Weed

 

CREATIVITY & NATURE -This Month for Mandalas honors and connects us to our deep creativity. A creativity that yearns to be nurtured and expressed. This month also deepens our connection to earth, air, fire and water; those building blocks of nature. As Kahil Gibran said: “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”

 

 

 

 

goldenrod-kaleidagram-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogFire – Color of Fire in Flowers – Solidago – Goldenrod

 

 

 

MINDFULLNESS & PRAYER – Mindfullness is being fully present, aware, and nonjudgmental in body, mind and spirit. It can be called a type of prayer or a preparation for prayer. Prayer is a connection to the divine. There are many forms of prayer. Mindfullness and prayer can be done alone or together, whatever is most comfortable. Deep creativity is enhanced in a space of mindfulness and can be expressed as prayer in the form of mandala images and words. Below is a mandala with words in the form of an acrostic poem. The word “light” is written with each letter the first letter of a word that starts the line of the poem.

 

 

 candle-flame-2-kaleidagram-prayer-blog-creativity-for-the-soul copy copy Fire – Candle Flame & Prayer

 

PLANTING MANDALAS, MINDFULLNESS & PRAYERS – The mandalas and words created to enhance and deepen our connection to earth, water, air and fire can be planted in a literal way and energetic way into each of the four elements. For example a mandala created on paper can be buried in the ground, used as a prayer flag that sends its energy to the world, burned so the smoke goes from earth to heaven or dissolved in water. The energies of our mandalas can also be planted as an expression of our thoughts and emotions.

 

 

 

 water-sky-land-blog-creativity-for-the-soul-blogWater – Edge of Pond & Reflection

 

SCHEDULE:

Week 1 – Intro, Inspiration, Invitation & Beginning

Week 2 – Earth

Week 3 – Air

Week 4 – Fire

Week 5 – Water

 

 

water-pond-reflection-2-blog-creativity-for-the-soulWater – Edge of Pond & Reflection 2

CREATIVITY PROMPT

– week 1 – We are made of the stuff of the earth. We carry each of the elements in our body. They are us and they nourish us. We are more than the elements though and through our mind, emotions and spirit we can be mindfull, grateful and honoring of these elements of creation and Creator. Let that awareness guide what you create in your mandala and the words you may write.

 

GUIDED MEDITATION – This is mandala meditation for “Planting Mindfulness & Prayers”. Let this be an inspiration for your creativity.

 

 

 earth-fire-red-leaves-berries-blog-creativity-for-the-soulEarth & Fire – Fall Leaves and Berries

VIDEO – FALL LEAVES – kaliedagram
(click on link to see video and use back arrow to return to blog)

 

 

SHARING MANDALAS. Please share your mandalas, if you wish, for these blog posts. Mandala makers from around the globe have shared their creativity in these blogs. It is always an inspiration to see how others express their amazing creativity. Send a digital file to Linda (at) CreativityForTheSoul.com  NOTE: put the @ sign in the email address instead of (at).

I have many mandalas to share from my Monthly Mandala Circle, those will be shared soon.

Enjoy and Create.  Linda

*Kaleidagram is a smart phone app for IOS on Iphone, etc, and Android. It is one of four camera apps (kaleidagram, textography, dotography, mosiagram) from Blink Tap LLC.  I use the upgrade for IPhone which allows video and altering of already taken photos in photo files.

To see more Kaleidagram mandalas visit Pinterest for CreativityForTheSoul (no spaces in Pinterest name).

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