My life is a Mandala – what is your Mandala Story! By Della Burford

What is your Mandala Story? Mandalas come to me in dreams and they represent life, the universe and myself. I honor my mandala dreams by manifesting them as  books, art, writing, plays and music. I was told when I do this more mandala dreams will come. So, it seems to be! I am writing this hoping it will be inspiration for others to do creative work from from life and find out what is your Inner Mandala Story and how can you manifest (create it) it in your life?

My Dream Producer tells me where in the Mandala of Life I am .. Such as as during the dream I hear a voice say “you are in the centre of the mandala, you are dancing on the mandala”, or “you are on the outside edge of The mandala looking at the universe”.

I was shown in a dream the Cosmic One called Wise Lotus One while in India. He said” You are not sitting on the lotus the lotus is in you”. I began to study the 7 mandala like vortexes of energy called chakras. I put Wise Lotus with his mandala chakras in the Island of Eyes which has eyes on the mountains and flowers in the story of Journey to Dodoland. If you were to think of your aura what color would your chakras be?

Dodoland was performed at the American Indian Community House in New York City. I was surprised to see a huge Medicine Wheel  painted on the floor and the performers/story were changed to adapt to the native philosophy. The Elemental Dodo dances here with a rattle. The performance centered around the four directions.

If you were to do a dance on a mandala what would it look like?

I awoke one night with a rainbow on my finger. I wrote the outline for Magical Earth Secrets with Earth Seed, Sweet Water, Sun Ray, Love Wind, Star Bird and Crystal Wish. I then created Nature Wheel Island Mandala for them to live in. How do you see nature and the seasons and cycles of life in a Mandala? Draw, paint, write or dance this.

A large canvas of Nature Wheel Island was painted for the Magical Earth Secrets Performance in New York. On Harmonic Convergence I took it to the Cape Cod Writers Conference and we did a ceremony for the Harmonic Convergence on the Mandala. Make a Mandala Center Piece for a special occasion like a ceremony or special occasion meal!

In Earth Action I painted many mandalas to show the cycles of nature. The Season Wheel connected to the , Waste-Not Wheel, Water Cycle connected to the Food Chain Wheel, Light Wheel connected to  Breathing Wheel, and Energy Again Wheel connected to the  Change Wheel . One wheel is connected to another on the Great Wheel of Life. How would you show the Great Wheels of Life in art, music or movement?

Dale Bertrand has been working on the Druid project for ages. I collaged a Mandala of the Druid project. Many tales and adventures unfolded. Leo Del Pasqua did illuminations of the Chief Festival of the Druids, Three Mermaids, Galcerth of Halloween and Nennius. This is Dale project in a Mandala.. how would your project look in a Mandala?

Challenges in lmy ife has brought out mandalas. When facing the challenge  of having cancer I proceeded to write a story about the qualities to heal. I watched my friend Katheen Graham do the Goddess dances and painted the Goddess Mandala. They inspired Venus , Athena, Brigid, Artemis, Kuan Yin, Pele, & Isis . Kindness, Courage, Goodness, Gratitude, Peace, Willpower and Creativity emerged. I called them the Angels of Healing. Research myths and do a Divine Mythical Mandala of your favourite mythical Gods or Goddesses!

I wanted to know where the Angels of Healing lived. Miracle Galaxy Mandala appeared in a dream. It was very Milky Way like. When I started to paint I could not stop my hand moving until it was finished. What would your Healing Mandala look like?

Many Sacred sites we visited in developing the Miracle Galaxy story and the Druid Project . They were visited both in real time and some in remote viewing. We visited Cornwall, Mexicaltitlan, Avebury, Greece, Stonehenge, New Grange and Teman in Wales. I remotely visited Egypt and Kailash. These were painted in a Sacred Sites Mandala. Which Sacred Sites have you visited or want to visit … make a Sacred Site Mandala of them!

Dream Wheels shows Della’s Dream Wheels she has done each year showing her dreams for 40 years. It tells how she has honored the dreams by manifesting them into plays, writing, art and workshops. Make a dream wheel of your dreams in a week, month or year. When you record them they then can be manifested creatively in life.

This is a Dream Wheel. It has three ring. The center ring is important everyday events following the season. The outer ring shows dreams that are creative inspirational and wise. Here you can write a title for your dream. The middle ring is small drawings which are symbols and like the title remind you of the dream so can be a portal to return. Draw your own Dream Wheel Mandala.

When studying in Vienna I asked 12 artists if they could share a painting from a dream to put  in my Dream Wheels book. They were Daniel Mirante, Kuba Ambrose, Vesna Krasnec, Irene Vincent ,  Peter Gric, Cynthia Re Robbins, Mark Lee, Liba Stambollion, Rollant Proulx, Jody Florman, Jennifer Michelle McEuen, and Andrew Gonlalez.

If your and artist make a painting from a dream .. if you have other creative talents mandalatize them .. like make a plate of food that looks mandala good!

Many Mandala projects evolved in the book “Art for One World”. It combines Art, Science, Drama, Writing, Dance, & Music which cross from one to another. It features various projects by Della Burford, Dale Bertrand from Canada and Kazuko Asaba  and Ruu Ruu from Japan. Do art for One World … how can your art show what is important for our world!

I experienced a 3^rd Eye opening one full moon night on the August Full Moon in the Kootenay Valley. I had visions of many Spiritual Beings. As synchronicity has it I was asked to paint Spirit Storybooks which to my surprise had some of the spiritual beings who had visited me during the full moon night. What Spirit Guides have you had come to you in dreams .. share them in a Vision Mandala with stories , paintings or music or dance!

New relationships and a newfound Spirit Home is revealed when landing in Bali and writing Bali Feeds the Soul and Bali feeds our Dreams. I met Saraswati and Ganesha in dreams.The divine way of life, art, puppets and dance were shared. They shared their culture, I shared my Mandala Stories which they were danced at the Paripurna Dance School. Star Galaxy for the World was storytold in a Design Science Studio project. Here we are with I Made Sidia and Suastini. What is your Spirit home .. it may not be where you live. Show it in Spirit Home Mandals which has story or art.

I had dreams of the Sacred White Animals when working with the Dream Teacher/Shaman Robert Moss. The animals spoke to me in my dreams of their elemental connection to Earth and how this is something we share together. This became the book Dream Gifts for the Planet Earth. Draw your favourite animals or power animals that have come to you in dreams and make a Medicine Mandala of them!

Star Galaxy for the World was created when seeing Miracle Galaxy performed in Japan which is for self healing and realizing a story must be written to heal the world. What are the values and aspiration needed to heal. The Story became an animated film by Julian Ramirez and was presented at I AM Peace in Colombia and at the One Humanity Festival in California. What values and Aspirations are important to you? Create an Aspiration Mandala.

This shows us (Della and Dale) travelingl around the world  on the  Buckminster Fuller Dymaxion Map. We shared storytellings, plays, music, art and workshops, many with  Mandala Stories. We felt the Chakras of the Earth as they visited many places. In doing this map to my (Della’s) surprise I noticed afterward  the destinations we visited formed an eye shape and that is how the journey got its name. Make a map and show the chakras of the earth. Have you visited some of these or even gone to some in your dreams? Do a Travel map of your travels or your wishes of where you would like to go? How can this become a Travel Mandala!

I showed the Dymaxion Eye Travel Map with he Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Map below in an installation in New Art City. Do a 3 D installation of your travels!

Had a “make yourself into a ” Aura Mandala” party and friends traced themselves life size and imagined their bodies energy centres and auric colors. Have a manadal aura party with your friends. Each person is unique and has a story. What does your Mandala person look like? .. What is your story? .. what are your friends stories? What is your Aura Mandala?

We have come full circle to the lotus but it is the future. My One World Mandala shows eight countries/continents that I fell have the power to transform the world from crisis to healing with light. For me since travelling to these countties includes Japan for  Creativity, Asia for Meditation, South America for Vitality , Celtic countries /  Europe Kindness, Mexico for Gratitude, North American (Indigenous) / Africa for Courage, Mexican for Gratitude, Indian for Bliss and Egypt /Greece for Dreams. Each person is unique depending on their life experiences. What would your One World Mandala look like showing qualities in countries of the world to bring values and aspirations like peace, kindness, love, vitality, courage, gratitude, creativity and bliss?

I had a dream of all spiritual being with their auras joined as one.
And so I conclude with a jointed aura mandala. Im back to what I felt in India that  “All is One”
and I ask – If you had a All in One Mandala what would it look like?

I want to thank Marianna Grossman, who facilitated a Fireside Chat with the Design Science Studio on visioning the future, and got me motivated to complete “My life is a Mandala” project. When being in a hypnogogic state in her workshop it allowed me to see the future and I saw Mandala people, Houses and Countries. She commented “that if you can imagine it it is possible. CosmoVision was expanded.

As I said in the beginning – hope this will be an inspiration for you to be creative from your dreams and creative your own Mandala story. . And I ask the question again – what is your Mandala Story and how can you create it in your life?