2012 MANDALAS BY PAUL AND VIDYA and . . .

Welcome to your Wednesday!

I hope Tuesday unfolded nicely for you.

The day flew by like a shot for me yesterday.

I was very busy with coaching, phone interviews for audio programs, and consulting, while continuing my film preparations.

Time was tight, but I got into the gym for a great little lunging workout. I warmed up in the sunshine with a bundle of walking lunges with a twist using a clubbell. Then I did four sets of lunging followed by box steps with a kick and multi-angle wood chops.

That earned me a nice cold shower to freshen me up for the rest of the day. After my evening tai-chi, I did some more drawing. Then, off to dreamland!

Our 2012 ANNUAL MANDALA’s

Paul’s Mandala:

Vidya, Penny and I create our yearly goals at this time of year each year.

Vidya and I like to create a mandala to symbolize our goals and vision for the year because we are more right-brained than left and it feels good to “see” our vision.

That way, we know what we intend to express as our inner-commitment to life each day, each year.

In my mandala, you can see that humanity (and I) are represented as the human form emerging from Existence, from nature; we are not separate from Her, but are an expression of Her.

For me, this is an important distinction. Most forget that whatever we do to nature, we do to ourselves!

You can see I’ve drawn an old fashion hand powered water pump at the well. This is to symbolize that I choose not to take more than I need, not to take more than I can comfortably carry with me.

This symbolizes my desire to be friendly, symbiotic with nature. This is also my “zen reminder” that The Buddha is everything, everywhere and that the best way to live is zen, which DT Suzuki describes as the most efficient way.

The bucket is a reminder that we don’t need a gym if we participate in caring for the land; instead of being inside staring at walls, I can enjoy being outside while getting great exercise, fresh air, and visiting with all my plant and animal friends; much more exciting than anything in a gym!

The orange tree represents my reminder that everything in my garden is giving my love and care back to me as love and care. It also symbolizes that every aspect of our biology is the outgrowth of everything else in nature.

The tree, its branches and the oranges represent my nervous system. It serves to remind me that I’m only as healthy and sensitive to reality as the food I bring into me allows me to be, since that’s what I’m recreating myself out of each day.

The tree trunk also represents the path to higher wisdom.

At the well, the patterns on the ground are all OM symbols colored in, which continue up the tree trunk.

This is my reminder that “my vibrations create my reality in relationship to all living forms and create my view of life.”

The blazing sun represents the solar flair activity predicted for 2012. It is coupled with dark clouds and rain, which exemplify the weather changes occurring as a new ice-age approaches.

The flowers represent my desire to create beauty in my life so I can share that with others. The birds in the sky represent our life as souls sharing the journey of life together.

The dark night with stars represents that our world is but a tiny dot in existence and that I have so much of the universe left to explore.

My dream is to master my mind so that when I die, I can remain conscious and choose to explore other worlds.

I hope that seeing my 2012 mandala inspires you in some way. Maybe it will inspire you to get quiet and draw your dream for 2012 so you can post it on your door as a reminder of who you choose to be this year.

Vidya’s 2012 Mandala:

I created my mandala from the elements that spoke to me when I sat down to meditate on what I want to experience in 2012.

As such, my mandala represents I, WE and ALL in its unfolding splendor of co-creation, dynamic energy and natural expression of interconnected wholeness.

My mandala expresses the polarities of life, earth, water, fire and air and aether. The sun seemed to want to dominate because of the increased solar energy expressing itself this year.

At the same time the “I” within (my ego) needs balanced time between doing and do-nothing as a restorative process of nature. This is represented by the elements portrayed with time in the garden, building stone Buddhas, fresh air and sunshine; water is very important for my health and wellbeing.

The stone pathway represents being mindful on the “path” of self-awareness and realization. The “WE” is expressed through many relational elements here: The rock stacks, sun and earth, and the organic recycling of nature.

The  geometric element represents our businesses (CHEK Institute, PPS, mine and Paul’s coaching and consulting business), and all the structures that are being carefully built this year that will support all of our students and clients leading to increased prosperity and abundance for “ALL”.

Above this you see the uroboros framed within the heart representing balanced self-management.

By maintaining my standards and core values for myself, I have a greater capacity to positively share authentically with others ~ with love, empathy and compassion.

Both of these are framed by multicolored strands of infinite potential; out of no-thing emerges some-thing, my source of creativity and inspiration.

Inside both the sun and uroboros you’ll see empty circles representing Wu-Chi, a Taoist term for the emptiness from which fullness flows. It is the source of all that exists.

What you can’t see in the photo is the gold and silver interlocking lines of the star tetrahedron representing once more the interrelational elements of yin-yang, and important metaphysical concepts of sacred geometry – as above, so below – and the ever present spiritual aspects that infuse life and that are so often overlooked in our day-today lives.

Overall, I feel the nurturing effects of Love and the constant unfolding of creation for which I am an integral part as they are expressed through tai-chi in their eternal dance.

My dream for 2012 is my humble offering of the totality of my gifts for the upliftment of ALL.

It is both Vidya’s and my dream that all of you create positive intention for 2012 so that you too are co-creating a positive contribution to life.

For those of you who are interested in sharing your 2012 Dreams with us, I encourage you to learn more to participate in our 2012 Dream Big Contest through the PPS Success Website.

I look forward to your sharing with me.

May your Dreams become your reality!

Love and chi,

Paul Chek