Filled with a burning urge to tell a visual story about our extraordinary and irreplaceable planet, my ideas and drawings entered an intense synchronized dance in a mandala format. You could call it a think piece because it was partly planned but mostly it unfolded out of expanding thoughts. Eventually, this environmental Earth mandala eventually crystalized into its final form. The central concept is inter being, which I grew to understand more deeply as I progressed.
Inter being is a term shared by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh who you may recognise as the person who introduced ‘mindfulness’ to the west. Inter being means that everything is interconnected. So plants, animals, soil, water, clouds, air, the sun, the cosmos, human beings are all part of each other. They may seem to be separate things, but we are all part of a whole. I am made up of Earth elements like oxygen made by plants, water, carbon, food from the soil, soil, and more. So we have inter being.
What is a mandala? And what are they used for?
Mandalas originated in Asian cultures. They are used to visually represent the interconnectedness of life and they act as guides for meditation practices and for teaching. Filled with symbolism and meaning, they work as mental maps for concentrating the mind.
What do the colours in the environmental Earth mandala design mean?
Yellow: joy and happiness
Red: energy and passion
Blue: healing and inner peace
Green: connection and love of nature
White: awareness and truth
Black: deep thinking, individuality, and facing our dark side
Pink: love
What are the symbols? And what do they mean?
The stars: the universe
The sun: life and energy
The large trees (usually bell entrances to the centre of a mandala): openness, allowing entrance to wisdom and clarity
The trees and plants: energy and the air we breathe
The animals: sentient life
The land and river: stand solid like a mountain, flow like water
Flowers: unlocking a healthy life
The lotus flower in the centre: perfect balance, beauty, knowledge and clarity, rising up out of mud, which signifies suffering.
The swallow (my addition): the northern and southern hemispheres as a whole, equality
I will now leave you to generate your own meanings and think about the implications of this Environmental Earth mandala design.
Should you wish to purchase this design click here or on the image above.