International Coach Academy

Coach Training School

  • LANGUAGES
    • English
    • Chinese
    • Italian
  • REGIONS
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Canada
    • Europe
    • India
    • Middle East
    • New Zealand
    • UK
    • USA
    • South America
  • Contact Us
  • OUR SCHOOL
    • Training Methodology
    • FlipIt Framework
    • Credential Pathways
    • Our Story
    • Faculty
  • PROGRAMS
    • Coach Certification
      • Advanced (ACTP)
      • Professional (ACTP)
      • Vocational (ACSTH)
      • Bridging Pathways (ACTP)
    • Short Courses (FlipIt)
  • STUDENT LIFE
    • Study Schedule
    • Classes & Theory
    • ICA Power Tools
    • Labs & Practicum
    • Your Coaching Model
    • Your Coaching Niche
    • Your Coaching Business
    • Student Support
  • COMMUNITY
    • ICA Alumni
    • Graduate Yearbooks
    • Graduate Program
  • RESOURCES
    • Library
    • What is Coaching?
    • Coaching Models
    • Coaching Power Tools
    • Coaching Research
    • ICA Blog
  • Join Login
You are here: Home » COACH PORTFOLIOS » Research Papers » Research Paper: Using Mandalas for Self-Development

Research Paper: Using Mandalas for Self-Development

2015/09/16

Research Paper By Tonia Jenny-600x352

Research Paper By Tonia Jenny
(Life Coach, USA)

Because I’ve personally taken a recent interest in mandalas and had found the process of creating them not only restorative and fun, but also enlightening, I wanted to explore the viability of using mandala creation as a coaching tool. While creating mandalas, I’ve discovered when asking myself a question, that answers arising from a deep subconscious place are more easily expressed in colors and symbols than in words. A deeper level of awareness occurs as a result of two phases: First, the creation of a mandala and second, enjoying a period of reflection upon what has been drawn.

What is a Mandala?

Mandala comes from the Sanskrit language and is composed of two words: mand, “to mark off” and la, “circle or sacred center. In its most basic form, a mandala is merely a circle, but since ancient times, many cultures have filled this shape with symbols, patterns and sacred marks.

A visual mandala can be symmetrical in its design, with intricate patterns radiating out in a circular grid from a point in the center. Alternatively, an asymmetrical composition of any form—abstract or representational—can also fill a circle and be called a mandala. (Examples can be seen at the end of this paper.)

Significance of the Circle

. . . Everything an Indian does is in a circle,
and that is because the Power of the World
always works in circles,
and everything tired to be round.
. . . The sky is round,
and . . . the earth is round like a ball,
and so are all the stars.
The wind in its greatest power, whirls.
Birds make their nests in circles,
for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle.
The moon does the same, and both are round.
Even the seasons form a great circle
in their changing,
and always come back again to where they were.
The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood,
and so it is in everything where power moves.
—Black Elk in Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt

In every culture, the circle is a symbol of unity and wholeness. What is put inside of a circle is sealed off from what’s around it. This creates a safe and personal space. Carl Gustav Jung commonly associated mandalas with the Self or center of our entire personality. For a period of time, Jung created mandalas daily and credited them with personal transformation and healing. He suggested that working with mandalas supports the natural urge to reach our potential and discover our uniqueness—the growth process he referred to as individuation.

So why do we connect on such a primal level with the circle? Jungian-oriented psychotherapist and art therapist Susanne Fincher explains the circle naturally feels meaningful or sacred because it represents our true origin:

We grow from a tiny round egg, supported in the womb of our mother. In her womb we are encircled and firmly held within a spherical space.” She goes on to say, “Once born, we find ourselves on a plant that is itself circular, moving in a circular orbit around the sun. . . .The subliminal experience of circular movement, like the memory of our mother’s womb, is encoded in our bodies. Thus we are predisposed to respond to the circle.—Creating Mandalas

Circular shapes abound in nature. As Madonna Gauding puts it in her book, The Mandala Bible, “A flower, a snowflake or a cross-section of a tree—each reveals growth moving outward from a central point.” And circles are some of the first shapes we make as children—first as suns and then as the bodies of people.

Drawing and expressing within the confines of a circle feels natural and feels safe.

Pages: 1 2 3

Filed Under: Research Papers Tagged With: coach usa, life coach, tonia jenny

Search

Categories

International Office

PO Box 3190 Mentone East,
Melbourne AUSTRALIA, 3194

ABN: 83 094 039 577

Contact Us Online

Ask Us A Question

Click HERE

Terms

Terms and condition
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · International Coach Academy ·

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT