The World of Meditation: Imagery, Mandala and Divine Ideas

105 Mandala and divine Ideas

The following program is the fifth in a series of six lessons entitled “The World of Meditation” presented by Martha Giudici.

Before beginning this lesson, take out the folder that came with your tapes and turn to the section entitled: ‘Mandala and Divine Ideas.’ We will be referring to these drawings as the lesson proceeds.

One of the most creative forms of meditation deals with mandala and Divine Ideas. This area of meditation has not been readily understood by many. But with patience, review, and practice, it can become extremely rewarding. This area of meditation deals with imagery, directed or consciously chosen, and that which emerges from the mind in times of meditation and reverie.

We might begin by saying that everything that is, is manifesting in our world has its origin in a Divine Idea or a mandala. In Unity, we use the term Divine Idea. In Oriental philosophies, they are called mandala. But they are one and the same. Both have infinite possibilities of expression, and both are to be found manifesting in infinite form and variety.

106 Mandala and Divine Ideas the principle of the center

Mandala has been called the Magic Circle, because in meditating on a mandala, we become aware of things beyond that which we normally are aware of, hence the idea of magic. Also, mandala is not really a circle, although one form is a circle. It is the principle of the center.

Divine Ideas are also the principle of the center. That is, in meditation, we may contemplate Divine Ideas such as life, substance, intelligence, Christ, Spiritual Man, power, and so on. These exist in the mind of man as the source of all that is needed by him to build his world and perfect his body.

The power centers we discussed in a previous lesson are Divine Ideas. In contemplation, we let our mind flow to the center of the idea and let it reveal to us the infinite possibilities that exist within and beyond the idea. The process is the same for mandala.

107 Divine Ideas as source of all manifestation

Perhaps we can best understand what a Divine Idea or a mandala is by saying that everything that is, man world, everything animate or inanimate, every symbol, color, sound, all manifestation has its source in a Divine Idea, a mandala.

Often the manifestation is called a mandala, a Divine Idea, and that is because we can contemplate the manifestation, the out-pictured image, or thing, and let our mind flow to its center and beyond to the Source, the Divine Idea or mandala from which it originated. For this reason, do not get trapped in the thought that the picture, symbol, or thing you are meditating upon, is the source of creativity. But rather the source is a Divine Idea/mandala, existing in the mind of man, placed there by an all-wise creator for man's use in forming his world.

108 Symbols as out-picturing or form of mandala

Let us look at some of the familiar symbols which we call mandala, but which are only out-picturings of the original mandala in the mind of man, the idea of form. These symbols have been used in the formation of other manifest forms of greater complexity.

On the sheet, we see the circle, square, triangle and crescent, often called basic mandala. Each has a centre, though it may not be readily visible, and each has an infinite possibility of expressing. Looking at the drawing just below these basic mandalas, we see manifestations, such as buildings, towers, arches, pyramid, car, clock and even playing cards, which utilize the basic form of our mandalas.

109 Divine Idea will reveal its possibilities in contemplation

Until now, we have been unconsciously contemplating Divine Ideas/mandalas, in the depth of our mind and building our round-, square-, triangular-, crescent-shaped world from them. In contemplating any mandala/Divine Idea, in the depths of our mind as a mental image or using a picture as a vehicle for concentrating our mind, that is narrowing our thought and letting the mind flow to the center and beyond. It will reveal to us the infinite possibilities within the idea, and will restore us to our oneness with the reality of the universe.

110 Types of experience from contemplating mandala

Two main types of experiences are associated with contemplation of mandalas/Divine Ideas. And they are: first, harmony and balance are restored to mind and body and wholeness or healing takes place; second, something new which has not existed previously in manifestation is brought forth into the mind of man.

A third experience also occurs in which it is also possible to have that which has already existed., that is from the past come to mind. This can be fruitful if you are working on mental cleansing.

111 Healing experience from contemplating mandala

Concerning the healing aspect of the mandala, Carl Jung, pioneer in psychology, referred to the mandala as the psychic nucleus within man. He felt the whole structural development of consciousness emerge from this nucleus and, if we could find and discern the possibilities of this nucleus within us and integrate them into consciousness, this would restore the lost balance we once had. This idea of lost balance is often referred to in various religious experiences as the fall of man.

In Unity, we would say that when we discover the power center within us, The Christ, its infinite possibilities and bring them forth into consciousness, we will achieve Christ consciousness, our true state, or the wholeness that was ours before the world was.

112 Discovering something new from contemplating mandala

The idea of something new coming to the mind is demonstrated in the discoveries of Kekulé, the father of organic chemistry who found the basis of the carbon cycle and the benzene theory while contemplating in his mind the dancing atoms. The atoms were whirling in circles and, at another time, in the ancient symbol of a snake with a tail in its mouth spinning and becoming an atomic structure in his mind. Both came to him in reverie. And as they did, it clicked a part of his mind and it said, this is the answer I have been long looking for. And from it came the carbon cycle and later the benzene theory.

Thus, the possibility always exists in mandala meditation of achieving healing or acquiring new knowledge or awareness.

113 The Christian Cross

Let us look now at some more mandala, always remembering that they are Divine Ideas, and see what they reveal in just looking at them in a new way.

As you look at the paper before you, you will see symbols which are all ancient in origin. The first symbol is the cross. This is not a usually understood symbol and is often misunderstood. It is not a symbol of suffering and pain but the idea of returning to the center so that one may take a new direction and cross into new states of consciousness. This, in fact, is what Jesus did in going to the cross: entering into new states of consciousness of life eternal.

114 The Indian Swastika

The next symbol is what we call the swastika, and it is the ancient Indian sign for the four seasons. It also gives the directions of the compass: north, east, south, and west. It too is a cross giving the possibility of new direction by returning to the center and moving in the new direction. It also contains the idea of motion and change. This is a good mandala to contemplate if you are seeking change in your life and new direction.

115 The Star of David

The star of David, which you see next, is made up of two triangles and triangles represent the fire signs. This particular symbol represents man himself. The upper triangle represents spiritual man, with his apex in heaven. The lower triangle stands for physical man, with his apex in Earth. The perfect balance of the triangles is the Christ or a man fully manifesting his perfect balance and wholeness.

116 The World

The world, which you see pictured here, is a mandala/Divine Idea, that needs little explaining, since one only needs to look around to see the infinite possibilities that have manifested. But there is yet more to come for there is a progressive unfoldment of these infinite possibilities taking place now and in the future.

117 The classic Tibetan Mandala

The next symbol is the basic form of a Tibetan mandala which we find variations of in our museums. Often, we see them as beautiful drawings, intricate, but we think of them as pictures. In truth, they are not, even though they may be judged as such, but our cosmic plan. And to the disciple, they represent the various states of awareness one must pass through to the seat of the deity at the center. As he goes through the purification processes and enters the centre, this takes him beyond the now to a place outside of time and space where he beholds the creative processes of the universe, and enters into the perfect rhythm of cosmic time, a transcendent state of being. Looking at the picture, one would not think that all of this was contained within the mandala.

118 The snake with its tail in its mouth

Next is the ancient wisdom symbol of the snake with its tail in its mouth, which will reveal its ancient and timeless wisdom to the meditator as it did to the scientist Kekulé.

119 The Australian Tjuringa as maps of consciousness

The spirals that appear to the left of the snake are a form of Tjuringa stones found in Australia. Some Tjuringa stones are more complex in form, but all are used in the puberty rights of the Aborigines. They are maps of consciousness or, more accurately, they are called the map of the journeying of the ancestors of the dream time. That's a beautiful title: ‘The map of the journeying of the ancestors of the dream time.’ To them the dream time is eternity. And to find the way, one returns to the center and, in returning, the ancestors, which represent those states of mind through which all things may be known, reveal all possibilities to the initiate.

Marcus Bach, well known historian lecturing recently at Unity, spoke of a visit with these people and said that the young men go into the desert places and are alone for days in which to meditate on the map and let the tails of the ancestors unfold from within them. The experience is likened unto the revealing of the akashic records of prior incarnations of the soul. Yet, whether it is the incarnations of the soul or a man's thought from within, these are revealed as the meditator contemplates the map of the journeying and lets them reveal the infinite possibilities that are contained therein.

120 The Navajo sand painting

The figure of the Indian that we see next is a representation of a Navajo sand painting, which are used in initiation rights and in healing rights. It represents the hero, the conqueror of his own mind and all of its negative states, who controls his five senses and his world.

Sand paintings are also used in healing and the purpose of the sand painting is to return the person to his center where he becomes one with the universal Spirit and where he becomes aware of his true state and his natural state of wholeness.

Every sand painting is incomplete as it symbolizes the now. For this reason, if you look very closely, you will see somewhere on a sand painting, a Navajo run, a piece of pottery, the incomplete idea for this represents the now and says that there are possibilities yet to come.

We get this idea of the hero in many cultures and throughout all mythology. It represents the idea of the spiritual man within all men who can conquer his mind and take dominion of his world.

121 The winged globe of Unity

The winged globe is what we would call the mandala of Unity and it comes from the ancient Egyptian symbol of the solar orb. It represents the winged soul. The circle contains infinite possibilities of expression. The wings represent the freedom of the soul to express these possibilities in unlimited ways, not hampered in any way.

122 The final mandala is man

The final mandala is man. Each of us, we have a center. We are a star, a cross, a square, a circle, a spear. We are an infinite idea in the mind of God. And we have infinite possibilities of expressing. And we are expressing these infinite possibilities now. The key to releasing these possibilities is found in creative meditation.

123 Deep dream meditation

Perhaps in your times of meditation, you have become aware of imagery, similar to the ones we have been viewing, emerging in your mind. Or perhaps, this type of imagery has been occurring in your dream states. There is a meditative process called deep dream meditation that has developed as a means of tapping the dream states that emerge from our minds. The process of mandala/Divine Idea meditation and deep dream meditation is identical.

The dream is an emergence of thought from the unconscious levels of mind in symbolic pictures that give information that the dreamer needs to know from his past, present, and future as in the case of precognitive dreams. We also know that dreams are a way of reorganizing the psyche, the mind, and healing the body. Some dreams contain all three levels of information that is from the past, present, and future.

We are always dreaming. Every time that our mind drifts away from what it is directed on, we are dreaming. And we should be examining the content of our dreams so that we may utilize them in changing consciousness and bringing about healing of mind and body. In the Old Testament, God spoke to man and instructed him through his dreams and visions. And God has not stopped doing this today. Dreams are away of the Lord of our being to give us instruction about things that may be holding us in bondage and also showing the way to freedom.

124 How to deal with the imagery we are receiving

There is a method of dialoging with imagery that applies to mandalas/Divine Ideas and to dreams as well. For we need to know how to deal with the imagery that we receive, whether we are contemplating a mandala/Divine Idea or whether we are working with the dream states that emerge during our sleeping or waking hours.

125 Record the image on paper

The first thing that one needs to do is to have a paper and pen handy to recall the dreams when you wake up in the morning. For as soon as you record them after waking, the clearer they dream will be. The same thing holds true of meditation and contemplation on mandalas/Divine Ideas. Keep a pen and paper handy and recall the image our feeling that came to you during your meditative time.

126 Recall the image to mind and dialog with it

After you have noted these images and feelings on the paper, begin to recall them to mind. It is very easy to do this once you have already had the experience. And then, begin to dialogue with the imagery. No matter what it is, dialogue with it. It can be a star, it can be a cross, it can be a tree, it can be a person. But it is representative of the deeper levels of your mind as you see things and, therefore, can be considered to be you talking to you. So, you can dialogue with them.

And because you have access to infinite intelligence within yourself, you know what the symbols and the feelings mean. Because they came to you, they have a message for you. All represent phases of thought, just as the mandala/Divine Idea represents phases of your mind and the infinite possibilities of expression that are contained therein. Do not try to think of the meaning. Let the symbol, or feeling, tell you the meaning. Do not reject thoughts because you do not think they relate. Write down whatever comes and inquire into it. For example, say to the imagery: What does that mean? Who are you? What are you? Why does this feeling come? Ask appropriate questions, just as you would of another person, in this case, the inner you. If you do not get replies, don't sweat it. Relax. Let go. And the answer will emerge at the right time, perhaps much later when you are engaged in another activity.

127 Do not reject any thought that comes to mind

Do not reject or condemn any thought that comes as it has important insight for you. If it is disturbing, remember it came to your thought processes and you can unthink or rethink it in a more positive way once you have accepted it. You cannot release or change that which you cannot accept. We should note here that accept does not mean approve. It is merely the act of accepting the imagery for the purpose of making further disposition of the thought which it represents.

128 The God within is the best interpreter of your imagery

Most important, remember that the Lord of your being, God, the reality of being is with you all the way. The Lord of your being, the Spirit of God in you, guide you into that which you need for your soul unfoldment and spiritual growth. You and the Lord of your being are the best interpreters of your dreams and the best interpreters of the imagery that emerges from Divine Ideas and mandalas. These instructions have been printed on the back of your folder for future reference also.

129 Introduction to meditative experience

Our meditative experience for this lesson is twofold.

First, how to let imagery come as in deep dream meditation and how to focus the mind on a symbol, or picture, as in mandala/Divine Idea meditation. Since you will need to give yourself plenty of time to involve yourself in the process and in the imagery itself, there will be instruction for each type of meditation that you may involve yourself in at your own pace and in your own time.

130 Position relax and breathe

As in all meditation, the first thing that must be done is to find a comfortable position in your chair.

Begin to relax your body, relax your mind for the meditation. Use your breathing exercise that is breathing in and breathing out in a rhythmic flow, letting the mind become still and quiet, moving deeper and deeper into deeper levels of consciousness.

Or you can instruct the body to relax and to be at peace. And let it too relax into a nothingness so that the mind may flow freely to the centre.

131 Let thought come as it will

After you have relaxed the mind, you let thought come as it will. Let thought come. Do not try to think. Do not try to come up with thought. Let thought flow. Let pictures, images, feeling, nothingness, whatever comes to you accept it, observe it, and remember. But let it flow freely. Whatever imagery, thought, feeling or nothingness, let it flow. If nothing comes, do not try to think. Practice sitting anywhere from 20 min to 30 min or even 45 min if you desire until thought begins to flow.

132 Observe the imagery and record the content

Observe the imagery. Observe the feelings. And at the end of your meditative time, feel yourself returning gently from the meditation and record the content immediately after fixing your eyes or focusing them again.

133 Concentrate the mind on a Divine Idea or Mandala

In the case of mandala or Divine Idea meditation, we learn to relax the mind and body, to close our eyes and begin to concentrate, that is narrow the mind on a Divine Idea that is image in your mind, a thought such as life, substance, intelligence, power, love, or any of the Twelve Powers of Man as represented in the power centers. See this thought in your mind's eye, or you may want to meditate upon a mandala. You may want to meditate upon a circle, square, triangle, or any of the other pictures which are in your folder.

134 Let the image reveal its message

As you quiet the mind, the process is to let this image come before you in your mind's eye. As you meditate on it, let it reveal itself to you. Do not try to think what it means, but once again, let thought flow. Let it tell you what it has to say. Let it reveal its message to you. Observe what impressions you receive: shapes, pictures, colors, feelings. Let yourself experience the infinite possibilities of each and its part in the universal whole. And then, return from your meditation.

135 Return to the eyes and open

After you have been meditating, always follow the process of letting the mind bring its attention up behind the eyes and then let light come to the eyes without focusing. Let it come ever so gently to the eyes. Let the eyelids open slowly, not focusing. And then finally focusing very slowly on the world about you.

136 Record the experience and dialog with it

At this time, record the content of your meditative experience. The sooner you record it, the clearer it will be.

After you have recorded it then, with your pen and paper handy, recall the image or feeling and, once again, begin to dialogue with it. This is the most creative way of using that which comes to you in meditation. For as it reveals itself to you, through you, it will reveal the infinite possibilities within you and all about you.

137 Use the imagery for healing

If you have a healing need in mind or body, or in your affairs, you can use the process of imagery in meditation to direct your thought to the part of the body, the phase of mind, or the condition in your affairs that is manifesting less than the highest expression of good.

What you need to do is to relax the body, still the mind, and, while in a deep meditative situation, call the healing need to mind as an image. Image in your mind the part of the body that may be in need of healing, that phase of mind that needs healing such as anxiety thoughts or fear thoughts which may be holding you in bondage. Or, if there is a need of healing of any condition in your affairs that his manifesting less than the highest expression of good, image that situation in your mind's eye at this time. Call the healing need to your mind as an image and surround it with the pure light of Spirit. See the light of Spirit active in the condition. This light of Spirit always is within you and, as you quiet the mind, you can draw it forth and direct it as you will.

As you let this happen in you, gently let any need for cleansing reveal itself. Often, we are in need of releasing negative thoughts, fearful attitudes, resentment and lack of forgiveness of ourselves and others. These thoughts hold the mind and body in bondage and block the healing flow of Spirit. Let these thoughts gently surface and feel yourself releasing them lovingly into the hands of Spirit. You no longer need them. Let them go. Then, refocus your mind on the condition to be healed and see the pure light of Spirit flowing through your body, healing and renewing through your mind, bringing new awareness and freedom of expression into your affairs, harmonizing relationships, establishing Divine Order, and prospering you in abundant measure.

Then in the quiet, let the activity of Spirit accomplish that that you have directed in your mind. Accept your healing. Rejoice and give thanks.

If you find the condition needs further work, then in future meditative experiences go through the process again. We do not set the conditions in our mind overnight and it takes persistent meditation, often, to pay off in healing of mind and body.

138 Use the process for guidance

You may also use this same process if you are in need of guidance or insight into something that you may be working on. In meditation, after relaxing, stilling the mind, and letting it flow to your center, in this state of quiet relaxation, bring the situation or project into mind as a mental image. See whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish in your mind's eye. If there is information that you need, ask it. If there is guidance needed, ask for it. And then, surrender the image and the asking lovingly into the hands of Infinite Spirit.

Relax. Let go and let thought come to you.

Wait in the quiet until thought comes. When it comes, observe carefully, without judgment, everything, every impression that comes. Let ideas flow to you from the Divine Idea that is a source of your desire for good. It may come as a feeling, as a picture, as sound, or a sense of knowing. Remember the impression. And after returning gently from your meditative experience, record your experience. If you need more insight, dialogue with the information just as you did with dreams, mandalas, and Divine Ideas.

139 Conclusion

There are infinite uses of imagery in meditation: guidance, insight, healing, new ideas and increased awareness. Let your meditations be a creative experience for you. Use them to restore that perfect balance and wholeness that is your true state of being and bring you once again into oneness with God.