Freeform Mandala
 “The tibetan word for mandala is kyilkhor. Kyil means ‘center’, khor means ‘fringe’, ‘gestalt’, ‘area around’. …Things exist interdependently, and that interdependent existence of things happens in the fashion of orderly chaos.”
–Chogyam Trungpa
 Ka-pow! Have you ever been hit by a moment of mental clarity so overwhelming, so powerful, it felt physical? It happened to me recently. I was brainstorming with Amy, a valued genius member of my website team*, about developing a give-away e-book. We kicked around the idea of pulling together a themed grouping of my blog posts that would be helpful for midlife and menopausal women. Helpful is good, but a jump-in-the-mud-puddle-while-wearing-your-Sunday-best type fun would be even better.
Somehow I kept coming back to what inspires me…midlife creativity. So many women tell me they admire those who can create art, but they don’t have a single creative cell in their bodies. These same women then go on to tell me they “only knit,†or “only sing,†or “only write poetry.†ARGH!!!!!!!!
As I was pondering all of this I tripped over a stack of books next to our bed. It’s a big stack and perpetually unruly because I let it accumulate into something akin to a Buick.  If you are willing to ignore my poor housekeeping skills (orderly chaos!) I invite you to hear what fell off the stack and opened at my feet…
My mandala coloring book.
Ooooooooo. Interesting. Was this a sign from the Universe? Â Most certainly. I keep the book and a box of colored pencils near our bed for nights when I struggle to find sleep.
Mindlessly filling the spaces—boxes, circles, wiggly little shapes that defy description—with soft colors helps me let go of worry, fear, and endless lists of things left undone. I relax. I smile. I feel blissful. (I also accidently drop a pencil on my sleeping husband from time to time, but it’s totally an accident. Mwa ha ha.)
And then it hit me. Kapow! What if my e-book was a coloring book? What if it had a series of inspirational quotes about finding and exploring creativity in midlife? What if I actually cleaned our bedroom? (That seemed way too ambitious, so I let that one go.)
I gathered quotes I love and mingled them with the benefits of creativity in midlife. Then I handed off the coloring book images to Amazing Amy. Did I mention she’s a genius? I adore what she came up with, and hope you will too.
If you’d like to download the free coloring book sign up on my website. Then let me know what you like best about coloring your way into a creative space. I’d also like to know what kind of dreams you have if you choose to color before going to sleep. Carl Jung believed mandalas were a path to our subconscious. Now that’s an interesting place to visit day or night!
*My website team is Campfire Inbound Marketing. http://www.campfiremn.com
They are miracle workers for the technology challenged.
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