Expanding: Not Just a Big Brown Placemat - A Mandala

Recently as I was searching in decorating for our office I found
Francesca , a Colour Life Coach.

I emailed her and she was so kind to share the following and give me permission to share:

Your practice, The Resilient Center for Grieving Families, is a wonderful gift to the community and I wish you much success. While I cannot know the true extent of your unique dynamics, what I can share with you about my passion is colour does not have to be seen to affect us ~ every cell in the body is light-sensitive giving a response to the vibration of colour. Colour has a transformative power unique to each and every one us.
Further conversation included mention of the Big Brown Placemat! Fascinating and I'm turning more of this decorating over to Steve!

Wow!!!! i LOVE your blog. In fact, I read the posts and saw the wall art you refer to as a 'big brown placemat'. Gosh, what struck me about this piece is how it reminds me of a mandala design, specifically the "Flower of Life" or "Seed of Life". Are you familiar with Mandalas? It's something I teach in module 7- Blue, of my Rainbow Program. How interesting Steve came across this find for you. If I can just mention, looking at your wall art, a flower within a circle (which is what I think I can see), connected to other flowers represents creation of life, it's meaning, in it's purist form. Also, representing cell division and the nature of things as they are. Everything that we see (for those of us who can see) or feel, begins with a point of beginning. The center of the flower has a single point, from which petals form and everything radiates out from the point, the center. The point represents the beginning of the soul seed of life from which all comes forth. This made me think about your remarkable work and vision for the office and environment for people who become part of the journey. Anyway, if you take away the petals, there is a circle that actually surrounds this point of beginning, like yourself, you had to start somewhere. The secret symbol for the Flower of Life is 13 circles. For the Seed of Life, 7 circles form a pattern of lenses, the basic component of the Flower of Life design!To elaborate on mandalas, because I did a great deal of research followed up by interviews with mandala artists from around the world, I thought I'd share with you a little about my findings when researching Mandala artist Lindy Longhurst. She created my logo that I use all throughout my coaching practice. In fact, if your interested in listening to our interview together, it's rather long, I'd be happy to send along the audio file.

Who is Lindy Longhurst? Well, Lindy Longhurst is a renowned artist living in Australia.

She began painting and drawing after traveling the world gaining insight and exposure to different cultural and spiritual beliefs. Her personal journey has been and continues to be a reawakening to nature.

Lindy’s mandala art and design themes are heavily influenced and based on a strong connection to the earth. Using natural elements in her work she explores the conscious and subsconscious worlds of dreams and meditation. Her work often expresses the peaceful connection to the earth as well as the possible hidden worlds which are found layered into her mandala creations.
Lindy has completed several series of works based on mandalas and several painted works inspired by images from dreams. Her work can be found exhibited in Australia and Europe and least we forget Lindy has also been published in US and Australian magazines.
She has 3 lines of greeting cards available that are distributed nationally around Australia and Lindy also creates personalized works, welcoming commissions.
Recent commissioned work by Lindy was done to raise money for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation with all proceeds going to the orphan center at Nyaru Mentang.

And finally, Paint-It-Pink mandala art. This project is about incorporating both symbols and the color pink together which represent and support the process of healing and transformation in hopes of a cure for breast cancer.

Lindy says, “Making mandalas is a spontaneous process full of surprise and wonder. It is a natural meditation from which all sorts of symbols, shapes, colours, forms, and themes unravel and combine to provide perfectly integrated and profound stories. Sometimes the themes and elements are well known but often they emerge from somewhere hidden - this combined with the here and now produces little treasures offering insight, joy and wisdom leading to further discovery and inspiration.”

This new insight has me loving my big brown placemat even more.
Tomorrow morning, we will hang a few more pictures in preparation for one of our therapist's presentation in our new conference room on Thursday night. We are creating a teen/children room that will have some fun options. Pictures to follow.