Expansion of the Heart Mandala

Expansion of the Heart Mandala (Circle of Love Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image - hydrangea blossoms 

   

Over on Facebook I asked for help in naming this mandala. I had already come up with three different possible  names, but nothing had that strong YES to it. And, I must admit, I love hearing people's responses to this art that pours through me:  It reminds me of pink peppermint ice cream, one person said. Another commented, It looks like what Baskin and Robbins tastes like.(and I had already considered pink ice cream and raspberry sorbet ...cool, refreshing, invigorating, yummy).

Another person suggested Divine Passion. I had previously felt the effects of an explosive riot of heart colors in this mandala. Then Batia added I like Divine Passion, because the red circle in the middle looks like the poems flowers write to get bees to come to them... (Isn't that comment, in itself, just divine? It certainly warmed my heart.)

But then Michelle suggested Expansion of the Heart and I got the big YES I was waiting for. And so it is. The heart laughs and dances and opens its many arms in  celebration, ever expanding in richness and with joy.


Thanks everyone who played with me on my Facebook page. This is one of the things I love about social media. I'd love for you to come over and share the journey with me, if you aren't already. 


~Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

I Am Here Mandala

I Am Here Mandala (Circles of Love Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: tillandsia bromeliad

The way is where and who you already are, sleeping in your very being. Rumi

A couple of weeks ago I volunteered for the local botanical garden's fundraiser, and, in the process, had a wonderful opportunity to spend time in one of the gardens on the tour. The Deacon's garden, with beautiful rhododendron bushes, lots of succulents, roses, edible beds of lettuce and herbs, and an amazing display of bromeliads, definitely wowwed me. I've been waiting for just the right moment to investigate the photographs of tillandsia that I snapped. Also known as airplants, tillandsia are part of the bromeliad family  and grow without soil while attached to other plants and trees. They definitely struck my fancy.

My intuition suggested that the tillandsia wanted to be transformed into  a seven  pointed mandala.  During the creation process, I heard the words "I Am Here" come through me. I know that seven is a mystical number and is considered to be a number of sacred wholeness. The soft greens and blues resonate in my heart and throat centers. When I stepped back from the computer to contemplate the mandala, I experienced how bright the seven pointed star shined and reflected back  that we are all brilliant beings.

I would love to hear  how you experience this mandala and how it speaks to you.

Bright blessings,

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

Walk with me in Nature - Video

It's a joy for me to find another way to share my love affair with nature with you all. I shot this little movie about a month ago and I'm sure I will do more of them in the future. I was at the Widow White Creek Watershed Restoration Project, an area that was restored in order to maintain the watershed area after a housing development was built. I love going here and listening to the birds' songs and  the gentle sounds of the creek

Mandala of Sacred Hearts

Mandala of Sacred Hearts - (Love Series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image -calendula

On July 11,2010 there was a solar eclipse that was most visible near Easter Island. Most folks in either hemisphere did not experience the visual effects of this astronomical event. What prompted me to create this mandala was the astrological forecast surrounding this happening.

I am by no means an astrology expert, and there is all sorts of info on the web where you can find out more about the significance of what happened yesterday. I will say that Venus, planet of love and the emotional body, played an important role in yesterday's eclipse.What prompted me to create this mandala in the first place is that we just have been offered possibilities to go beyond and come out the other side bright and shining and willing to embrace our Heart Space and interact with the world with more Love. A popular song from the 80's yearned for a total eclipse of the heart to shield him from pain. Are you willing to go past that to live in bliss? What a powerful intent of healing that would be!

When I feel into this mandala, I see 13 Goddess figures rising powerfully from the center of this fiery circle. If you are superstitious, you might consider thirteen to be unlucky. I interpret thirteen as a lucky number, a going beyond what has happened before. Thirteen represents the ending of old cycles and the beginning of something new. I understand now why my intuition recommended I create this mandala with 13 points.

13 Heart Goddess are here to assist  in the sublime opening of your heart center with courage. Have fun and be playful and know that we are all Love.

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

Susanne Fincher Mandala Books Give-Away

I have been blessed with a great opportunity to give away two books about mandala creation written by Susanne Fincher.  I was contacted by Susanne Fincher's publicist at Shambhala Press to conduct a giveaway of these two books. What an honor!

When I first began creating mandalas around 1995, Susanne Fincher's book Creating Mandalas was a bible for me. This book has now been revised and updated to create a section about mandala making in groups. I still refer to this book for Susanne's in depth information about color choices, numbers and symbols, even though my mandala making is primarily digital.

In her second book, The Mandala Workbook, Fincher arranges her chapters to correspond with the  ideas of Jungian therapist Joan Kellogg's ideas of the Archetypal Stages of the Great Mandala. Each of the twelve chapters contains a number of ideas for mandala creation relating to one of the twelve stages of life.

Many of these exercises are appropriate for those doing inner child work, and all of the suggested mandalas would be fun to explore creating in a group setting. Fincher also includes suggestions of yoga poses and sacred chants to use before creating mandalas.

I had hoped to create some mandalas presented in this book before I announced this fantastic giveaway, but I thought it was more important to get this giveaway announced first.

HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

• I will conduct this giveaway through July 10th and use random.org  to select the winners of these two books.(One book will go to two different people.)
• Leave a comment that you want to be included in a random drawing for this give away. Please only post your name once. Any other entries will be deleted.
• Be sure to check the box to receive email regarding further comments on this post. I need to be able to contact the winner. If I am unable to reach the winner through a blog or email, I will have to choose another winner.
• I'll choose two winners on July 11th and announce them as soon as they are both confirmed. 

If you've  been interested in creating mandalas, but weren't sure where to start, either of these books would be a great resource for you. I am so honored to have been selected to offer this giveaway here on my blog. Please be sure to spread the word about this giveaway on your blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. I'd love to have a great response.

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

Love is Everywhere

Love is Everywhere Mandala (Circle of Love Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: privet hedge flowers

Love is Everywhere. It radiates from the heart. 

Love illumines. There is always enough. 

Love continues to grow. 

There is an unending supply. 

Love is Everywhere.
Love is Enough.

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas