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Drawing

Many people find the simple process of colouring-in very prayerful: whether it's celtic designs or simple mandalas, as we have here. The celts used these designs to illustrate their sacred manuscripts, either as full-page illustrations, as capital or smaller letters, or as designs around a page. Mandalas have a history that goes back centuries, emerging as an important meditative practice in Hinduism and Buddhism. Because of its primarily circular form, with an inherent centre, the mandala is a symbol of wholeness.

Gail Jones has been drawing mandalas as a regular prayer practice for many years: ''the idea of the practice of the mandalas came partly from learning that Carl Jung drew a mandala every day as a way to tap into his soul………… And because my normal way of being is as a 'thinking type', I need ways that help me get below the surface. For me, drawing and poetry have been a way to unlock the inner soul and to bring the insights into the light of day.'' You might like to create your own mandalas or your own celtic designs, but as a start you may like to try colouring in one from a book of designs or some other pattern you can copy.



Henry Morgan