'Life takes its hues from the colours of your mind'. I like this quote. It carries a great truth. It is a description of how we perceive and interpret our world; it tells us how our every day thoughts and feelings, our actions and interactions are all influenced by our state of mind. The mind is the repository of our unique experiences; it is where our values and beliefs, our paranoia's and distortions are stored for safe keeping. The window of mind then, is the place from where we look out into the world; it is the interface between ourselves and the great out doors. If our mind state is unhealthy, then the worlds we inhabit, our inner and outer worlds, will be unhealthy too. Like the man* said, 'Life takes it hues from the colours of your mind'.
Carl Gustav Jung developed the use of mandalas (symbolic circular figure representing 1. the Universe, 2. the search for self-unity, OED 1995) as an aid to psychological understanding. He drew a mandala everyday to express his innermost thoughts and feelings. Each time he noticed that the circle he had drawn contained a snapshot of his mental, emotional and spiritual state of being; it was though the images were reflecting his inner self. He then went on to to use mandalas in his work as a psychiatrist to help his patients make deeper connections with themselves. Laura J Watts writes in her book, mandalas - spiritual circles for harmony and fulfilment, 'Looking deeply into the circle of a mandala means that we must look deeply into ourselves. It can sometimes take courage to study the picture in front of us and see the storms and turmoil as well as the peace and beauty that exists at our centre. This intricate way of seeing, of always looking more deeply into things, brings an original and fresh way of experiencing the world around us. Look more closely at a tree and you will see the patterns of moss over its bark. Study the moss and there you will notice water droplets trapped in its rough surface. There is always more to see, and this is the way with mandala's. The more we look the more we can see and comprehend and we can use this understanding to take action and make changes in our lives. When we see what makes us happy we can alter our course in life and follow that happiness'. Like the man* said, 'Life takes its hues from the colours of your mind' and if the window of your mind needs a bit of a spring clean, then you now know how to do it. My running then, as described in my Why do I run? blog, allows me to see the moss on the trees and the water droplets held in stillness within - that's when I am running of course. It's mandala running!
* Man here means person; it fits with the quote. Note: Despite searching the web for the source of this quote, I was unable to find any reference, anywhere. Maybe you could do better and enlighten me.
Byeee.
No comments:
Post a Comment