Mandala in the sliver forest by stephanie laundau
You are made from 25 women who walked a path to find themselves together in the forest. Each woman wise and wonderful, warm and wicked with wonder in their hearts and in their souls, winding their way to this moment, from all different points on this planet, the magic of convergence, in time and space.
And yet this moment will transition, will move into another moment, when the wind carries each woman away into an unknown wilderness of their heart. That same wind will carry the beauty that was laid down on the earth, impermanent yet permanently etched into memory.
When will each of these women remember this moment? Where will they be? What will they be doing when the memory of beauty and unity resurfaces and holds them in awe?
I will remember this moment every time I walk this path.
The forest will remind me, she will call to me, the earth will vibrate with me, she will whisper sweetness and she will tap me on the shoulder and I will give her a nod as a smile sounds her way across the tree tops.
The forest knows where I am, the forest knows who I am, the forest knows, and I receive her blessings.
(c) Stephanie Laundau
Alone, or as a group, create a mandala out of fallen leaves and branches that litter the forest floor, or flowers and grasses in a meadow, or shells and stones on the beach. No matter. As you create your mandala consider what it is made from: love, curiosity, a desire to make beauty, discarded beliefs, new seeds. Whatever it be, when you have completed it, sit beside it quietly. Bless it, witness it. Then begin writing… This mandala is made of…. And let the words come.
How has the earth been tapping you on the shoulder of late? What is she trying to draw you attention to? Journal your reflections.
Write a poem about transition and impermanence, how one moment moves onto the next. How a mandala is there, and then gone. A group dissolves. The wind disperses the petals and seeds.
