Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Color Meanings
Red, an energizing, stimulating color, relates to the physical body. It increases alertness and brings awareness of the present moment. This color signifies passion, life, sexuality, love, and the power to create. It also symbolizes blood, rage, violence and fire.
Blue is the color of clear sky, suggesting infinite space, the heavens, and eternity. A calming and relaxing color, it has to do with nurturing aspects of the feminine principle.
Black suggests the sinister power of darkness, decay, and death. The symbol of mourning, of nonbeing, it also symbolizes protection from evil. It is the color for penitence and respect for the souls of the departed. Remembrance, eternity, and constancy are represented by the color black.
Blue is the color of clear sky, suggesting infinite space, the heavens, and eternity. A calming and relaxing color, it has to do with nurturing aspects of the feminine principle.
Yellow symbolizes the sun and suggests the rhythms of time set in motion by the sun's rising and setting. It has to do with energizing aspects of the masculine principle. Yellow signifies the light of consciousness that has descended into our nervous system to allow us to be self-aware. Yellow relates to emotional energies and for some it represents the soul of a person.
Green is the color of nature, of balance, and of harmony. It represents the primal power of fertility that makes seeds sprout. It is symbolic of freshness, health, peace, and prosperity.
Orange speaks of earthiness, in contrast to spirituality. It stands for the energy of the life force that maintains your body in a healthy balance without your direct attention. The color also represents endurance, strength, and worthy ambition.
Purple relates to nobility, refinement, and power. It signifies patience, trust, faith, and fasting.
Turquoise suggests generosity, love, and healing. Traditional peoples in many parts of the world paint doors and window frames turquoise for protection from dangerous spirits. Turquoise helps maintain safe boundaries.
Brown is a symbol of the earth, of fertility. It is also symbolic of holding or blocking energy.
White refers to the blinding light of the spirit, triumphant over death. White suggests the ashes after a fire, the silence of snow. It is a symbol of purity, innocence, virginity and birth.
Black suggests the sinister power of darkness, decay, and death. The symbol of mourning, of nonbeing, it also symbolizes protection from evil. It is the color for penitence and respect for the souls of the departed. Remembrance, eternity, and constancy are represented by the color black.
Mandala Information
A mandala is used for many things. It can be used for relaxation and inspiration for adults and children alike. Mandala designs contain themes and patterns taken from geometry, nature and folk art. Mandalas have been found on the walls of prehistoric caves, in ancient tapestries and stained glass windows, and in the artistic expression of people all over the world.
Mandalas represent wholeness and life. Made up of simple elements, yet capable of becoming marvelously complex, they fascinate children and adults alike. Mandala patterns invite color.
Creating a mandala begins with drawing of a circle. It can be as simple as the circle a child draws or as complex as the sacred images created by Tibetan monks. Mandalas arise from the compelling human need to know our own inner reality, to align this knowing with our body's wisdom, and to awaken ourselves a sense of being in harmony with the universe.
The word mandala, from Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, translates as "sacred circle."
In Tibetan, the term mandala is kyil-kor, which means "center and circumference." In Eastern tradition mandalas suggest a complete cycle, (ie., rituals that comprise a liturgical year).
Making a circle always brings order to things. Order begets patterns that the mind can grasp and understand. Each time you turn a circle or color a mandala, you invite a little harmony in your life.
A circle suggests a center point in much the same way a magnifying glass acts to focus the sun's rays to a single, bright spot.
In a circle, the center is always present, and it attracts your eye, whether it is marked or not.
The capacity of a circle to catch and focus your attention means that you take less notice of what is outside the circle.
Used in meditation, mandalas produces concentrating your attention on one thing which produces relaxation in your body---breath deepens, heartbeat slows. These physical changes release the body's natural healing processes.
Traditional healers intuitively make use of mandalas because their circular form organizes perception, thought, and physical responses in ways that are beneficial.
Mandalas represent wholeness and life. Made up of simple elements, yet capable of becoming marvelously complex, they fascinate children and adults alike. Mandala patterns invite color.
Creating a mandala begins with drawing of a circle. It can be as simple as the circle a child draws or as complex as the sacred images created by Tibetan monks. Mandalas arise from the compelling human need to know our own inner reality, to align this knowing with our body's wisdom, and to awaken ourselves a sense of being in harmony with the universe.
The word mandala, from Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, translates as "sacred circle."
In Tibetan, the term mandala is kyil-kor, which means "center and circumference." In Eastern tradition mandalas suggest a complete cycle, (ie., rituals that comprise a liturgical year).
Making a circle always brings order to things. Order begets patterns that the mind can grasp and understand. Each time you turn a circle or color a mandala, you invite a little harmony in your life.
A circle suggests a center point in much the same way a magnifying glass acts to focus the sun's rays to a single, bright spot.
In a circle, the center is always present, and it attracts your eye, whether it is marked or not.
The capacity of a circle to catch and focus your attention means that you take less notice of what is outside the circle.
Used in meditation, mandalas produces concentrating your attention on one thing which produces relaxation in your body---breath deepens, heartbeat slows. These physical changes release the body's natural healing processes.
Traditional healers intuitively make use of mandalas because their circular form organizes perception, thought, and physical responses in ways that are beneficial.
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