Tracking Yes

“Flow” - The Mandala Project: #55

Flow is what you feel when you’re holding a stable, steady centre while the currents of the universe are swirling around you with infinite possibilities of disruption.

“Fracturing” - The Mandala Project: #54

In the fragments of what we wish was unbreakable, we might begin to see the ways that its very solidness needs to fracture to support us in becoming the next thing we’re meant to be.

“Dog Magic” - The Mandala Project: #106

When the door’s open, there’s just no stopping magic from inviting itself on in.

“Gathering” - The Mandala Project: #53

We are born of something bigger and more ancient than whatever form we’re taking in this specific moment. We are fluid, unique expressions engaged in a conversation with the creative power of life rearranging itself.

“Connected” - The Mandala Project: #52

There is a deep relationship and conversation between all things. Essential information is being passed through us and between us, love weaving its way along never-ending currents of aliveness.

“Co-Conspirator” - The Mandala Project: #51

More than any that had come before, this mandala revealed the magic that is activated when we show up for the call.

"Charmed" - The Mandala Project: #50

The flirtation of the natural world is ever-present, always enticing us to fall under its spell.

"Nesting" - The Mandala Project: #49

Nesting is an intimate act of self-care, a tangible manifestation of our deep-seated need for safety, comfort and a place in this vast world we can call our own.

"Threshold" - The Mandala Project: #48

Sacred thresholds are powerful gateways that connect the ordinary to the extraordinary.

"Continuum" - The Mandala Project: #47

Life—home in the truest sense of the word—is not a stationary place. It is infinitely rearranging itself in relationship with what’s come before, and what is emerging now.

"Enchantment" - The Mandala Project: #46

To enter into enchantment is to allow the spell of mystery to ignite your imagination and to follow the allure of its mesmerizing call.

"Shapeshifter" - The Mandala Project: #45

It’s fascinating what magic emerges when we trust that we inhabit a world where everything is connected, where change and transformation are the only constants, and where the adventure is to keep tuning in to the rhythm and movement of mystery.

"The Magician" - The Mandala Project: #44

You discover treasure when you open to perceive the glimmers of magic all around you, but when you’re willing to deeply enliven it with the wonder of your imagination then its warmth truly finds home in your being.

"Storm Watch" - The Mandala Project: #43

Storms are big, sometimes epically so. But while they seem to disrupt our rhythm and flow, that the very nature of them is vibrant aliveness helps instill trust that the force of them is a necessary, essential part of our lives.

"Grasshopper Divination”

When you hold that which is ‘dead’ with the full presence of your aliveness it lives on, collaborating and co-creating with the Cosmos in new and surprising ways.

"Oracle" - The Mandala Project: #42

Divine communication is always in the space and when we open to perceive it, we are gifted with the wisdom of shimmering things.

"Earth Elder" - The Mandala Project: #41

Grief is becoming intimate with the immovable truth that we’re not meant to hold on to or possess that which we love.

"Descent Into Grief" - The Mandala Project: #97

What if, instead of seeking to transcend pain, we choose to dive deeper, to explore the bigger truths that live beneath the surface of it?

"Becoming" - The Mandala Project: #40

Instead of the personality self you know so well, what’s possible when you imagine you’re in a process of becoming something new all the time?

The Mandala Project: #39

When you’re not on the lookout for joy, life can feel like one hard little thing after another—but when you orient to wonder, you can always find evidence of good cheer working its charm in the world.

The Mandala Project: #38

What serious magic is possible when you summon your unique super power and direct it into the world?

The Mandala Project: #37

Offering our unique ‘something’ to the world in the way that only we can might very well be our best and most essential contribution to the tending of the Universe.

The Mandala Project: #36

What if death cares how you feel about it?

The Mandala Project: #35

In the burning down of old ideas and identities, this Mandala reminds me that we are held and guided by beings who swim alongside us in times of transition, showing us how to move with ease through the currents of liminal space.

The Mandala Project: #34

Despite our best efforts to domesticate our lives and ourselves, our true nature is not meant to be confined or tamed.

The Mandala Project: #33

Yes to meeting fear head on. Yes to allies, to courage, to trust. And yes to the Power of Love.

The Mandala Project: #32

Each element that came together for this Mandala brought its own unique contribution, all offering a bow of recognition and respect for the shimmering mystery that is Raven.

The Mandala Project: #31

This Mandala revealed that we’re co-creating with a force that’s deeply engaged and powerfully collaborative. The invitation is to keep pulling on the thread and following where it's leading.

The Mandala Project: #30

As we create with the things that come into our lives, what if the magic that’s possible depends on whether our relationship is transactional or sacred?

The Mandala Project: #29

Life continually invites you to return to centre, and to be fluid and playful as it keeps shifting and evolving under your feet.

The Mandala Project: #28

The creative act of ‘shaping attention’ connects the story teller and the audience, it opens the door of imagination, inviting you to consider a possibility, and bring a little of your own magic to it.

The Mandala Project: #27

There’s a particular kind of joy that comes from having your heart captured by steadfast allies, enthusiastically inviting you join them for adventure.

The Mandala Project: #26

What if the world is filled with treasure, strategically planted to spark curiosity and delight?

The Mandala Project: #25

What if what captures your attention is an exuberant clue, a stepping stone, leading you in a new direction or inviting in another possibility?

The Mandala Project: #24

Consider your given name, bestowed upon you by others. You are a beautiful volume of stories, each one unique in the evolving spiral of your life. What name would you give yourself? What name captures your bluish hues, your sharp edges, your pure heart?

The Mandala Project: #23

*Unexpected side effect: The more engaged I’m becoming with the stories the natural world is telling, the less interested I am in the ones I’m manufacturing between my ears.

“Oasis” - The Mandala Project: #22

There’s a sense of order-held-by-wildness that resonates in this one, and intrigue at the edges where these energies meet.

“True Blue” - The Mandala Project: #21

This is the first time someone spotted one in the wild and connected the dots. Mission gaining momentum…

“Playful Spirits” - The Mandala Project: #20

Heart-shaped rocks and wood creatures make regular appearances on visits to the forest, and both showed up for today’s tale of mischief.

“Nestled” - The Mandala Project: #19

One of the most surprising and consistent teachings of these mandalas is how, when gathered with intention, brought together with care and presented with the opportunity, seemingly separate “things” come into effortless relationship with each other.

“Heart Rave” - The Mandala Project: #18

This mandala was born from a heart-filled wander through a magical river bed.

“Treasure Hunting” - The Mandala Project: #17

Once the raw materials are there, it’s a process of moving things around until magic reveals itself, but it’s intuition—not mind—that knows when the magic has emerged.

“Simple Magic” - The Mandala Project: #16

Every now and then, what’s already there is enough—no creative gymnastics required.

Been diving into some great talks lately on the physics of the creative field—I’m intrigued by the nature of potential becoming actuated, then dissolving back into potential and becoming actuated again; as a unique and new expression. This branch of science and philosophy lines right up with what happened in this chapter of the Mandala Project.

A late day stroll to the top of the street, some random bits of wood and showing up to tinker in the imaginal field—and next thing ya know…Abracadabra-Shazam: “The Rabbit Leapt Over the Wolf-Owl”.

In the end, it was obvious this one wanted to be circular. As often happens, it took several non-circular variations to arrive at the obvious.

Never sure what’s gonna call on a particular stroll through the ‘hood, I think that’s my favourite part. Today, a little drama unfolded with dead things…

Creativity emerges at the intersection of ‘what is’ and ‘what’s possible’, and we’re at our most creative when we’re willing to surrender our commitment to knowing anything for certain about either.

This is a process of bringing unlikely things together, and letting them reveal the relationship that exists between them.

It’s totally making shit up as you go—but also guided by something that has no predetermined structure. Kind of like constructing a puzzle with no picture on the box to point the way, and trusting it’ll ultimately work out.

One of the challenges with creativity is finding the sweet spot between ‘this is pretty damn good’ and chasing down perfect. I often go well past the line before I discover where it is.

“Beauty Calls” - The Mandala Project: #9

Bill Plotkin believes there is a deep (and mostly unmet) longing in all of us for a romance between our ego and our soul, and that cultivating that relationship is how we connect with and embody our purpose in life.

Engaging with the natural world through this practice of making mandalas feels like a facet of that love affair emerging.

It’s a dance between devotion and obsession. Sometimes I’m a creator, creating art—and others I’m more like an addict chasing down a fix.

Still getting clear where exactly that line is.

This morning was one of the most magical moments of the project, and one of the most charming moments of my life. And it almost didn’t happen.

Part of the wonder of mandala-making is that you never know what you’ll be inspired to pick up as you’re walking.

When I open my heart to perceive what wants to capture my attention, to hear what’s calling, I get that I am not the sole engineer and architect of these glimmers of mystery, I’m in a collaborative dialogue with the creative field.

Some of the mandalas I’ve made are simply creative visual explorations without much deep pondering, and others are more thought provoking and soul stirring. This morning evoked an inquiry I’m still working with 50+ mandalas later.

Something keeps calling the next Mandala into being; a mysterious, emergent something that’s revealing itself in the making and sharing of them. It feels like learning a secret code to decipher messages from the natural world.

It’s up to you to bring your dinosaur. It’s up to life to get it where it needs to be.

Listen in for tips on becoming a master in the art and practice of tuning in to your curiosity, trusting your inner compass and staying connected to possibility when things go sideways. When you open to the adventure that your life is - struggle becomes a thing of the past.

If you’re going back and forth with a decision, your brain is likely on overdrive and starting to smoke. You need to move some of that powerful life force down into your body.

We get to decide what matters most: creating with life as it becomes the next thing, or clinging to the safety of the known.

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not here.

Turns out what’s ‘real’ vs. ‘what’s made up by the mind’ isn't a one-or-the-other thing. They’re inseparable and highly interactive. That changes everything.

It’s one thing to know you’re caught in the energy of struggle, and a whole other deal to stop bucking against it.

We’re more in charge of our state than we believe, but first we have to understand why our sense of well-being is constantly shifting and changing.

Magic isn’t bound by the physical world, and it won’t be limited to one plane. It just keeps inviting us to open to wider perceptions and greater possibilities.

Downgrading magic for certainty is a crappy strategy.

Receiving isn’t getting what you want, or taking what’s being given. It's aligning and partnering with what’s here.

One of the most challenging things to settle with is the idea that the things we love will end.

How can you be both—curious and unattached to the answer?

We scare ourselves by choosing to experience time as a finite commodity. What if it’s not?