Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless.
~ Paul Bowles
Because we Don’t Know When we Will Die
Exploring Interconnectedness with Morgan Mandala
“I hope to bring a sense of connectedness in my paintings. I hope to ignite something deep in the viewer, bringing them back to themselves, and reflecting on how the perceived self has no separation from the world around them.” ~ Morgan Mandala
Art is a powerful medium that reconnects us to the invisible realms, the intangible, opens new doors of perception and helps us find a healing path in our lives. Exploring this interconnectedness between the self and the world through art is Morgan Mandala – a contemporary artist based in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Through art, she hopes to ignite something deep in the viewer, to bring them back to themselves, and reflect on how the perceived self has no separation from the world around them.
Morgan combines naturalistic imagery with geometric, mandalas and symbolic forms to express facets of humanity and spirituality. We caught up with Morgan to know more about her art and ……
What has been your primary source of inspiration that led you on this journey of creating visionary art?
I always loved creating art, and art was always a powerful tool for me to transmute and heal emotional and physical pain. When I got more serious about painting, I was studying philosophy and early art history of first cultures from around the world. I knew I wanted to make paintings that were meaningful, and may help people find a path towards healing in their lives.
Why Mandalas, what’s the significance of using Mandalas?
I relate to and use mandalas as graphic representations of the universe. They are an attempt to simultaneously convey the microcosm and macrocosm; the oneness, and multiplicity, of our world. For me, mandalas make the most sense in representing the One, while also showing the many, and that they are (overall) the same thing.
Have Mandalas played an instrumental role in your healing journey?
Yes – creating mandalas has been a wonderful and powerful tool for me. Working from the centre outwards can be a grounding meditative practice. It has helped me cultivate patience, mindfulness, and focus. Creating mandalas with an intention for healing can be very powerful as well. Usually I would do this with a mantra or word for each pencil mark or brushstroke. It provides a way to externalize, as well as making peace with issues at hand.
Each mandala ends up as a visual record of your mediation and healing journey, and contains the intention within it. This approach has been a very powerful tool for confronting and moving through mental and emotional blockages.
Do you tap into flow state to create your art, and what are the methodologies used?
Getting into the “flow state” is an essential part of a productive day in the studio! There are many ways I try to get into a flow state, and set the stage for a painting session. Hiking in the mountains helps me move energy physically, and clear my mind to be ready to paint.
Setting my space before I dive in also helps keep me in the flow. It helps to make sure I have everything I will need in front of me, so my attention does not have to leave my painting space. I will clear my painting space, set my palette, turn on music (preferably without words), and maybe light Paolo Santo and do a few deep breaths.
I always say I paint best when I don’t think. When your mind gets in the way, it can break the flow state. Painting is a meditation in this way. I can refocus to the tip of the brush, guiding my awareness back if it goes astray.
If I am feeling very unfocused or uninspired, there are a few other methods I use to get back to the flow state. I will sometimes do a visualization exercise to reignite my imagination. I also do free association drawing and writing, or try working on a simple mandala. Not only that, but I also go back to things I drew as a child, and simple drawing practices, such as still lives.
How long does it take you to complete a piece?
The length of time spent on a painting varies with my paintings. Some small paintings take one to two days, but larger paintings take me months, to years. I spend a lot of time on detail in my larger original paintings (much of which can only be seen in person), so I would estimate that they take at least 4-10 months to complete, if I were to work from start to finish.
Some paintings have skeletal figures in them, is it to show the significance of death? Please elaborate.
I use imagery of skeletons in my paintings for many reasons, depending on the painting. Most often, I use the skeleton to symbolically represent a human at their core. Without the nuances of appearance, the skeleton is relatable to every human being, regardless of race, gender, religion, culture, etc. It is just plainly human.
The skeleton is also the only physical representation of one’s life once they have passed and gone back to the earth. It is often the longest lasting physical representation of any human life.
In our culture, the skeleton may be viewed as a symbol of mortality, but I see it as the symbol of a life lived – that includes all races and genders. The skeleton and mortality are things shared by all of humanity. I hope for the skeletons in my paintings to be more of a unifying symbol than an ominous one, and want the symbol to bring a sense of empathy and self reflection.
What are the key elements you encapsulate in your paintings?
I hope people contemplate the archetypes within themselves, and find a new way to relate to nature, the cycles of life and death, and our human history. I hope people contemplate the beauty in something that they have never seen, or never cared about. I hope to encapsulate love, to give it out to whoever looks at my paintings.
…but it is impossible to encapsulate an intangible element – perhaps I do not wish to encapsulate, but I wish to give people signs, or maps, back to the magic of the one (you) ; back to the truth that we are all inherently connected, and need to act with more awareness of how the things we do affect the world around us.
I hope my art inspires people to try to live harmoniously with others and nature. I aim to encapsulate love, but if someone feels moved by my art on any level, I feel it is a success.
Who are the artists that inspire you?
SO MANY! There are too many to list… but here are just a few:
Martina Hoffmann & Robert Venosa
Alex & Allyson Grey
Randal Roberts
Maura Holden
Luke Brown
Krystleyez
Wiley Wallace
Anthony Hurd
Ben Ridgeway
Sweet Melis
Bryan Itch
Collin Elder
Are your paintings a reflection of your personal transformation?
I would say yes…My paintings are inseparable from my life’s journey, so to me, they do reflect a personal transformation. They reflect ideas and my studies during the time I made them. They also reflect places I travel, and people I work with. Every painting involves an aspect of intuition, and allowing unplanned things during the creation to be an influence. Some paintings are a literal reflection of a meditation, or healing process. Some paintings are ayahuasca visions, and some are dreams.
How would you say your art has evolved over the years?
My art has evolved in many ways as I explore different avenues of creation. Collaborating with other artists has exposed me to many methods of painting, so my approach has broadened over the years.
I have expanded in technique and subject matter, and have added the practice of plain air painting to my skill set. I have been working closely with Randal Roberts, and we have developed our own visual language together to describe unity and multiplicity.
We have been able to create paintings intuitively together, and let flow and love guide our brushes to create a non-subjective metaphor for this concept. I also feel like I am beginning to scratch the surface of having the skills necessary to create paintings that I have conceptualized for some time, which will (hopefully) be another evolution of my work, where I will combine new painting skills, concepts, and styles. I hope that my work continues to grow and evolve throughout my lifetime.
If you had one message to give your fellow humans, what would it be?
Be the best you can be, so as it ripples outward, and positively affects the people and world around you.
People have more similarities with each other than differences, regardless of background. I hope people can recognize themselves in others, and seek to understand and treat people with compassion. We all seek love and stability. We all share mortality. Let’s make it easier for one another.
We are inseparable from our environment. If humanity cannot learn to live in harmony, it will be our demise, but the earth will go on. I hope we can learn to treat our environment as a part of ourselves. I hope our earth can be recognized as divine, and given the deserved respect as the mother of life as we know it.
You can check out all of Morgan Mandala’s art here.
How can Roadblocks Lead You to Your True Self?
“Your conflicts, all the difficult things, the problematic situations in your life are not chance or haphazard. They are actually yours. They are specifically yours, designed specifically for you by a part of you that loves you more than anything else. The part of you that loves you more than anything else has created roadblocks to lead you to yourself. You are not going in the right direction unless there is something pricking you in the side, telling you, “Look here! This way!” That part of you loves you so much that it doesn’t want you to lose the chance. It will go to extreme measures to wake you up, it will make you suffer greatly if you don’t listen. What else can it do? That is its purpose.” ~ A.H. Almaas
Words have power, and sometimes someone else’s words strike a chord and stir up emotions within you. It makes you rethink your own reality, change perspectives and compels you to view things through a different lens.
Let’s dissect the quote and understand how roadblocks lead you to your true self –
“Your conflicts, all the difficult things, the problematic situations in your life are not chance or haphazard. They are actually yours.”
When I read these lines initially, my reaction was, “Really, the current situation I am in is actually my choice. I don’t want it. How can I choose to inflict such problems on my self?” It is human to not want to feel what you are feeling, to want to feel differently, to want to escape it even if it is momentarily and to hope for something better.
Read on…
“They are specifically yours, designed specifically for you by a part of you that loves you more than anything else. The part of you that loves you more than anything else has created roadblocks to lead you to yourself.”
As we read a bit further, the author explains that roadblocks are stepping stones that lead us to our true self. Our true self is buried under layers and layers of grief, trauma, conditioning or experiences that shape us who we are. Under all the muck, lies the real treasure, your pure and authentic self.
On delving deeper on this thought, how can roadblocks lead you to your true self?
“Experience is not what happens to you–it’s how you interpret what happens to you.” ~ Aldous Huxley
Recently, my doctor said when told that I have been very stressed during this pregnancy (third one incoming), his response was, “Nature has designed us in a way that we can deal with stress. The body knows if you were so stressful, you wouldn’t have been able to conceive in the first place.” I heaved a sigh of relief, those were some comforting words.
Humans are designed to handle a certain amount of stress even before they were born. When a child is naturally born, passing through the birth canal of the mother, he/she needs that tension, the pressure, the push before taking his/her first breath.
This whole birthing process itself reflects the adversities of life, and that is why ancient traditions encourage natural birthing as compared to Caesarean, as children born by C-section do need that extra care, extra affection and love because they haven’t experienced that initial struggle to make their way out into this world.
Apart from roadblocks making you stronger, it causes an inner shift, a transformation where you can see what you are made of. It gets you in touch with yourself. As they say, diamonds are created under pressure.
Turn Roadblocks into Pearls
A pearl is made by oysters as a natural defense against an irritant such as a parasite entering their shell. When an irritant works its way into an oyster, it secretes a fluid to coat the irritant to diffuse its power. This fluid is called nacre. Layers and layers of coatings of nacre is produced and deposited on the irritant for years till this deposit begins to reflect a luster and this initial irritant turns into a lustrous pearl.
Similarly, when irritants (either roadblocks, obstacles, triggers) enter your life, surround it with ‘nacre’ positive energy, thoughts, that will eventually transform into a pearl.
“You are not going in the right direction unless there is something pricking you in the side, telling you, “Look here! This way!” That part of you loves you so much that it doesn’t want you to lose the chance. It will go to extreme measures to wake you up, it will make you suffer greatly if you don’t listen. What else can it do? That is its purpose.”
Sometimes the path is laden with low slung trees with thorns, tall grass, we have to walk on gravel at times, making it difficult to navigate through the forest. These are the ‘extreme measures to wake you up’.
The only way out is through
“He says the best way out is always through.
And I can agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through.” ~ Robert Frost
Just like the birth of a child, the only way out is through, it is our rebirth. But we continue to push forward, and suddenly we see the path has opened up, and we find a lovely water body just ahead of us. The water is still, full of life, and surrounded by pretty colorful flowers. This entire experience becomes sacred as our beautiful soul feels nourished – a reward for making it through such a difficult path.
We have to take the steps to walk through the thorny bush, if we had to retreat and walk back, we will find another treacherous terrain or roadblocks somewhere along the journey, there is no escape. After all, the obstacle is the path, the only way out is through. It is about willing to take the first step to walk through the thorny bushes and finding the flowers on the other side.
Identifying Your Roadblocks and Overcoming Them
Identify your roadblocks, challenges or irritants in your life at this moment. Immerse yourself into this thought, write it down, draw it or paint it – use whatever medium you are comfortable with to express those emotions. To help you in the process, reflect on these questions –
1) Which is the most current and dominant irritant in your life right now, it could be circumstances or a situation or a person?
2) Understand the irritant first and why it is irritating you.
3) If you have to create Nacre for it (the thought process which will diffuse its power) what kind of thought will your Nacre reflect?
I choose to paint the irritant, the nacre to pacify the irritant and the oyster and pearl.
Paint the oyster and pearl every day for 21 days (the time frame required to rewire your subconscious mind), holding the same thought – my irritant, my Nacre and my pearl. You don’t need to be a painter to carry out this exercise, it is simply about tapping into your emotions and focusing on the roadblocks that are holding you back from finding your true self.
You are free to paint your ocean, show the sunset/sunrise, it is upto you. Honestly, I managed to carry this exercise for 4-5 days, then got caught up in some work, and then continued again. It felt very different and a lot better, and you feel the irritant losing its power over you. Remember, this beautiful pearl would never have existed without the initial irritation.
May you find the power to turn your roadblocks into shining gems hidden within the depths of your true self!
Image source
No One Else is Carrying the Aftermath
No one else is carrying the aftermath of the trauma you have endured inside of their body. They are not paying the consequences. They are not managing the recovery. Therefore, their opinions are secondary to any and all things that help you heal.
~ Nate Postlethwait
For Those who Believe in God
“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula, the big answers don’t remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”
~ Charles Bukowski
