The Flower Mandalas blog has a dual purpose:
- To explore the use of art as a means to healing and transformation.
- To ask for your help in completing The Flower Mandalas Project.
Purpose #1: My intent is to use my own Flower Mandalas and related ideas and thoughts as a springboard for a broader exploration of the topic of art, healing, and transformation. I invite you to contribute your own experiences with art, healing, and transformation to the Art, Healing, and Transformation group on Beliefnet.com. I hope that a lively discussion will ensue there. I will moderate this group and, with your permission, post a selection of your contributions on the Flower Mandalas blog. You may also contact me directly at phototransformations@davidbookbinder.com.
Purpose #2: I’d like to ask for your responses to the Flower Mandala images posted here, either briefly as comments to the blog posts or in detail on the Behance Network Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas page. My plan is to create a book of 52 Flower Mandala images, each one paired with an inspirational quotation and original essay which in some way complement the image. My hope is for each image-and-quote-and-essay triad to resonate with a fundamental aspect of human experience.
Thanks for listening and sharing.
- David
David J. Bookbinder, LMHC
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posted April 14, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I felt that connection too after reading your words and impressions and viewing the Dianthus, thank you Mary.
Jessica H.
posted October 15, 2009 at 4:44 pm
The Power of Beliefs.
When was the last time you questioned who you are and what you stand for? The chances are it was quite a while ago because, like most people, you take yourself for granted. Few of us think in enough depth about our beliefs, yet they are essential to our very being. Before embarking on a course of personal development, we need to confront our beliefs head on.
A belief is a feeling of conviction about something specifically related to yourself. Beliefs have a direct impact on our character and behaviour. We can divide beliefs in to two simple categories – positive and negative. A positive belief leads to positive actions like setting goals and targets. Negative beliefs are associated with negative behaviours – like self paranoia. Beliefs are activated by different personality traits. In the case of negative beliefs, the inner critic is a major contributor.
The little voice we hear in our head sometimes telling us we are no good is what life coaches refer to as the inner critic. An inner critic is fine and actually important in small doses. However, if the balance becomes upset, our inner critic can become a detrimental force. All the hard work you may have put into building yourself up can be wiped away in an instant by an unchecked inner critic.
On the other hand, we have the inner coach. This is the voice of confidence and encouragement. It is the voice of hope and the gateway to success. Your inner coach is the part of you that checks for solutions not problems. The inner coach provides you with inspiration and vitality. When it comes to building success, your inner coach is the voice to listen to.
You should decide which of the two voices are the loudest in your mind. Are you your own coach or your own worst enemy? It is far easier to criticise than to make something which is why the inner critic tends to be the most prevalent in ordinary people. Extraordinary people have that little bit extra. Extraordinary people have a finely tuned inner coach.
All you are doing by developing your inner coach is making your mind work for you. Think for a second about how incredible the human brain is. It is more powerful than all the worlds computers combined. The brain contains within it almost limitless potential. What a shame it is, therefore, to use it against us rather than for us! We all have the chance to be extraordinary, yet so many people sit in the doldrums because they are unable to harness the latent power of the mind.
The mind can waste a lot of energy on detrimental beliefs. Remember that a belief is not a fact! You should not think that what you believe about yourself today is necessarily true. People have had some crazy beliefs over the years. For instance, entire cultures have developed on the belief of the world being flat, or that gods live up in the sky. Unless you have taken the time to explore yourself, you run the risk of holding some unhelpful beliefs about yourself. But where do beliefs come from?
Some of our beliefs originate in our childhood. The opinions of our elders shape our self image in childhood. Therapists spend a lot of their time unravelling problematic self images of people that begin in childhood. It is amazing to think that our childhood never really leaves us. Instead, it becomes buried to the very core of our being. Life is a process of change and development. However, without being aware of the things that have made us who we are there is little chance of us controlling this change.
Andrew James offers a no cost video showing you step-by-step how to overcome negative thinking patterns. please visit
http://www.stopthenegativewaves.com
posted May 16, 2010 at 3:49 am
It was very interesting for me to read this blog. Thank you for it. I like such topics and anything connected to them. I would like to read a bit more on this blog soon.
Hilary Simpson
posted May 25, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Hello,
I’m from LILIPOH, an international health and spiritually magazine. The issue focus of our last publication was on Flower Essence Therapy. After looking at you blog I thought you might be interested in reading some of the articles from the magazine. Here’s a link to one on our website, Dr. Edward Bach and the Invisible Science of Health.
http://www.lilipoh.com/articles/2010Issues/Spring2010/EdwardBach.aspx
Enjoy!
Christy Korrow
Managing Editor
LILIPOH
Phone/ Fax 270-864-9345
christy@lilipoh.com
Blog http://www.lilipoh.com/liliblog/index.aspx
Subscribe online at http://www.lilipoh.com
posted September 5, 2010 at 10:31 am
Thank you Mary for sharing this with us. Any type of meditation helps, whether it is visual or not. What other combinations of flowers do you use?
posted September 7, 2010 at 2:46 pm
What’s the Invisible Science of Health? Sorry for asking but I don’t have enough time to look into it without knowing what’s that all about.