On a recent trip to Mt. Shasta I continued my quest to honor the delightful insect world by drawing a mandala based on the energy of this evocative creature, the Bumble Bee. The energy is definitely that of “where there is a will, there’s a way”.

This mandala was done on a trip to the Hawaiian Islands while I stayed in the home of a wonderful Japanese woman.  Without thinking much about it I naturally started to create a motif from my experience with Japanese patterns learned about when I lived in the Islands as an adolescent. It was a fun project and kept me busy for most of the trip.  The inspiration of the simple, yet intricate motif inspired me to think about how much that culture permeated my consciousness when I was a teenager and how lovely and gracious I still consider this culture.

This mandala came to me as I was beginning to understand that I, along with many others, have had a hard time opening my heart fully. Childhood wounds last a long time and are imprinted indelibly on the young psyche. It takes a lot of discipline to start changing behaviors which can then reflect back to the soul that it is safe to come into the opening of intimacy. This can be a long journey and it is absolutely necessary for our planet that we at least try to be part of this movement toward the unbounded heart.