COMMUNITY NATURE MANDALAS
Most of us have sat on a beach, under a tree or somewhere in nature and gathered flowers, stones, feathers, plants and other natural materials to create a design on the earth. When these designs are created with intention, mindfulness and love they are transformed into a Nature Mandalas. These can give the creator and those who happen upon them blessings of joy, soulful prayers and a feeling of magic. We believe these mandalas are a form of medicine for us and Mother Earth.
The literal meaning of mandala, which is a Sanskrit word, is circle and like a circle, the mandala represents wholeness. A circle also denotes balance, perfection and eternity as the distance from its center to all points on it remains the same. Circles are an innate part of our world. We find circles in the cycles of the celestial orbits of the sun, moon and earth, in the seasons, within our bodies and in the circles of love encompassed by our families and friends.
Mandalas have served mankind for centuries. Mandalas have been used by many cultures; Buddhists, Hindus, Aboriginals and Native Americans have all used mandalas as a way to create sacred space, to make prayers, give thanks and find our place in the cosmos.
We create Nature Mandalas as a way to connect to ourselves and to Mother Earth. Mindfulness is a part of this art from beginning to end. Intentions, dreams, visions and prayers may be planned out before building the mandala or arise while being created.
Here are some guidelines we like to follow in creating a Nature Mandala…
We ask permission from the plants and land before taking or laying down items. Before collecting leaves from a plant we will ask the plant for permission to take some items and tune in to listen to the answer from within.
Gather only nature materials that are abundant in that area. Being conscientious about leaving a healthy population behind.
We try out best to avoid any unnecessary damage to the plant so that it may continue to flourish.
We never wild harvest more than 10% of the plants, seeds or natural materials in any specific area. If collecting plants we allow for them to have to chance to mature and produce flowers and reproduce.
Often we purchase or seek out donations of old spent flowers from our local grocery or floral stores so as to not cause undo harm to natural areas and to re-purpose greens that might otherwise go to waste.
We give thanks by offering native seeds or prayers of gratitude back to the land & Mother Nature.
When natural materials are used that are foreign to the land, we like to return to the space (especially if in the wild) to clean up or disperse items in hopes to return land back to the way we found it.
We invite you to create a Nature Mandala too. Please share it on the Wild Roots Studio facebook page here!
We are happy to bless your land, event or indoor space with a Nature Mandala. Contact us at alie.wildroots@gmail.com to schedule a free Nature Mandala consultation.
