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You will find general information about our Garian's Mandala below; but if you would like to move more directly to some of the details, here are some choices: For a detailed explanation of the geometrics and philosophies contained in Garian's Mandala: Click here. For photos of the installation as presented Sept 2000: Click here |
It should be noted that Garian's Mandala is not a religious or historical mandala. It arises from our own personal, creative work as Territory Orphans and as such is new and unique. In another sense though it is quite old and universal, made up of and containing indigenous harmonics and interconnections to other, more widely known and practiced ways. Each of us has hidden inside ourselves such a personal mandala, but all mandalas emerge from and refer to the same essential place that gives rise to the form of the world.
Mandalas are often presented in two dimensional form, as a sand mandala for instance or as an image on a piece of paper or scroll. Mandalas are actually three or four (or more) dimensional configurations. The other dimensions have been dropped down to the two dimensional plane for ease of communication and storage. Garian's Mandala is multi-dimensional as well. In the installation you will see two central pyramids formed by string. On the two dimensional representation of Garian's Mandala these two pyramids become squares. It is interesting to compare the two dimensional image of Garian's Mandala with the three dimensional installation.
In the installation there are seven meditation mats inside the yellow pyramid. These are seats (one for each of the seven energy chakras) and are used when following Garian's meditation practice. There are many different levels of this practice (which we are beginning to remember), but basically the practice is to visualize Garian's seven chakras.
In the installation the seven chakras are displayed in more universal form outside the pyramid. The Root is a cave, the Hara a hut, the Will chakra is a stupa, the Heart is a pool, the Throat a grove, the 3rd Eye a stone slab, the Crown chakra is a glass tree. These presentations are not the same shapes as are visualized inside the pyramid, but show how Garian's chakra energies pervade the Territory. There are also a number of lightforms throughout the space that are indigenous parts of the Mandala landscape.
As we've been working we've started to remember a universal "mandala language" that seems to be accessible and useful. In Garian's Mandala there are circles enclosed by squares which touch the inscribed circles at the midpoints of the sides of the squares. The circle itself contains a smaller square which touches the circle at its corners. Circles mean "consciousness" in this mandala language. Squares refer to a "place" or "landscape" - "that which takes form". As an example consider the following:
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If we were to designate the outer square as the Territory Orphanage (the "place" of our studio), the inscribed circle as "conscious work", and the inner square as Garian (the mandala deity that takes form in the house of the mandala), this part of the mandala would "read": consciousness inside the Territory Orphanage gives rise to Garian. Or read another way you could say: conscious action in the Territory Orphanage enables one to see and interact with Garian |
It is interesting to note that the whole of Garian's Mandala does not fit into the space inside the place of the installation. The walls of the installation place correspond (on three sides) to the outer boundaries of the Territory square. This is because we are presenting Garian's Mandala from the subjective position of someone already in the Territory level of consciousness. We hope to help visitors switch into this Territory frame of mind by presenting paths to follow when they first enter. Later on we will use events and other performance related modes to help in this regard. We also assume that visitors are familiar with the everyday world point of view (each in their own way) and are interested in going inward from that place of perception.
