The House of Light on the Hill, affiliated to the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Federation, has carried out a mandala workshop for the kids and youths that attend its unit House of Art and Education, in Carmo da Cachoeira, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The classes were given by Vera Lucia Dadamos, a retired teacher and plastic artist from the city of Jaú, state of São Paulo, Brazil. She is a collaborator of the House of Light on the Hill and of the Nucleus-of-Light of Figueira in São Carlos. The activity was conducted on Monday, the 25th, Tuesday, the 26th, and Thursday, the 28th of July.
“The mandala is an ancient technique that helps increase intuition and broaden consciousness, it is excellent to calm and tranquilize people; in the case of children, it helps hyperactives a lot. In general, it permits attaining balance and harmony, both internally and for those who surround the individual and their environment, bringing many benefits for physical, mental and spiritual health”, explained Vera Lucia.
She told that mandala is a sanscrit term that means ‘magic circle’. She said it is an archetype symbol that is in all that was created and therefore also in the unconscious of human beings and so those who use it – making a drawing, a painting, an artistic creation or simply contemplating a mandala – can get in touch with their own inner being and with the whole cosmos.“When the person quiets down and concentrates in the creation or contemplation of a mandala, they operate the right hemisphere of their brain and this, besides bringing them balance, permits them to get in touch with their soul; it can also evoke from their unconscious images they can manifest on canvas or on paper”, added Vera Lucia.
About the workshop conducted in the unit of Art and Education, she said it was the first time she carries it out with little children, because her experience is more concentrated in the contact with adolescents. “I became very glad, because the children participated a lot, were very interested, they created very beautiful mandalas. I am leaving very excited”, she shared. She said she will return in August and September, to complete a cycle of three months of workshops.
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