THE MANDALA OF YOUR LIFE
Dr. Keith Willcock; PhD
Author Bio
I am a Spiritual Teacher with a background in Psychology, Yoga and Occidental Shamanism. Over the last 45 years I have developed a unique system of body-mind healing which has proven very effective in helping students find their true life path and connect with their Inner Wisdom.
My early studies were in the area of traditional Psychology but I soon found out that this discipline held no answers to my questions concerning the Soul. Frustrated, I turned to traditional Religion but found that it too failed to answer my questions.
In the 1980’s I experimented with LSD and other mind altering drugs and found that they opened certain doors in the mind which led to higher consciousness. However these states could not be maintained without the drug stimulus. I also studied hypnosis and found that it offered a path into the deeper levels of the mind and could be useful in reinforcing spiritual insights
I went to India in those years as did so many other spiritual seekers and there I found the answers I was looking for. I studied Yoga and Meditation and incorporated these practices into my work when I returned to Canada. Together with some associates I was part of an alternative community that treated persons suffering from schizophrenia.I subsequently set up a private practice in Montreal, Canada and continued to study and develop new approaches for healing the mind until I moved to Central America 20 years ago.
I was first introduced to Mandala work by Joseph Campbell. His work inspired me to use the Mandala as a medium for accessing deeper state of consciousness. I found that the revelations held within the Mandala were limitless and could be beneficial to anyone who wished to deepen their spiritual life and practice.
My work like me is a work in progress. I conduct healing workshops throughout Central America and the Eastern United states and take students on Spiritual Journeys to sacred sites around the world.
I presently live in Nicaragua where I do private consultations, write and do wood sculptures.
Description
This book traces the use of the sacred mandala in healing from earliest times to the present day and it invites the reader to see his/her life as a mandala and actively participate in its creation. Stories from the lives of students illustrate the book and invite the readers to address the question of who or what is at the center of their life mandala.
How can this understanding help us when we are faced with difficult situations like losses and separations?How can it help us to move forward in our lives and transform negative energies that prevent us from becoming all of who we really are? How can we find a way out of negative childhood conditioning? How can we overcome one of the most common problems of modern life, depression? How can we understand schizophrenia? How can we unlock our creative potential? Perhaps most important, how can we understand death as a bold step into our future. rather than as a sad end to something we are terribly attached to. These and some of the themes that are addressed in the book.
For those readers who would like a hands on approach to mandala healing there is a clear step by step approach to preparing their own mandala and interpreting it rationally and intuitively. Illustrations of mandalas help the reader to understand the richness of teaching that the mandala holds for them as they unfold their own. Exercises and meditations provide practical follow up for readers who want to deepen the roots of their spiritual practice.
In the final chapter readers are given a meditation that can help them overcome mental obstacles and rest in the clear open sky of mind that is available to us. Whether the reader chooses to be an active participant or simply enjoys the stories and teachings that flow from the mandalas they will certainly find something that speaks to their life situation in this book.
Book excerpt
As we move into a deeper understanding of our true nature we will become less and less attached to our “I ness” or Ego, the face we wear in the outside world. We will be less concerned about what people think of us. We will pay less homage to the gods of society’s expectations. the pressures of the outer world around us. The world that works so hard to tell us who we are, how we should think and act, what we should wear, listen to and believe in, will become less important to us. While the latest I phone may still have some allure we will see its practical use as more important than the status that is attached to it.
We may become less obsessed with the latest clothing styles and how we look in them. We may be less interested in the gossip of the stars and more concerned about how our internal world is doing. Perhaps we will feel more need for reflective quiet time. We may want to be in places and spend time with people who relate to our new interests rather than those who don’t. The changes may be subtle at first but they will happen.
These shifts in attention and interest signify a profound change in the definition of who we are. We could say that we are finding an inner peace and a sense of our basic goodness. Perhaps we will even become aware of a Divine energy within us.
Always look for clear open sky, like the sky in the desert or the view from a mountain or an ocean horizon. Your breath will know the way. When you find it stay in it and experience the openness and spaciousness that is yours. It is what you have always been searching for.
As you sit in this space and feel the clarity of mind that it brings, you will find a confidence and security there. This will not let you down. It is unlimited in what it offers you. It is your true state of being. Nobody can take it from you.because it is not dependent on past or present events.
As you develop this spacious state of clear light you will become aware that it contains everything that you need for your journey. No matter what problem you face the solution, the antidote if you like, lies within you.
What is the antidote? Well it comes in the form of a quality you need to overcome the obstacle. If you are facing a situation that causes you to be afraid then perhaps you need to develop courage. If you are short tempered and angry then maybe you need more patience. If you are lazy a dose of determination might be what you need.
There are four principal qualities that are basic to our true nature. These are Love, Compassion, Harmony, and Joy but there are literally thousands of fine qualities waiting around to be noticed and cultivated by us; like patience, perseverance, strength, confidence, and gentleness, to name a few.
Sit confidently in the light of that clear and open sky. Focus your attention on the obstacle that is currently in your life. Be aware that you also hold within you the antidote, the quality you need to overcome that obstacle. Breathe deeply and as you do so focus on that quality and make a decision to manifest it in your life. Ask your Higher self how you can put it into practice right now in a very specific way. Once you know what it is you need to do, DO IT. Don’t hesitate. just do it. Don’t miss the opportunity that this moment holds for you.
Author Website
http://www.keithwillcock.com