Did you know that Carl Jung, the father of analytical psychology, messed around with sketching mandalas in his notebook every morning? Yep, he took a big liking to mandalas as symbols originating in dreams or visions.
The mandala is one of the most ancient and universal symbols known to man. Mandalas are magical. They represent the universe, unity, wholeness, and connection. They’re sacred circles.
“Awareness of the mandala may have the potential of changing how we see ourselves, our planet, and perhaps even our own life purpose.”
— Bailey Cunningham
What if your life is a journey and not a destination? Then the process is everything, right?
Your fun, your joy, your love for life, is in the process, it’s in your becoming.
And wherever you presently find yourself on your journey, you can record your steps and your progress on the pages of your journal.
Not only that but your journal pages mirror back to you what’s been concealed in your unconscious mind. Which is of course exactly what Carl Jung was getting at with his journaling practice. Smile.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this post:
Part 1. Your magic wand
Part 2. Mandala journaling as a practice
Part 3. Using wonder questions for mandala journaling
Part 4. Tips for making the most of your journaling playtime
Part 5. Giving yourself permission to play
Part 1. Your magic wand
Your journaling practice is your magic wand to transforming your life. Think of your journal as the place where you can capture your thoughts and in the process let them go.Something magical happens when you give yourself permission to keep a journal. There’s a connection between your hand and your brain that allows for thoughts to bubble up from your unconscious mind. This is especially true if you include doodling and freewriting. But more about that in Part 2.
Let’s first look at all you have to gain from keeping a journal.
Journaling teaches you how to:
• Trust your intuition by moving ahead despite not having the big picture
• Stay with the discomfort of your doubts and worries
• Use your curiosity to explore your inner life
When you have a journaling practice, you get to:
• Discover who you are
• Gain clarity on what you want
• Jump in, get messy, make mistakes, and try things out
• Forgive yourself for not being perfect
• Let yourself explore and play and follow your impulses
• Appreciate yourself and express gratitude
• Listen to your feelings
• Be present and practice mindfulness
• Write down ideas as they come and incubate solutions to problems
• Take note of coincidences as they happen
Part 2. The benefits of including mandalas in your journaling practice
Journaling is a productive way to reflect on your inner life. And including mandalas in your journaling practice nourishes and enhances your creativity.Here’s a quick summary of the benefits of including mandalas in your journaling practice:
• Mandala journaling invites reflection
Mandala journaling gives you the time and space to notice your thoughts. And the doodling and coloring of your mandalas is a non-verbal means of emotional release. In other words, you get to express your thoughts and feelings on your journal pages via words and also via doodling and coloring.
• Mandala journaling fosters creative play
The repetitive and rhythmic motion of drawing mandalas is centering. You slow down and connect with the present moment. And because you’re deeply immersed in play, this rhythmic motion of doodling and coloring triggers flow.
• Mandala journaling favors using questions as prompts
An easy and fun way to combine mandalas with journaling is by using writing prompts. And prompts are great for sparking ideas.
My favorite prompts are wonder questions. Making mandalas centers you and asking wonder questions frees your imagination. That’s a powerful combination.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
- George Bernard Shaw
Before we move on to how to use wonder questions in Part 3, let’s spend a minute on the magic of doodling and freewriting.
Both doodling and freewriting allow you to immerse yourself in creative play. The magical part is that the more you play, the more energized you feel to try new things. Yay!
Okay, so doodling is just a fun way of saying free drawing.
Doodling is when you draw without a plan. This means your mind is free to process information and generate new ideas. Best of all, you don’t need to be able to draw well to doodle.
Well, freewriting is not all that different.
Namely, you don’t need to be able to write well to freewrite.
Freewriting is when you write your thoughts quickly and continuously, without worrying about form, style, or even grammar. Yep, freewriting is meant to be sloppy, disjointed, and full of errors. It’s all about keeping your hand moving.
When you make a mistake, keep going. Don’t worry about what the next sentence will be. Just keep going no matter what. Embrace the flow.
Typically, you set aside about 15 minutes and write without stopping. If you have a topic already, you can start with the most basic thoughts on that. If not, write about whatever comes to mind.
Part 3. How to use wonder questions for mandala journaling
When we’re little we’re full of curiosity and asking questions comes naturally. But as adults, it gets harder to express our curiosity. And our creativity actually declines when we stop asking questions. Ouch.
So why not add wonder questions to your journaling practice?
Let them revive your natural curiosity. It’s not about finding answers. It’s about living the questions.
“The essence of true creativity is genuine wonder. Wonder is when your mind is roaming freely, unshackled from criticism, with total permission to explore as it pleases.”
- Gay Hendricks
The whole idea behind using wonder questions as writing prompts is that they help you set aside your doubts and fears.
Wonder questions, aka what-if questions, spark your imagination. They automagically get you thinking about what’s possible. And they have no right answers. Pretty awesome, right?
The words “what if” are the most magical words we can use. They are the words that free our imagination.
Here’s a simple 4-step process for using mandalas and wonder questions as part of your journaling practice.
Step 1. Grab your journal, drawing tools, and whatever you want to color with. Find a quiet place to settle in.
Step 2. Turn to a new page in your journal. Write a wonder question at the top. Only write the question.
Check out the list of wonder questions below.
Here’s the deal:
You're being intentional. You’re consciously posing a question to yourself to let the answer bubble up from your unconscious mind while you doodle and color your mandala.
Step 3. Doodle your freehand mandala in the space below the question.
• Experiment with different tools like markers or colored pencils
• Play with different shapes, lines, and colors.
Choose the tools and colors that resonate with you the most. Allow yourself to let go of perfectionism and embrace the process of creative play.
Allow for about 15 minutes to make your mandala.
Step 4. Go back and read your wonder question. Start writing freely underneath your mandala (or on the next page).
Allow for about 15 minutes to answer the question or simply freewrite.
WONDER QUESTIONS:
• What if f I had 3 magic wishes that could come true?
What would they be?
• What if there were no tomorrow?
What would I do today?
• What if I could create something incredibly beautiful for the world? What would I make?
• What if I could let go of all the stuff weighing me down?
Who would I be?
• What if I had all the time and money to learn new skills?
What do I most passionately want to learn?
• What if I could forget my troubles?
How would I show up?
• What if I knew exactly what to do?
What's the right next step for me?
• What if I wasn’t afraid of looking stupid?
Who would I be?
• What if I knew I could NOT fail?
What is calling me?
• What if I had all the wisdom to move ahead confidently?
What am I ready to start experiencing?
• What if I had all the love and support I needed?
Who would I be?
• What if I had all the energy and vitality I needed?
What would I do to enjoy my life more?
Part 4. Tips for making the most of your journaling playtime
Give yourself a dedicated spot in your home to work on your projects undisturbed. You want this time to be free of distractions. So keep your phone on airplane mode or leave it in another room.• Make it a practice. The regularity of showing up for yourself creates its own momentum that helps you keep going. And remember it’s not about finishing anything. It’s only about the habit of nurturing your creativity. Set aside a specific time each day or week to journal.
• Make it easy. Keep your journal and art supplies in a basket or drawer close at hand. Take note, the right space for you may be a quiet room in your home, a cozy coffee shop, or a peaceful park bench. So you may want to keep all your supplies in a kit that sits by the front door always at the ready.
• Make it fancy. Create your space as luxurious as possible so that you look forward to spending time there. Think music, flowers, fragrances, noise-cancellation headphones, snacks, tea, smoothies, etc. And make your space inspiring, too. Think photos, art, objects, mementos, etc.
• Keep it short. It doesn’t need to be a big chunk of time. Treat it like a 15-minute break.
• Keep it fun. Journals come in all kinds of sizes and types. The pages can be blank, lined, or bullet-journal-style. The paper can be thin or thick. Choose a type that lends itself to how you’ll use it the most. For example, if you plan on journaling on the go, get yourself a small journal that’s easy to carry. And experiment with different tools like markers, highlighters, or colored pencils.
• Keep it light. Allow yourself to let go of perfectionism and embrace the process of creative play. You can even incorporate mindfulness techniques into your coloring sessions. Try focusing on your breathing, being present, and letting go of any stresses or worries.
Part 5. Giving yourself permission to play
Creative play is a means to express yourself for the sheer pleasure of being alive.
Allow yourself to explore and experiment without any predetermined expectations. Remember you’ve got nothing to prove.
And here comes the best part:
Your creative play begins to spill over into all parts of your life. It’s like the more you play, the more energized you feel to try new things.
• Play is productive. Play allows your mind to wander freely and make connections. By stepping away to play, you’re open to unexpected insights and solutions to problems you may have been stuck on.
• Play is valuable. Your life is a collection of experiences and memories. And you create some of your most valued memories by spending your free time being frivolous. As in, giving your full attention to a loved one in a state of play.
Everything you want begins with giving yourself permission to play.
Tip 1: Try stuff out
Be open and willing to try a variety of things before narrowing them down. What sparks your interest initially might be replaced by something else. Let yourself have fun exploring.
Tip 2: Be bad
If you’re learning something totally new, be willing to be horrible. Not knowing how to do things is part of the process. Let yourself be bad in the beginning and enjoy seeing yourself improve.
Tip 3: Invest in yourself
Be willing to invest your time and resources. Remember you’re boosting your optimism, energy, and enthusiasm. In other words, you’re investing in yourself and increasing your vitality.
Conclusion.
Your journaling practice is your magic wand to transforming your life. Journaling is a productive way to reflect on your inner life. And including mandalas nourishes and enhances your creativity.
So allow yourself to explore your thoughts and feelings with writing prompts like wonder questions. Let yourself experiment with doodling and coloring mandalas. And try freewriting. But above let yourself play.
Wanna see why coloring mandalas is the perfect way to give yourself a daily dose of joy, play, and ease? Check out my blog post about adult coloring.
Click here to go to Six Ways Coloring Mandalas Helps You Get Your Sparkle Back.
If you’re looking for ways to have fun with your creative side, I’d love to help you.
Click here to learn more about my online workshops on the course offerings page.