When The Natural Mandala was being exhibited at Angelic Whispers Holistic Center,
I had the pleasure of meeting Judy Peace at their “One Year Anniversary”
event on August 16th. This event was rather active with people
coming in and out all during the evening. I believe that I was
with someone almost the entire evening, talking about The Natural
Mandala concept and answering questions about its creation. Finally,
I got to meet Judy. We had a most interesting conversation, and
although it was all too brief, the last thing we talked about
before the event came to a close was she told me about her radio
program “Waves of the New Age” on WAIF radio. She asked me then
if I would be willing to be her guest on a radio program to talk
about the mandala form and The Natural Mandala. How could I say
“No?”
Judy’s concept for the program was to cross-promote and discuss the unique synchronicity
that was to take place in September, here in Cincinnati. There
was going to be two major exhibitions of mandala work being presented
to the community. From September 2 through September 7, Aquarius
Star would be hosting the touring Tibetan monks who would be
creating a Green Tara Sand Mandala and The Natural
Mandala would be continuing its exhibition throughout
the month at Angelic
Whispers. She invited Rob Dorsey to speak about the presentation
by the monks and give details about its construction. She also
invited Renea Frey to talk about classes she offers for children,
teaching them about the mandala concept via hands-on projects
with coloring line drawing mandalas.
The radio program aired live on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 from 3:00 pm to 5:00
pm. It was a very exciting time for me to get to speak about
my work to so many people at one time. I really enjoyed getting
to know Judy Peace more and in this very unique way, on the air,
broadcasted live for all to hear. It was also a pleasure for
me to meet Rob Dorsey and Renea Frey and hear their views on
the
mandala form and how they incorporation it into their lives.
I would like to thank Judy Peace for inviting me to be a guest on her radio program
and for her continued enthusiasm about my work with The Natural
Mandala. Judy is a very gregarious and take-action sort of person
and I appreciate all the work that she is doing, not only on
the radio with “Waves of the New Age” but also in her involvement
with bringing new ideas, concepts and conscious awareness to
the forefront of our community.
JUDY PEACE co-created and co-hosts the radio show: "Waves of the New Age" on WAIF 88.3 FM in 1988. It has since served the Cincinnati community with Soulful
Sounds and Conscious Conversation every Tuesday from 3-5
PM. Judy also started Conscious Choice
Cinema in February of 2006; it is cinema that touches the
deep longing and wisdom in each of us. Please visit: www.ConsciousChoiceCinema.com.
Judy offers "Tools for Transformation and Self Understanding ~ Palmistry, Astrology & Tarot" She has shared her gifts with the community for the past 22 years. She offers
these tools for personal coaching or entertainment. You can
email her at: silvorwing@aol.com
ROB DORSEY, LMT, is a licensed massage therapist, massage instructor, performer, and scholar, he has studied, presented and taught at arts venues, dharma centers, festivals, monasteries, wellness centers, Tai Chi/Qi Gong and Yoga schools around the region. In compliment to his studies of sacred sound, meditation and chanting from the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, he has an active practice in healing massage and sound-work. He is the Department Chair of Antonelli College's massage program and the facilitator of the Open Sangha at Aquarius Star.
RENEA FREY is a local workshop facilitator and writer with an academic and intellectual interest in linguistics and psychology from transpersonal, neurochemical, and humanistic models. Her perspectives are influenced by her studies and practice of Nonviolent Communication, various forms of meditation, shamanic and transactional analysis work, and more than seven years of focused Buddhist Tantra. She has a B.A. in English and Psychology, teaches English at Antonelli College, and is pursuing a Master's degree in English Literature at Northern Kentucky University.
REX OXLEY is an intuitive artist, creating works of fine art to aid in healing and for self-empowerment. He is known for his innovative work he calls; The Higher Self Portrait but is currently touring with his most recent work; The Natural Mandala. He conducts workshops in meditation using The Natural Mandala to teach people how to employ it as a vehicle for “open-eye” meditation, leading them toward developing a personal mode of meditation practice. He holds a degree in BFA with concentrations in drawing, painting and printmaking and a BM with concentrations in voice and piano. He teaches voice and piano in his studio, while also offering a course of instruction in many areas of the fine arts. He is also developing a series of correspondence courses for the mandala form and mandala making. He is currently accepting commissions within his series of Natural Mandalas as well as mandalas that are drawn, painted or otherwise created in various materials.
THE NATURAL MANDALA
There were several features that Judy Peace highlighted
during this program. The “leaf-like” structure that she
mentioned are the branching “Y” shapes that radiate
from the central, circular arena out to that most
bright
white ring. These are naturally “Y-ing” branches
of a tree that have been meticulously filled with
the
minute filigree of thin slices of cinnamon sticks.
Another feature she mentioned was the 32 medallions
that are just outside this bright white ring that
are placed on each of the green leaf radiating arms.
The third feature she highlighted was the dark center
that, as I pointed out in the discussion, is actually
a void, which creates a dark, circular oculus because
there is nothing within this hollow cavity. These
features can be seen in more detail by using the
Natural Mandala Magnifier; found by clicking on the
top left “Site Navigation” drop-down. This website
feature will allow you to zoom into and pan around
The Natural Mandala at varying levels of detail.
THE GREEN TARA SAND MANDALA
This is an example of a Green Tara Sand Mandala, however it is not an image of
the specific sand mandala created at Aquarius Star.
I wanted to provide this image of the Green Tara Sand
Mandala to give you a visual depiction of the “radiance
and energy” that Rob Dorsey speaks about. Certainly,
every sand mandala that the Tibetan Monks create have
this kind of radiating energy, whether it be the Green
Tara, the Mandala for World Peace or even the most
complex of all Tibetan mandalas; the Kalachakra Sand
Mandala.
Because of the
juxtaposition of the rather limited color palette,
and the fact that they are so well placed in contrast
to one another, they create this unique odyssey of
color vibration that the Tibetan sand mandalas are
well known for. It is the use of textural patterning,
repeating design features and the symbolic use of these
colors rendering each glyph that brings such a vivid
and mesmerizing look and feel to these incredibly beautiful
works of sacred art.
