Mandala Colouring Books by Nancy Broerse

Nancy Broerse has been kind enough to gift me with a number of her amazing mandala’s which I joyously sit and colour along side my daughter.  We sit in silence and we go into our own space and then show each other what we created once we finish.  It is a calming, healing and rejuvenating  practice that I have grown to cherish.  After the very first mandala I coloured I asked Nancy if she would mind answering a few questions about Mandala’s  for ITN readers.  Thank you Nancy for taking the time to reply to my questions and for the beautiful mandala’s that you create, they are simply stunning.

 

What is a MANDALA?

Mandala

 

 

Mandalas are circular, usually symmetrical designs that create a center of focus. They can be made of paper, mosaic, sand, clay or just about any medium. Many mandalas occur naturally – such as flowers, the sun, sliced vegetables, snowflakes & pools of water.

In the East, mandalas depict philosophical & spiritual insight & are used as a tool of meditation. They were used by ancient Buddhists and Tibetans to facilitate meditation.

In the West, the benefits of mandalas were first recognized by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. He saw them as a symbol of “the inner process by which individuals grow toward fulfilling their potential for wholeness & resolving conflicts.” Through his own work, Jung recognized them as an extension of the person creating them.

This is why circles have come to represent wholeness or completion, & are a fundamental structure of our identity.”

Where did your idea for creating Mandala Coloring Books come from?

I was doing illustrations for some children’s books and learned that mandalas were a fun activity for kids to colour. Colouring mandalas help children to calm and to focus. That way, they are able then to listen carefully to the stories read to them as they colour.

Feir Johnson of Innisfree Hypnosis, a former award-winning teacher of 33 years, had asked me to create special mandalas for her children’s hypnosis programs that she had written. It was great fun to illustrate her wonderful stories and to know that my drawings would be part of helping children with issues such as ADD, ADHA, eating problems, self-esteem, fears and other challenges.

These books are accompanied by amazing CD’s that the child listens to while colouring the drawings and the mandalas that I create. The CD tells a story that is fully embedded with positive metaphors. The child’s subconscious hears and recognizes these encouraging affirmations and registers them in the child’s way of thinking while reinforcing self-esteem, positive attitude, healthy emotions, courage to try new things, expanding limits and much more.

To learn more about these wonderful Positive Thinking Books for Children, visit www.innisfreehypnosis.com

Being a “detail” person, I found myself struggling to keep the mandala designs for these books basic enough for children, and so I started playing with more mandalas, creating far more complexity for my own challenge & enjoyment. Then I started colouring them and I was hooked.

Intrigued, I researched and studied the history, the meanings and the documented effects of mandalas and began a series of my own original designs… both black and white line designs for colouring and then the coloured ones, having as many as sixty-five layers and more. The more I created, the more I felt the urge to make even more varieties…each gave me such a strong sense of peace, insight and focus. The resulting colours and designs entranced me and I recognized that it was the PROCESS of the creation that was so addictive…the end result was rather inconsequential. This is a form of meditation and one of the easiest ways to do it.

Mandala Nature Colouring Book

 

 

These Mandala Colouring Books can be used in several ways:

1. focus on the inspirational quote and on the mandala

2. meditating on the quotation and follow the lines of the

mandala with your fingertips

3. colour the mandala after focusing on the quote to absorb it’s truth.

 

 

 

 

 

What happens to the person coloring the mandala?

You see, it is during the PROCESS of colouring the mandalas, that studies prove there is a definite documented lowering of blood pressure, and a reduction of breathing and heart rate.

Consider STRESS = raised blood pressure, faster heart rate and faster breathing rate. And so you can recognize, without a doubt, that the results of working a mandala will DE-STRESS you. Imagine the consequences! When working a Mandala, you relax and you become very focused and calmed. In fact, you are affected physically, emotionally and spiritually!

In each book, I also offer information about “Linear Thinking and Journalling” and include several blank pages specifically for quick notes as you may receive inspirations, past-forgotten memories, spiritual messages and insightful thoughts while you work the Mandala process.

What coloring books do you sell?

I offer a number of themes: LOVE, FRIENDSHIP, NATURE, FAITH or WISDOM. There are 15 other themes to be released this year. Each book has original art mandalas that are not duplicated in the other theme books. Every mandala is accompanied by an inspirational quote. I meditate on each quote before creating a new mandala. I focus my energy into the quote, blending with the wisdom and transfer it to the mandala during it’s creation. This makes the mandala’s work even more powerful as it is formed with intent and bonded to the inspiring words.

Each book also gives information of the history & meaning of Mandalas and the instructions of how to use them.

* These books come in

PRINTED form $25.00 each plus shipping & handling

or in CD form $15.00 plus shipping& handling

 

I also make CUSTOM Mandala Books. These are requested both by enlightened individuals and also by various practitioners such as Psychotherapists for their clients. I meditate on the specific issue requested, then begin my work…collecting appropriate inspirational quotes, meditating with intent and transferring energy into creating an appropriate Mandala for each one. The result is a book collection of suitable Mandala pages (Mandala and quote) to focus on as one works through their issue.

* CUSTOM MANDALA BOOK:

PRINTED form $35.00 each plus shipping & handling

or in CD form $20.00 plus shipping& handling

 

“A BOOK OF CHOICES”

This Mandala Colouring Book was designed specifically for ALL Seniors, especially those in dementia or alzheimers. It was inspired by my 91 year old mother. Mom was struggling with living in the past, regrets, and reluctance to eat or drink enough to sustain her body. I first created “The Book Of Choices” to encourage my Mother to eat and to look at each day as a gift to be enjoyed and appreciated. I put a lovely photo of Mom on the front page and added a personal dedication to her from me (even including a small photo of me to remind her) and I printed a special poem on the back cover to encourage her to remember how fortunate she was to have each special day in her long life. After Mom had passed away, I was leafing through her partially-coloured-in Mandala Book and realized that so many people could use this kind of encouragement and therapy.

The mantras on each page are particularly created to assist seniors to focus on the common issues that they often struggle with: living in the past, sad memories, eating issues, feeling loss of purpose, memory, loss of focus, feeling lost or abandoned. The mantras can develop a new, more positive perspective in setting their thoughts and interactions. They encourage looking forward with happiness and positive attitude and have been shown to help them“live in the moment”.

Colouring is a fun activity for all ages that avoids creating pressure, frustration or high expectations. Colours are chosen only

by personal preference and one is drawn into the joy of creation, reminiscent of the care-free play of long-ago days of childhood.

The Mandalas are less complex and the lines are thicker and kinder to older eyes. I can even use a photo of the person for whom the book is created..a dedication can also be added. On the back page, I also include a special poem, photo or drawing, a favourite of the recipient to make this Mandala Book a very special and PERSONAL gift.

* “A BOOK OF CHOICES” MANDALA BOOK:

PRINTED form $45.00 each plus shipping & handling

or in CD form $25.00 plus shipping& handling

Original Art Mandala Colouring Books can be purchased through my website .

http://www.metaphysicalconsulting.ca

 

* All original mandala art © Copyright Nancy Broerse 2009

All rights reserved H.I.T.T. Resources nancy@infodiva.ca