MANDALA Drawing and Essay Assignment

Language and Literature (A symbolic representation of your own Heros Journey)

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What is a Mandala?
The word, mandala, comes from the Indian language Sanskrit, and loosely translated, it means circle. A mandala can be a symbolic and artistic representation of many different things, depending upon the person or the culture. Variations of mandalas are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Native American spirituality, and in Aboriginal tribes in Australia.

Think about all of the things in the natural world that are circular or have a circular pattern: the sun, moon, and stars; certain fruits, like oranges; the circular pattern of a nautilus shell or a flower or a tree trunk. Now, think about how circles are found in different religions: cathedral or rose windows in Christian churches; the yin and yang symbol from ancient China; the Navajo medicine wheel and Native American dream catchersall circular representations of ideas or beliefs. Its no coincidence, that the Heros Journey pattern is circular. The initiate begins with the Call to Adventure, only to go through the entire journey with the inevitable Return Home. In other words, he or she has come full circle. In keeping with the theme of this unit of study, you will consider the path of your life thus far in terms of the circular Heros Journey pattern. As a fun and reflective assignment, you will create your own mandala design and write a brief essay describing your journey thus far, or what you want your lifes journey to be.

Types of Mandalas:
There are many different ways to design your mandala: Sectioned Sun/Shadow Free-flowing Concentric Circles

--divided into many equal sections for different aspects of your life --divided into 2 parts to depict both the light and dark sides of your life --designed more like a collage with symbols overlapping --places most important aspects in the center, less important in outer circles

Drawing Assignment:
Designing your own mandala provides a creative outlet for personal reflection on your own lifes journey. While this activity focuses on drawing, it does not have to be a masterpiece! In fact, in Tibet, some artists spend days drawing mandalas in the sand, knowing full well that their creations will eventually be blown away by the wind. So, dont worry if you are not a fabulous artist.this assignment is to create meaningful symbols expressing who you are. The process of intentionally creating those symbols is just as important as the final product. After all, isnt life more about the journey than the destination? You will be given a practice sheet for drafting, a white cardstock circle for drawing your finished mandala, and a large piece of colored construction paper to mat your mandala. Spend some time generating ideas of what you want to draw on your mandala and sketch it out on the draft. When you draw your final copy, you may complete it in color or black and white, but you will probably need to use a fine-point black pen to outline your objects if you sketch in pencil. Your may use words on your mandala. Everything, of course, must be school-appropriate.

Writing Assignment:
In addition to drawing your mandala, you will write a typed, single-spaced reflective personal essay addressing the following topics: Paragraph One: How the Heros Journey applies to your life (use HJ terminology) o What lessons you have learned from our Heros Journey unit and how those lessons could apply to your life o Could include a call refused or your shadow side Paragraph Two: What the drawings, colors, and/or design of your mandala represent. Dont write I put an ice cream cone on my Mandala because I like ice cream. Rather, for more depth, write I drew an ice cream cone on my Mandala because it reminds me of family summers. Every summer my family has the tradition of riding our bikes to Dairy Queen where we each choose our favorite Blizzard. I love summer, I love my family, and I really love ice cream, and this tradition really symbolizes how important my family is to me.

Please use your best writing skills, interesting vocabulary, and Heros Journey terminology!

Generating Ideas:
To help you brainstorm images to place on your mandala, make lists in the following categories: Favorite colors: Activities and Goals:

Symbols that represent you:

Things you reject:

Most important people in your life:

Words that describe you:

Places you have traveled:

What people do not know about you:

Accomplishments:

Your deepest beliefs:

Other favorites (books, movies, music, sports, etc.):

Most prized possessions:

How the Heros Journey applies to your life:

Mandala Draft:

Name_________________