Deeper Mandala - A Fall Equinox Offering

Deeper Mandala - © Sue O'Kieffe 2014 - Circle of Being series

 source inspirations:

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better ~ Albert Einstein

Thank you for being here. Deeper Mandala is my offering to you for this first day of autumn (for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere). 

During my morning meditation, I imagined myself walking into the depths of this mandala. I walked straight to the center, a representation of the Self. This was the self meeting the Self meeting the self, as it were. And then I walked deep into darkness where the mystery of All Life Is. I felt very secure and safe in this place and stayed for a long while before returning to ordinary reality. 

If you feel moved. you might meditate on this mandala in this way yourself. Light a candle, burn some incense, call on  spirit to be with you. 

May this meditation be meaningful and fill you with the abundance of life, which is this harvest season.

In Love.

Mandala blessings,

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

Change Mandala

 Change Mandala - Circles of Being Series -  © Sue O'Kieffe 2014 

Change is in the air. Can you feel it? This morning, when I awoke at 6:00 am, it was dark outside. Seems like a couple of days ago it wasn't. But the wheel keeps on turning. Do you embrace change, or are you resistant? The more I am able to soften to the prospect of change, the more peaceful I feel. How about you?

source inspirations:

This is my offering to you today. With love.

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

Many Blessings Mandala

Many Blessings Mandala - Circle of Being Series - © Sue O'Kieffe 2014

For whatever reason, yesterday  - 9/11/2014 - was a hard day for me. I felt out of sorts and depressed. I wondered how many other people out there remembering that day 13 years ago were having a hard time of it as well, and so I turned to the healing power of mandalas to offer some soothing relief.

source inspirations:

I felt drawn to use autumnal colors. This particular variety of heather and these maroon-brown coral bell leaves spoke of transition and change. I created the mandala in eight segments to remind us that our abilities to heal are infinite.  What came through, as I massaged the various layers in Photoshop, was quite unexpected. Purple for spiritual healing, red for grounding, and pink tones for the heart all came out to play. These are Nature's offerings here for us to take in however they are  most needed.

Many Blessings.

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

Ya Gotta Have Heart

I am thrilled to be included in Andrea Schroeder's Mandala Blog Hop.  This post also marks my return to blogging in over a year. I will be posting more often now, as Spirit moves me.

Since many of you might not know me, here is a little background. I began creating digital mandalas in 2006. I had found the website earthmandalas.com in 1999. It took a while for everything to come together - the right computer, my own version of Photoshop, and two semesters of digital art classes. I knew when I first saw Komra Moriko's website that someday I would be creating digital mandalas as well. And once I started, I couldn't stop. I loved capturing the everyday beauty I saw around me in mandala form.

But as time went on and my practice deepened, I began to understand that the bigger picture of this mandala art is really a transmission of Love.

You might  know that one meaning of 'mandala' is containing essence. The love that Nature offers us (whether flower, or tree, or crystal, or feather, or cloud, or maybe even bug) expresses the essence of its Love for humanity in mandala form. I am in service to humanity by being its conduit.

At the time of the March New Moon this year, I asked in meditation what most wanted to come forth. This is how I most often begin my mandala meditations these days. I felt the theme of Love wanting to be explored more fully. I chose these four source inspirations - rose, bleeding heart, antherium, and succulent leaf. I created mandalas from each of these sources and blended them together until satisfied with what was before me.

I have created hand drawn mandalas, but I love the magic and thrill of the unknown when I import images of nature into Photoshop and begin the transformation process.

                       

This was the first mandala to find form. I love the three hearts in the center.  Ya Gotta Have Heart is also the name of this love exploration series.

                                                  Ya Gotta Have Heart

     ( This image will also be part of my upcoming 2015 mandala calendar, Circles of Love.)

                                                        Love's Vibration

I was intrigued by the lines in the succulent (which I later found out was an infection caused by insects).  Personally, I saw a message inscribed in the leaves. What do you see?

                                                        Love Light

                      I embedded the word Love in one of the layers of this mandala.

I don't attempt to interpret the mandala images. Instead I leave it up to you to find  your own stories about the mandalas so the images are personally meaningful to you. And I offer it all with Love.

Mandala blessings,
Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas



Pssst! Don't forget to click on the graphic below to read the rest of the offerings in this radical mandala sharing!






The Magic of Mandalas Blog Hop is a radically inspiring sharing circle, with artists from around the globe sharing the stories behind their process of creating mandalas. Our mission: To inspire you to see new possibilities for your own creative practice.  Click HERE for a full list of the participants