a collection
of albums of centred drawings to colour
practical and theoretical
guides
workshops and further training
a network of
practitioners
At
the begining it was under this fiction name that, as a pre-school
teacher in 1988,
I started to draw centred
pictures for children in the scope of an educational
initiative.
Various experiments were going on, which gave evidence
that drawing centred pictures
could lead to a spontaneous
recentering through the colouring of these particular shapes
and could increase learning abilities at school.
At
present I wish to show how this unpredictable and exciting experience
developed.
The success and confirmed results of this exercise,
which has spread out to cover a large audience of different ages,
reveals that the simple fact of colouring a centred drawing, commonly
called a “Mandala”,
can become a precious
tool in finding better balance and for developping our
self-awareness.
During
the past ten years, publications on Mandala drawing have mushroomed.
As for myself, I prefer to call them “centred drawings”
in order to avoid any confusion with practices in oriental cultures.
We
know then that, following a few simple rules, the use of these
graphic forms enables one
to calm a nervous child, to better an
adult’s depressive state.
By connecting them to their
forgotten inner dynamism,
people can be helped to overcome
difficult periods of their life.
Knowing
that more and more people are interested in this practise,
I propose
to outline, the general features of this research which, in a very
simple way,
offers new possibilities of opening up and clarifying
one’s innerself.
I
wish to underline the fact that my opinion about this practise
is
quite appart from the spiritual practise associated with the Mandala
in traditional societies.
My personal experience is rather
educational and proposes, very simply,
a comprehension of the
fundamental mechanisms of access to both
internal and external information.
a
positive psychic impact
The
centred drawing can be a “Mandala” for oriental
traditions,
a “Medecine wheel” for the ameridians or a
“Rosace” in our european culture.
It is a clearly
structured picture with a centre and a periphery.
Such
structures are present all around us, in nature as well as in the
arts.
In all traditions they call on to interiority and
self-awareness.
The circle and the dot symbolically refer to the
structure of macrocosmic and microcosmic life
itself.
As does the cell, this picture seems to carry the
“in-formation” of the Unity at the heart of diversity.
It
seems that all has been said about the universal meaning which is
conveyed by the centred picture.
Excellent books are being published
on this theme, and I particularily recommend
the one by Bailey
Cunningham called “Mandala : Journey to the Center”
which has recently been published by DK.
It gives
wide range information, both rich and pleasant, on the subject.
My
contribution will be of a different nature :
during the past
fifteen years, some friends and myself have observed,
that the
graphical expression of this universal shape,
does indeed induce a
new balance, a sort of spontaneous restructuring of the person.
The analogous vision of the different operational levels of the brain
gives a relevant explanation
about the positive psychic impact of
this activity :
that is the dynamic balancing of some intellectual
activity and the opening up which this leads to.
The
albums edited in the “Marie Pré Collection”
which
you can order on the following website www.hermitage-atelier.com/
give a great variety of centred drawings to colour for different
publics.
This activity can adapt to all ages and to any situation:
fatigue, stress or distress.
The
necessary educational methods to start practising are presented
in
the basic handbook “Mandala, Growth tool : a practical
and theoretical guide”,
edited in the
Marie Pré Collection,
written for teachers and educators based
on my own experience.
Everyone will find the explanations and
demonstrations
to adapt this tool to their own practise in the best
way.
Since the begining of this
experience, the very surprising feedback which I
received immediately
informed me on the impact of this type of
picture.
A long period of experimentation with many different people
confirmed my observations.
It enabled me to understand that a certain
guided practise of this tool should lead,
not only to a better
balance, but also to a greater self-awareness
and the conciousness of one’s own competences.
Beyond
the simple relaxing activity of work on Mandalas, the depth of
identity is revealed,
thus helping adults to reconnect
with their essential memories
and to assemble the scattered
elements of their existence.
It also gives a specific meaning to the
positive experiences lived through.
In my opinion, it is a remarkable
tool for synthesis, useful at each step of one’s
personal evolution.
I
wish, however, to insist on one important point:
Evidence was
found that the activity of colouring of well-balanced and harmonious
drawings
had a positive and balancing effect on any type of person.
However, I must warn the persons who, seduced by the centred picture,
start creating pictures themselves without any accompaniment at the
begining.
Indeed, I have had confirmation of uncontrolable
psychological disorders revealed through this exercise
when
used by someone on his own and without discrimination.
CG. Jung
himself had an experience of that type and warned his readers of the
dynamic power of this shape.
Thus,
I feel myself responsible for warning readers about any anarchic use
of this tool,
which is often due to lack of
understanding of what
this activity involves.
I advise the teachers to
gather precise
information about this practise and as to how this activity should be
carried out.
Because, while the simple
fact of colouring the picture
seems constructive and regenerating,
it is different for the
creation
of new shapes which could initiate psychological disorders.
I
also advise artists to see a therapist if they are attracted by this
type of creation, for it could then become a wonderful tool for
self-conciousness.
general
reflections
Curiously,
as I have been practising this activity for many years in order
to
help people express themselves through these centred structures,
I
noticed that, in most cases, it activated self-conciousness,
as
if the vital dynamic was strongly stimulated.
I perceived, and
lived through it myself, that this call for more autonomy and liberty
manifests itself spontaneously from the very begining of the work.
It
must be discussed within an atmosphere of confidence and I was
greatly surprised
to see how people suddenly become aware of things
just by colouring centred drawings.
It
is only after having walked this path personally
that I found out
that Jung had long experienced these drawings
with his psychoanalysis
patients and had noticed the power and deepness of these pictures.
My
own practise as a teacher led me to question a certain number of
invisible mechanisms
which seemed to be particularily operational in
this activity.
I understood that the cerebral
impact of this particular shape, which acts as a target,
stimulating directly the most essential part, the deep identity,
beyond everyday dispersion.
The re-centrering
effect acts as the establishment of a link to the innerself of the
person.
It calls for a vital reorganising of the person’s
innerself,
helping towards a greater balance according to the
person’s true needs.
This
natural process shows how non-verbal creative expression first
stimulates
and gives access to an integration of true information
through personal experience.
If it is put into words and shared, this
experience becomes essential
for giving access
to a new self-awareness.
The person then becomes more
responsible and feels more empathy.
To me, these concepts are of great
importance when one is interested in educational methods.
a
new vision for education ?
The
Mandala tool gave evidence of the importance of the role played
by
the intuitive and artistic function in
giving access to personal balance.
In these times of dangers, when a
generalised movement of anxiety
calls for the return of old
analytical methods,
I wish to testify, after the numerous individuals
who came to us and made this fundamental experience,
in order to
state that one goes astray when using discourse rather than by
approaching the true individual.
The
priority given to the right side of the brain, the artistic side,
founds the concience.
Another reality of the self, unknown up
to then, emerges from the depth.
The cerebral calm, which is
necessary for a real opening up to the world,
can only be reached if
this dimension is first taken into account.
The words can only make
sense after that, in a more intimate context,
nourrished by the past
history and representations of the person.
The
expression in the centred form first stimulates this non-verbal
function
and, by the shape itself, helps to assemble scattered
experiences of our lives in order
to make them become more coherent.
However, this approach is only if, of course, fruitful language is
then used
within an atmosphere of openness and confidence.
These
words often reveal new links which give more meaning to the
experience,
and leads to further understanding
and an often
spectacular opening up of the field of internal perceptions.
A
true strategy of the intelligence is hidden at the heart of this
universal shape which is given to us.
It would be very interesting to
continue these observations in groups
in order to communicate better
on them and deepen our understanding of this experience.
In
the educational method album called “Mandala:
Growth tool ”,
I
tried to share my own understanding
of these mechanisms.
This is experimented on by my trainees, during
training periods,
in order to share and exchange more on these
essential concepts
which seem to hold many educational and
therapeutic implications for the future.
a
network of practitionners
During
these years of research, some friends came to me
to share rich and
powerful life experiences through the experience of centred drawings.
A practitionners’ network was thus
created naturally and grows every day, along with the people we meet.
We thought it would be important to elaborate a chart which would
define the basis of our common reflexion
and which is based on the
liberty, the specificity, the autonomy and the responsability of each
practitionner.
We
propose experimentation seminars in
various regions in order to talk more in depth
about the experience
lived through with all who wish to share this experience with us.
For, only those who have experienced it in depth can understand and
transmit it with authentic conviction.
EXPERIMENTATION SEMINARS
Each
member of the network proposes, with his/her own particular abilities
and sensibility,
and according to their geographical location,
experimenation seminars
in order to present other people the
potentialities of such an activity : education, arts, therapy, body,
etc.
A specific training called “finding
your life Axis”, which was elaborated during the past
years of research,
provides the opportunity to help people who are
temporarily destabilized.
The list of these trainers and
their
propositions in different regions, in France as well as abroad, can
be sent on request.
Please note : all seminars
and training sessions are in french.
TRAINING AND
DEEPENING
Practical training courses: “Experimenting towards understanding”
First
level seminar 14/17 April or 11/14 July 2007
General
presentation. Historical evolution of the research. Documents and
material.
First experiences. General concepts and basic practises.
Relation with neuro-psychology.
Different modes of use. Public
concerned. Educational perspectives.
Second
level seminar 19/22
April or 16/19 July 2007
Recall of
the basic theoretical notions. Adjustment of personal and
professional experiences :
educational adaptation to different modes
of use according to the publics concerned.
Educational strategies
used for the synthesis. Comprehension of the mechanisms at play.
Useful techniques. Practical experience of “targetting”.
Third
level seminar 15/18 August or
20/23 Aug 2007
Final
sessions, entirely focused on experience, during 4 days
of the
specific seminar entitled “Finding your life Axis”.
Central work on self-awareness and reorientation : finding the meaning
of one’s own story,
thanks to the practise of this specific
tool
and how to find a new life project better adapted to one’s
true nature.
If you wish to listen to and communicate the basic explanations on this theme you can listen to the audio CD presentation.
The
Mandala: a balancing tool
1 – Introduction
2 –
Origins of the research
3 – First experiences
4 – A
universal drawing
5 – Practical advice
6 – Identity
awareness
7 – Operational comprehension
8 – A
strategy of awareness
9 – The relationship to the centre
10
– Creating for oneself and creating for others
11 –
Publications and training sessions
12 – Conclusion
Duration
75 mn
You
can contact me:
by
mail : Chemin des Eridolles – 17580 – Bois-Plage
en Ré - France
by
phone : (33) 546 09 16 03 – cellular : (33) 662 56
35 53
by
e-mail : marie-pre@wanadoo.fr
