*Mandalas and art therapy*

in Project HOPE4 years ago (edited)

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"Art is capable and worthy of occupying leisure and offering happiness." "Aristotle".

My dear STEEMERS, this is the third and possibly the last part of this topic on the use of mandalas and in this third installment I will talk about the use of mandalas in art-therapy, for this I will quote an excerpt from a paper I wrote for this platform not long ago titled "Art as a means to achieve personal satisfaction and tranquility in the midst of pandemic":

"During the entire creative process the artist uses his ingenuity to give form to that essence, and thus extract and materialize it, it is at this point where art is transformed into a historical record of the events of humanity and a therapeutic resource due to the intimate contact that the artist has with himself, hence each artistic construction has something of himself so it can be said that since art is an encounter with the psyche of the one who creates it has this a meditative effect due to its high degree of concentration."

According to the above, it can be said that the arts is a "therapeutic" resource and has a "meditative" effect that together with other elements such as the use of mandalas as part of the work we have before us a very effective resource to establish emotional balance or to reinforce it and thus prevent situations that may result in psychological problems.

In an article published online by RedOsmo, entitled What is art therapy or art therapy? they mentioned the following:

"Mandalas are widely used for meditation, through drawing or observation. The process of observation consists of choosing a mandala, sitting in a comfortable place and rhythmically breathing. In this way a state of well-being and relaxation is achieved, focusing all the attention.
This psychotherapeutic technique is recommended in the field of 'Art Therapy' as an individual and group relaxation technique. It is a simple practice with which good results are obtained, achieving mental stability and spiritual homeostasis, balancing our energy." ( RedOsmo| 2017)

Similarly, if we combine both ideas, creating and meditating we could then elaborate our own mandalas, from our own inspiration, in a peaceful environment, with matching music and in the process we not only produce, we inspire, we taste each step, we take pauses and become aware of the process and live it, in short we meditate due to "the degree of concentration", making the process more lived and then in a more "formal and peaceful" way, in contact with our inner being, we relax completely and meditate seriously with the pieces we have created. "We pay each other and give each other change!"

To exemplify the above, below I will show you part of a work I did to work in the area of "Relationships" using as a base a symbol related to infinity but with a spiral in the center named "Union of the Sacred Flame" with which I had to work through drawings and images for 30 days so it seemed a good idea to edit this symbol on a circle that would serve me to make the mandalas as a guide, with which I sought to do the spiritual work in a more enjoyable and in my opinion, more profound way:

1- This is the base image on which I draw and paint the rest:

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2-

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3-

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4- A closer view of one of my works (Same as the one on the cover of the post)

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Thank you my dear steemers for coming this far. If you liked the content support me with your vote and give your opinion about THE MÁNDALA YOU LIKE MOST OF THOSE I HAVE SHOWN in this article. See you next time.

Written by Nadia Padrón: @hojaraskita

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Good work. I love mandalas and even more the art that can be made with them.