More about Mandalas

Crop Circles or agrolyphics are precisely designed complex geometric patterns. They often appear in fields, but they may also be found in ice, snow and sand. They consist of hollow areas formed by vegetation mysteriously crushed to the ground, making geometric figures that seem engraved.

Though crop circles are not a recent phenomenon – it is possible to find testimonials of them dating back to 1678 – they became a great point of interest in 1990 with the appearance of such forms in the English countryside. It is estimated that more than 10,000 crop circles have been found since 1976, the original of all completely unknown.
Those who have studied the subject identify certain constants that permit the distinguishing of original crop circles from those copied by groups of people. In the case of original crop circles, there are molecular changes in the seeds located inside of the forms that are made. Electromagnetic changes may also be noted. The crushing of vegetation to the land seems to be the result of a heat source, which causes a knot where the plan bends. The crushing of original crop circles is almost always concentric.
Most crop circles appear in England, in Wilshire, more specifically around Averbury and Silbury Hill during the summer months (June, July and August) when vegetation is at its maximum stage of development. In August, when the harvest begins, the formations disappear.
My interest in crop circles is purely aesthetic. I am attracted by these natural Mandalas and geometric structures. The spiral of Fibonacci, the pentagram or five-point star, the golden rectangle and the vesica piscis, among other forms, possess the capacity to provoke a harmonious resonance in the human being.

Floki Gauvry

 Giant Mazes:
With one or two fingers traversing a three-dimensional maze, experiencing the physical body as a Mandala and the personal consciousness as the center of the universe, being amazed at the experience of seeing one’s own image reflected in an infinite Mandala inside of an octagonal camera of mirrors, making a pilgrimage into meditation mazes constructed with sacred geometry, physically breaking into giant Mandalas like the Tibetan Wheel of Life – these are experiences that connect us to the field of being.

Especially in such turbulent times that accelerate our lives, these sacred tools of transformation facilitate the expansion of consciousness to a vision of unity. Such instruments help to cure fragmentation, extending a clearer vision of reality as an interconnected all that is full of meaning. With this comprehension, love surges spontaneously and violence diminishes or disappears, for it is unsustainable for one part of a body to have the purpose of harming another part of the organism.

Working with Mandalas helps us to discover the cosmos in the midst of chaos. Its purpose is to open the doors to the soul, which connects us to the universal spirit.
One of the keys to this door is silence – silence to hear and to be heard. Learning to be in silence is an art, for the silence to which I refer is not only on the outside, but also in the heart and mind.
In silence, we can cultivate an internal attitude that is non-judgmental and uncritical – an impersonal witness able to look at us with curiosity and love. It accompanies us in our paths, our processes, serving as a mirror and converting us into more real and more conscious beings.
With silence, we connect with our innate joy. In the utilization of the tools of transformation of consciousness, there are no set rules, no one to say, “That must be done like this.” Instead, each is his or her own teacher and is free to experiment, allowing for the flowering of creativity and happiness that do not depend upon success in the satisfaction of our desires and needs. The happiness of which I speak is the joy of life and being, the joy of having contact with one’s essential humanity.

Lic. Ana Inés de Avruj

The spriral and Evolution of Consciousness  

In the chaotic appearance of the Universe underlie order and meaning. Times of crisis, turbulence and changes are ideal times to find refuge in the stable and eternal values that nest in our stable and eternal inner center. And the sacred geometry is a real road that connects us with beauty, harmony and balance of creation and cosmic plan for the evolution of consciousness. 

The spiral and helical shape based on the spiral appear in all realms of nature, in the micro and macro: in pineapples, sunflowers, snails, hurricanes, galaxies ... and our DNA molecule. Hence the attraction: resonance invites intimacy with ourselves and privacy with the Universe.

Creation originated in a vacuum and the first movement of organization is that of a spiral that rotates on its own axis. Therefore, it is a symbol of expansion and growth, a longing for development toward wholeness. It is one of the oldest designs that accompanies man since prehistoric times in different cultures and latitudes. And, like all symbols, it has a transforming function of our psycho-spiritual energy. It summon us to slow our progress and hear the sweet whisperings of the still true.

While the definition of spiral is "a curved line that turns around a point, moving farther away from it," there are different types. Below I describe some of them.

In the Archimedean spiral, successive turns have constant separation distances, while in the logarithmic spiral, the distances between the turns are increased in geometric progression. 

Archimedean spiral                                                                                                                        logarithmic spiral

Among the logarithmic spirals, there are two that are especially distinguished, which are the Dürer spiral (also called golden spiral) and the Fibonacci spiral.

The golden spiral is associated with the geometric properties of the golden rectangle. The reason for growth is Φ, ie, the golden ratio (1.6180 ...). Its design is based on the property of the golden rectangle divided into a square and a rectangle which in turn is golden, ad infinitum.

The Fibonacci spiral is constructed with the reverse process, starting from the center. It begins with two squares of side 1, then added another side 2 (which is the result of the sum 1 + 1), then another side 3 (given by the sum 2 + 1), the following of side 5 ( was obtained by adding 3 + 2) ... is a succession unlimited squares whose sides form the Fibonacci series (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 ...).

The relationship between the golden spiral and Fibonacci is narrow, because the ratios of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci series tend to the golden ratio, Φ.

The spiral has two movements, both necessary in life and evolution: a) the implosion, which brings us to our center, and b) the explosion by radiating outward therefrom. The connection with it allows us to transcend linear time of our rational mind, to immerse ourselves in time without time -the eternal present- of the spherical consciousness. And it is in the fire of presence where our consciousness is transformed and promotes the transformation of the collective consciousness.

"The human spirit is continuously advancing, but always in spiral" (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe).

For its ability to grow without the form of the total figure being modified, the spiral evokes the permanence of being through the oscillations of change. Hence some scholars associate spiral with spiritualized spiral. In ancient cultures, scroll spiral was a symbol of breath and spirit; the Thoth (Hermes Trismegistus) Egyptian god is represented in some images with a large spiral on the head and pharaohs had it in their scepter of power.

And who does not remember that beloved game of the goose that as children we shared, in which we spiral-toured various tests that taught us to overcome what life would then introduce us? What you may not know then is that this game is also a metaphor for an initiatory path in which the sacred geese were sent to give advice to humans on how to achieve the transcendence that the soul craves.

The movements of the spirit are not vicious circles, but spiral movements that lead, through our human experiences, from one level of consciousness to another evolutionarily superior. We live all the stories -tragic and pleasing-, we sing all the songs -melodious and out of tune-, we danced all the dances -exacerbated and ceremonial-, because it is through experience that we can expand our awareness and choose, sometimes by trial and error, what brings peace and fulfillment to our soul and wellness and joy to those with whom we live. We have the blessed opportunity to reveal, in each and every one of the experiences that we live, what guides our consciousness to the Unity.

Toroid

The bull tube or toroid is a model that allows us to understand the fundamental structure of the Universe at all scales, whether it is the electromagnetic field that surrounds the Earth and each of us, or the atoms and photons. Geometrically constructed with golden spirals circumscribed in a sphere, Dan Winter teaches us that "in the figure of the toroid are gathered all the principles of Sacred Geometry, namely: the great void, the Law of Unity, the Law of Duality Principle self-sustaining, the three pillar numbers of mathematics of Sacred Geometry: Phi, Pi, Euler and Nassim Haramein that a toroid is like the breath of the universe is the way it takes the energy flow at any level of existence". It is the glue that holds together the entire Cosmos and human level, the energy that keeps us alive and conscious. When we look at nature with eyes of wonder we find the magnificence of all Creation. Among many other examples: if we cut across a tomato or an apple we find a wonderful mandala and, if the cut is longitudinal, the toroidal shape surprises us. The energy of a bull tube is in the balance, it regulates itself and is always full. It is a self-organized system that controls itself and remains constant. That is why the current building projects of inexhaustible sources of free energy, which do not require organic fuels, are based on this essential geometry of the Universe. Similarly, in each of us, human beings, there is a central consciousness that is always present and witnesses what happens. When we silence our internal dialogues and we quiet the mind that toils justifications and rationalizations in, we connect with the unlimited source of energy that we all nurture.

Ana Ines de Avruj

Rangooli, India

The practice of making those designs on the floor, is also used to welcome distinguished guests or for some celebration, and is known as Rangooli. You can see the photo I took during my travels.

Mandalas or yantras are also made in other everyday surfaces. These diagrams are often simple incisions in stone, wood or metal (mainly gold or copper, or an alloy of five metals that are considered highly beneficial and sacred in India). Altars in which they reverence to deities and teachers can also be decorated, for example creatng mandalas with flower petals or with different seeds. They can also be taken as personal amulets, in which case they will be drawn in ink on paper, and may have incorporated letters (matras) Sanskrit syllabic alphabet or formulas called Mantras (sacred sounds). In short, the mandalas are part of its culture and its tradition of a natural, almost unnoticed.

It has happened to me more than once, to be carrying out research on mandalas in mental health at international congresses of Health made in India, that they themselves proved surprised and amazed by the fact that their use which for them is so natural,  we have begun to study it systematically. I like to reflect on the contributions that each culture does to the other, as we can interact with the wealth of all.

There is much to thank the people and culture of India. They have provided us with a wonderful tool for healing emotions and achieving better quality of life. We have also incorporated mandalas to daily life, in schools, in design, decoration. Perhaps we fundamentally took the aesthetic appearance, but we have also used them to heal and connect with the most sacred of our Being.

I am happy to say that today, I create and work with mandalas without having to explain anything, without being asked, "Mandala? Manda..what ??? "as they did years ago.

We have much more to learn from these ancient cultures, but we are on track ... a path with heart.

Lic. Laura Podio