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September
5, 2001
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Dear Visitors and Fellow Soulful Travelers:
Thank you for
visiting The Mandala Collection today! I am so pleased that your
spiritual travels have brought you here.
I am very excited about the launch of our new
collection of mandala-inspired
offerings! Many of these items are tools that I have personally searched for on my own, ongoing,
soulful journey, and I have
found great pleasure in putting them together here, in this collection, to present
to you. I had known for a several years that I had wanted to bring the
wonder of mandalas to the Internet, and, although I had experimented with ideas, I
didn't know exactly how or when this dream project would transpire.
The project of
creating The Mandala Collection unfolded so miraculously, its creation has felt
like a gift from God. It flowed so beautifully and effortlessly that it has
sometimes seemed like it created itself. Once the project found me, and I was in
the planning phases, the most fabulous Mandalas began to appear everywhere in my
life, and at the most unexpected times. They served as wonderful synchronistic
symbols and signposts, guiding me, pointing me in the right direction and
letting me know that I was on the right track.
At the beginning
of July, two beautiful pieces of jewelry surfaced in my life (one, a gift, and
the other, a personally purchased necklace I knew I could not live
without). I would later come to realize that both pieces of jewelry are in the shapes of
beautiful, perfectly formed mandalas! A week or two later, a business colleague mentioned a
special mandala event in town that she thought I should attend. Hearing about this
event was
just the impetus I needed to begin my project. It served as a magical reminder
of my dream! I knew it was time to move forward with my plans… Thus, the
wheels were set in motion, and I embarked on my magical mandala adventure! I
became consumed, spending my days and nights passionately planning this
collection! Just two days later at a dinner party, a good friend and business associate,
who knew nothing of my mandala plans, talked of his
love for and interest in mandalas! And, the synchronicities just kept
coming...
 Several weeks
later, as my project was well on its way, I ran into an old friend and neighbor,
who I rarely see, and she was wearing the most incredible pendant around her
neck... Upon closer examination and questioning, I learned the pendant was a mandala that she had purchased on a trip to Nepal. What I found most
astonishing was that it was almost a perfect match for the Nepalese mandala pendants I
had purchased for this collection, just four days earlier! While cleaning my home a week later, a
wonderful photograph surfaced, almost completely out of nowhere. It was of my cousin's beautiful
kaleidoscope "mandala" quilts, and it took my breath
away. Her creations are the most exquisite works of art!
It got to be so
that every time I ventured into town, I would expect to encounter a fabulous
mandala, and I was never disappointed… Needing a few throw rugs, I
journeyed to the local home store, and what did I find… almost completely
empty shelves, except for one print… the most beautiful mandala pattern rugs I
had ever seen, in just the right colors and in all of the perfect shapes and
sizes I was looking for. And, then there was the day, I wondered to myself,
while driving, where I would find my next mandala, and as I turned the next
corner, there, across the street, was a whole assortment of huge, oversized
tapestries, with enormous tie-dyed mandala images, for sale, strewn all over the
fence of the property…
I feel it is no
coincidence that I encountered so many wonderful synchronicities while on this
creative journey. During the very same time, I had been preparing our September 2001 Issue of
SoulfulLiving.com, on the very subject of "Flow and Synchronicity." The
Universe does, indeed, work in marvelous and miraculous ways. My mandala
adventure has been my own personal proof, that when we are open and alert to the
wonderful interconnectedness of the Universe, our lives can be rich and flowing
with the miracles of synchronicity!
The wonder of
mandalas entered my life just three years ago, at the time of my father’s
passing. The journals he left behind tell the most miraculous stories. My father
was an artist and graphic designer, who enjoyed his work so much, that a
five-hour client project would receive days, weeks, even months of attention and
nurturing, as he worked to create miraculous works of art.
My father
considered his drawings and illustration to be his prayers. His last graphic
design project, just two months prior to his death, was for a bromeliad nursery client. He’d
been working for weeks on a package design logo for a new
"forever-blooming" plant collection.
As an artist, my father was very fond of symbols and their meanings. He had
incorporated one of his favorites, the infinity symbol, into this logo
design. I remember seeing the joy on his face, for days and nights, as he sat at
his drawing board, pondering the infinite number of wondrous design
possibilities.
 In his journal,
dated Feb. 8-14, 1998, he wrote: "For the last two weeks, I have used whatever time could be found
to develop a logo design for my floral client. The results are best evidenced by
the final three designs, which are especially satisfying. They represent a
simple, fully realized integration of the infinity symbol with the floral motifs--a perfect blend of form and content. Even more rewarding has been the
awareness, following their completion, that I had created mandalas! My delight
has continued to increase as I have looked through Jung’s "Man and His
Symbols" and found surprisingly synchronistic information, about mandalas,
that relates perfectly to my designs. ‘Jung stressed that the only real
adventure remaining for each individual is the exploration of his own
unconscious. The ultimate goal of such a search is the forming of a harmonious
and balanced relationship within the Self. The circular mandala images this
perfect balance’ (p.231)."
"‘[Mandalas] represent the wholeness of the psyche or Self, of which
consciousness is just as much a part as the unconscious. [In] Eastern
meditation....a very common Yantra motif is formed by two interpenetrating triangles, one
point-upward, the other point-downward’ (p.268). In my design (A) the bottom three
infinity signs combine with the center of two to form a triangle pointing
upward, as do the upper three, pointing downward. The triangles share the two
center symbols as they intersect. ‘This shape symbolizes the union of Shiva
and Shakti, the male and female divinities....In terms of psychological
symbolism, it expresses the union of opposites--the union of the personal,
temporal world of the ego with the non-personal, timeless world of the non-ego.
Ultimately, this union is the fulfillment of and goal of all religions: it is
the union of the soul with God’ (p.267) ...‘Roundness (the mandala motif)
generally symbolizes a natural wholeness, whereas a quadrangular formation
represents the realization of this in consciousness.’ (p.234)."
He continues: "...They
[the mandalas] are astonishing gifts from the unconscious--not only as perfect
solutions to a design problem, but more profoundly, as intrinsic rewards!
They are like 'seals of approval' and perhaps can be considered, according to
Jung, as symbolic of psychic orientation, divine powers, inner balance, cosmic
healing, human perfection, enlightenment, and wholeness. It's like winning
Olympic gold, silver and bronze! All three!... It is particularly
interesting to note that the mandalas were unconsciously created to coincide
with the opening of the Winter Olympics in Japan, an event to which I had
paid little or no conscious attention. Amazingly, the mandalas' circular forms
are not unlike Olympic medallions and, most surprisingly, were presented to
my client by fax in the exact relationship of the Olympic winners platform,
with the first place (A) positioned at center top, second (B) lower left and
third (C) lower right. A charming and truly incredible synchronicity!"
"It is a good
feeling indeed to realize that my unconscious has not only symbolized
wholeness with the many synchronistic references to mandalas, but has demonstrated
wholeness by establishing them as rewards through synchronistic references to
the Olympic Games. This harmony between my conscious and unconscious is the
peace that I am joyfully seeking, perhaps as diligently as Olympic Athletes
train for their specialties. Best of all, the mandalas will not tarnish. Like
all blessings from above, they are "gifts that keep on giving."
My father's
artwork and journals are my precious and treasured reminders of his love, great
wisdom and Eternal Spirit. I dedicate The Mandala Collection in my father's
loving memory, with eternal gratitude for the creative and soulful inspiration
he left behind... His "gifts that keep on giving"!
I also dedicate
this site in loving memory of my mother, whose recent passing this March, fueled
much of the grief, pain and love that poured into the creation of this life
project. May her creativity, kindness, and loving spirit forever live on in my
heart and in The Mandala Collection.
I want to send a very special thank you to all of the wonderfully supportive and
kind souls who have prayed for me and have seen me through the creation of this
dream project. You know who you are… Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I would love to
hear from You, our visitors! Please write and let me know your thoughts and
comments on The
Mandala Collection. I would love to hear your own, personal mandala stories.
And, please let me know how our products have helped enhance or transform your
lives. Hearing from you would make my day!
I hope you enjoy
your shopping experience at The Mandala Collection. May the magical wonders and
miracles of Mandalas be plentiful in your life!
Namasté,
Valerie, Founder and Creator
The Mandala Collection & SoulfulLiving.com
valerie@soulfulliving.com
Read more
about me and my personal journey.
©
Copyright 2001-2002 The Mandala Collection™. All Rights Reserved.
Please do not reproduce anything from this site without written permission.
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