“Always the battle of the Spiritual Warrior is with the self.” Ralph Blum (The Book of Runes)
From 1983 to 2018, I shared a way of living with people who wanted to explore the 8-Limb path of yoga. I founded StillPoint Schoolhouse and taught daily yoga, weekly cooking and cleanse classes, yoga teacher trainings, nutritional consultations, women’s retreats, and wrote a series of health books. I was busy, active, and productive. I loved my work.
And yet, I felt I was missing something, a piece of my creative self neglected, but also a method to help ease the mental suffering I encountered in my students and my own practice. In yoga, we call them the Kleshas, meaning “poisons.” Buddhists refer to them as mental afflictions or dark emotions. The top five are Ignorance, Pride, Attachment, Aversion, and Fear of Death. From these stem all manner of emotional chaos, meted out by your Ego, and all are basically software you downloaded at birth. What I envisioned was a personal guidebook that anyone could use to shift their thoughts in an instant.
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” ~Nikola Tesla
In 2018 I began experimenting with photo images I had taken of nature, people, and animals. Called to creative play, I wove the images together using different apps on my iPhone and computer. The results were a powerful assemblage of hi-frequency mandalas that became the art for the Mindful Mandala (MM) cards.
I created the Mindful Mandala cards because life is full of questions. Some are simple inquiries; others are multi-layered concerns that take longer to find an answer. My training as a yoga and meditation practitioner has taught me the importance of self-inquiry and the power of stillness. I’ve learned how focusing the mind can bring clarity to any confusing situation.
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” ~Nikola Tesla
In 2018 I began experimenting with photo images I had taken of nature, people, and animals. Called to creative play, I wove the images together using different apps on my iPhone and computer. The results were a powerful assemblage of hi-frequency mandalas that became the art for the Mindful Mandala (MM) cards.
I created the Mindful Mandala cards because life is full of questions. Some are simple inquiries; others are multi-layered concerns that take longer to find an answer. My training as a yoga and meditation practitioner has taught me the importance of self-inquiry and the power of stillness. I’ve learned how focusing the mind can bring clarity to any confusing situation.
I have devoted my life to sharing the knowledge I’ve gathered while traveling the world. The Mindful Mandala cards and Mandala Talismans are the culmination of my experiences and are my proudest accomplishment. They are a guiding tool for everyone because they allow you to bypass the mental chatter and communicate with your inner self—the deeper part of you, the truth-teller.
These particular mandalas are mindfully created images potent with meaning and symbology. Fifty years in the making, these “flash cards for consciousness” help you answer important questions about any situation:
*What Challenges must I overcome?
*What inherent Tools do I have to assist me?
*What Actions can I take to overcome the Challenges?
I published the MM cards in August 2020 and set out to share them with the world. Nine months later, I arrived in Carrboro, NC, settled into a new apartment, and took a job in a fashion-forward Boutique. It was here I realized the importance of jewelry in a woman’s life. It allows the wearer to reimagine herself by adorning her body. Furthermore, jewelry can carry powerful vibrational energy. It can also remind the wearer to move from a negative into a positive state of mind. And thus, the Mandala Talismans were born.
What is a Talisman?
Talisman is an Arabic word meaning “magic picture” and confers unique benefits or powers upon the wearer. Also known as an amulet or charm, it has been worn by people for centuries and is considered to have magical powers to attract good and ward off evil. The Mandala Talismans benefit the wearer by identifying specific emotions, positive and negative. They are also
potent reminders of how thoughts shape your reality. The purpose is to inspire awareness in the wearer to recognize the negative and manifest the positive throughout the day. These unique charms are handmade with love to assist your mind-emotion connection.
Wear them as jewelry, place them on your altar, or hang one from your mirror. There are numerous ways to keep the power of a Mandala Talisman with you at all times. When you wear one, two, or three at a time, you have the flexibility to identify and shift multiple emotions that may arise throughout your day.
Here are a few examples:
Consider the Mindful Mandala Challenge-Tool-Action cards you choose when asking a question. Then, wear the corresponding talismans as a reminder not to favor the dark, challenging emotion.
Even without reading the Mindful Mandala cards, you may already know what emotion feels overwhelming and harmful to your mind. So let’s say your challenge is:
Greed: Your mind is constantly grasping for more money, things, and relationships. The ego-mind is in control, causing mental chaos and turmoil. Wearing the Greed mandala is a constant reminder to move from wanting/desire to a higher vibrational emotion, such as:
Gratitude: Rather than focus on all the things you don’t have, wear the Gratitude Talisman over your heart to remind you how blessed you are in this moment.
Or perhaps you are quick to:
Anger: With so much to be angry about in world events, anger only serves to plunge the mind into a dark place of destructive thoughts. Wearing the Anger Talisman reminds you to identify anger when it arises and move out of it into a place of:
Peace: Wear the Peace Talisman to calm your mind before erupting into a negative space such as anger, fear, doubt, or self-pity.
“What do I want, how do I get there, what do I do next?” Become constant questions we ask ourselves. The Manifestation Talisman is one many people resonate with in times of shift and transition.
Manifestation: Wear the Manifestation Talisman when faced with the challenge of moving to a new job, house, or relationship. It helps focus your mind on your intention rather than become lost in fear of massive change.
We each have an extensive list of emotions that cause suffering and lead the mind down a dark rabbit hole. Mindfulness in each moment, the Mindful Mandala cards, and the Mandala Talismans can keep you one step ahead of taking the plunge into that dark mental matrix of pain, doubt, and despair.
By Delia