Mandala - path of integration

Exploring the lived experiences of individuals drawing mandalas and their ability to induce an altered state of consciousness

Abstract

Personal mandalas are being increasingly used in therapeutic and clinical settings to enhance psychological well-being, integrate trauma, reduce negative mood states, and increase self-knowledge. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of five individuals creating three personal mandalas with the underlying goal to understand if they entered an altered state of consciousness. Data analysis revealed the following nine common themes amongst participants: time perception change, increase in positive feeling/decrease in negative feeling, self-agency/self-love, intuition and inner communication, mandala as meditation, transcendental quality, expression, connection, new insights/perspectives. Results indicated that all five participants experienced creating mandalas as a meditation, and four of five participants showed markers of an altered state of consciousness. Individuals may find mandalas a valuable, sustainable practice to mitigate discontented states and mental dis-ease.