PD-US-unpublished

Mandala Painting🎨

Mandala painting popularized by Carl Jung in Western psychology, is increasingly used as a teaching tool in various educational settings. According to Babouchkina and Robbins’ study (2015), adults who drew and colored a blank circle (mandala) freely showed greater emotional improvement than the square groups. These researches indicate that the circular structure of the mandala functions as an ‘active ingredient’ in enhancing mood.

Based on Singh, Surekha and Jaishree’s experiment (2023), mandala coloring and drawing have been found to be beneficial for children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) meanwhile, it can easily be done at home. 

• Structured mandalas are mandala drawings where color is applied within a given template.

Structured Mandala Examples Created by Di Zou Using ChatGPT

• Non-structured mandalas requires you to draw it according to your own preferences or any random patterns that come to mind.

Non-structured Mandalas Examples Created by Di Zou Using ChatGPT

• Digital mandalas do not need physical pens and paper. You can be painted on a tablet or computer.

Kim, Hyungsook, and Yoonyoung Choi (2023) proposed that mandalas could be digitally transformed to address the national mental health challenges. 

Digital Mandalas Examples Created by Di Zou Using ChatGPT

In this course, we mainly study non-structured mandalas
But you can try any form you like🤩

🙇 How to Create Two-Person Mandala Painting 🧐

Materials Preparation 🧰

Tools and Materials  ✍️

• A Piece of Paper 📝 (Any color is fine )

• Crayons 🖍️ (Also can be marker pens, watercolor pencils and so on)

• Environment ☀️🍃: A relaxing environment for the creation (optional)

• Music 🎵: A soothing, relaxing piece of pure music (optional)

Tools and Materials Created by Di Zou

You can find some meditation music here: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/gPW1BoLwbV/

🌟🧑‍🎨Let’s Start to Paint 🎨🌟

🖌️ With Your Partner   

👇 👇 👇

👭The Steps for Two-Person Collaboration 👬

STEP 1: Choose an environment where you can relax (recommended but not mandatory) ☕️ 🦮 🏞️

Examples of the Environment Created by Di Zou

STEP 2: Play some light music or meditation music and you can wear headphones if you are inconvenient (optional) 🎶 🎹

meditation music v1 by kris klavenes.mp3 CC BY 4.0

Meditation Music v2 by Kris Klavenes.mp3 CC BY 4.0

Relaxation Music by ZHRØ.mp3 CC BY 4.0

STEP 3: Draw a circle in the center of the paper as a boundary or cut out a circular piece of paper.✍️ ⭕️ 

A circle in the middle of the paper (created by Di Zou).

A circular piece of paper created by Di Zou

STEP 4: Two people take turns (three to five times) drawing the inner shapes  (it can be any shape, color, or pattern as you like) 🟢 🔶 🟪

You can paint anywhere inside the circle and use any color or shape you want (created by Di Zou).

You can obtain inspiration from these patterns 😃

Patterns Created by Di Zou

You can think about these guiding questions while you draw 😆

      What’s the weather like today? ☁️☀️

How are you feeling? 😃

What did you eat? 🍚

What did you see? What is its shape? 🔻🔺

Can you feel the breath of your body? 🌬️

Can you feel the sounds and lights around you? 🔊 💡

What color are they? Draw them in shape… 🌈

STEP 5: Record the keywords that describe your current feelings (such as happy 😄, sad😔, scared😱) or anything that comes to your mind (such as trees🌲, sunshine🌞 and seas🌊)

Write down your immediate feelings and the objects that come to mind on a notepad (created by Di Zou).

STEP 6: Give the other person specific instructions (three to five times) on materials, colors, shapes, etc., and then have them create based on those instructions. After several rounds, the painting is completed 🎨 👩‍🎨 

Specify colors, shapes, etc. for the other person to draw (created by Di Zou).

😺 You Can Also Choose to Watch This Video Case

to Learn Two-Person Mandala Painting 🎥 😍

Created by Di Zou

Don’t worry if you haven’t found your partner yet

Come and try it yourself!📹 📀 🥳

Created by Di Zou

STEP 7 (Optional): Use AI to analyze your painting. Question Example: Could you analyze the structure, color, and pattern of this unstructured mandala for me, considering it was jointly created by two people for the purpose of venting emotions and exploring the relationship?

💬 Feedback and Communication 🙋‍♀️ 🙋🏾

STEP 1: After the painting is completed, you should review your thoughts, emotions and intentions based on the keywords you write during the painting process 💡 📝 ✍️

STEP 2: Share your emotional experiences, past memories, and new insights into your relationship to deepen your understanding of yourself and each other 💭 🗣️

It is helpful to import Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, which includes description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan (Gibbs 1988).

The University of Edinburgh (2024). Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.

STEP 3: Upload your creation and feedback in Miro!

https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVL907YaU=/?share_link_id=541811293630

Question Self-Test 🙋‍♂️

“Do I understand the basic structure of mandala painting?”

“Do I feel relaxed during the painting process?”

“Has this painting process aroused some of my emotions?”

“Is the painting process with my collaborator a harmonious one or a conflicting one?”

“What role does the collaborator play during the painting process?”

“Can I sense the emotions of the collaborator?”

“Do we know each other better after finishing this painting?”

🎉🎊Congratulations!🎊🎉

👏You Now Know How to Create a Mandala Painting🥳

Hope you will keep create mandala paintings in the future to release stress and anxiety, and heal yourself