Customer Reviews

Coloring Mandalas 1

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

To be honest, when I first got the book I was very disappointed and considered sending it back. The pictures to be colored are not really the quality I was expecting. I changed my mind about keeping the book when I actually started to read. The snippets of information about mandala in different cultures are quite good, as is the brief review of Jungian thought on mandala. I learned quite a few things about something I had thought was simply a tool for meditation. I also learned more about the symbolism of color. As a means to advance my art, it wasn't the incredible book I had hoped for. As a means to advance my inner self, though, it represented a few more steps along the path, and that makes it worth keeping.

I had no idea what mandalas were before reading this book. I had been looking for a new form of meditation and this book looked interesting so I thought I would give it a try. I am so happy that I did! It it very interesting, giving reasons for and history of (among other things) the mandalas. Not only are you able to read about mandalas, but Ms. Fincher has included 45 mandalas for the reader to color. It is so much fun and a great form of creativity and meditation. I have already recommended this book to all my friends!

I recently switched to coloring in this book, Coloring Mandalas by Susanne Fincher and I cannot rave about it enough. Though only about 20 pages long, it contains a amazing amount of information regarding not only mandalas but also the inner workings of the psyche. Some of the things she said regarding the constant interplay between the ego and Self (in the Jungian sense) and the cyclical times wherein the Self pushes for change and the ego might feel deflated at such times hit the nail right on the head in regards to my own recent psychological shake-up that I seem to be undergoing. Then, coloring through the mandalas, which are particularly set into a certain order of stages of growth have at times really touched me. I really recommend this book and this process for learning about the self.

I was intrigued by this book when I saw it sitting on the shelf at my local bookseller.

I held it in my hands and thought, "This seems so contrary to something I would appreciate" and I trusted my intuition. As always, I am grateful my thinking mind didn't prevent my wiser mind-heart its space.

Yes, it is very simple.

Yes, there is not a ton of text.

YES! The text that is there covers a lot of material, including multi-cultural mandalas and children's mandalas and the purpose and intent of mandala creation throughout the ages.

I also learned more about "sacred circles" (what a Mandala is...).

And then there are the coloring pages - each beautiful in black-and-white with Fincher's accompanying material on the back of the mandala pages, this book is a simple, awe-inspiring, heart opening course of study anyone could gain wisdom from using.

Highly recommended.

As I received both Coloring Mandalas Volume 1 and Volume 2 as gifts to help me during recovery post surgery, Coloring Mandalas 2 is a MUCH better book than this volume. The mandalas in volume 1 (this one) are not as complex or meaningful as the ones I prefer in volume 2. The mandalas in volume 1 are much more simplistic in design and suited toward the younger coloring book crowd - even the ages 4-8 category - than those in the other book. So as an adult, this is not the coloring mandala book for you unless you prefer less detail.

Over the last fifteen years mandalas have offered me, and many friends who have joined me on the journey, an opening through which we can explore the inner life of our soul. Suzanne Fincher started me and so many others on that journey throuh her workshop on Creating Mandalas, and her first book by that same title is a treasure chest of guidance in exploring our inner life through the creation of mandalas. This workbook provides many colorful illustrations of mandalas that show our movement through life along with an array of mandala outlines that I could color as the Spirit led me. This book offered me inspiration and deeper understanding of the great round of the mandala, a path through which many of our mandalas move, and through which our lives journey. I commend it in combination with Suzanne's earlier book, Creating Mandalas. It is not as helpful alone. I would hope that this workbook would be a beginning but not an end, that no one would stop at coloring in the patterns within this book. To me, the most important role of the mandala is to let the color, shape and texture of my inner life float up into an empty circle where I can see it and relate with it.

After coloring hundreds of mandalas I found this book to be less calming or relaxing. I'm not a fan of mandalas that contain eyes, angles, demons, etc. within the designs, so this was not my favorte mandala coloring book. It makes me hesitate to purchase Ms. Fincher's other mandala coloring books.

The volume 2 from this author was exceptional so I purchased volume 1 expecting the same. I was sadly disappointed by the material in this one, not nearly as 'spiritual' as the 2nd, plus was filled with people like drawings that I wasnt fond of. I'm debating on trying Volume 3 now, will it be more like 2 or like 1??

When I was little, I loved to color in Altair designs -- I loved working with the geometric shapes and seeing the hidden designs within them and bringing them to life with color. After watching a documentary on Buddhist culture, I saw how Mandala sand paintings were a form of meditation and I was hooked on the images -- they were phenomenally beautiful.

So I started researching them on the web and discovered the "coloring books" and using these as a way to relax and find your inner artist. These types of activities are often used as a form of "art therapy" to help people with stress and depression and can provide a window to your subconscious. The author gives some background on how to approach Mandalas as well as how to interpret your own versions. She has a website where she has even more information and that is definitely a worthwhile read.

I can't draw a stick figure to save my life. However, I love working with color and bringing these designs alive.

I'm not wild about all the designs in this book -- I definitely prefer more regular geometric shapes. However, one of the things you will find if you start working with Mandala designs is that they can be very time intensive and most of the designs here can be done in one sitting.

The lines are not to thick or heavy and will easily "disappear" as you work the design -- from that standpoint, they are much better than the Dovor coloring books which have very dark thick black lines. I also like the spiral binding as well as colored plates to give you inspiration.

If you start to do these, you'll become addicted and will want to invest in some artist-grade colored pencils and a decent pencil sharpener. Crayola pencils will not do them justice.

The thing that is really cool about these is that it is something I can share with my kids. Both my boys are very artistic and the three of us can sit down with a sheet and work on these together as a family -- taking inspiration from each other. So from that standpoint, it can be a great family activity or a quiet solitary and meditative escape.

I highly recommend trying these out if you are feeling like expressing your inner creativity but don't have the time or money to invest in learning a hobby or craft. Anyone can do this and it is something you do just for you. Photocopy the pages and you can do them over and over again and share them with others. You'll discover a whole new side of you you didn't know existed and have some fun in the process. If nothing else, you'll feel like a kid again!

Great mandala book. I use it with my work with children and adolescents in therapy. -- Dr. Bay