Unveiling “The Seeker”

“The Seeker.” 24×24″ 2024. Acrylic & jewels on canvas. ©Amy Livingstone

Dear Karen G.
When we spoke, you said you wanted to feel: “Gratitude. Acceptance. Presence” when you viewed your mandala. I kept this in mind while working on the piece. Also your ability to be “grateful to see beauty. Lucky to have richness, depth of curiosity—and that which is spiritual.”

The color palette is drawn from your love of Naples yellow, terra cotta, olive green, turquoise and teal. The colors of the desert. And bright like the sun and summer, your favorite season.

The inner circle represents your search for the Transcendent. The desert where you feel closest to God. The canyons with light and shadows that you love. Here, is the Court of the Patriarchs from Zion in Utah representing three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I chose this as you explore your relationship to your Catholic faith through the lens of the Mystics and the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The Seeker, the veiled figure—you—standing in the arched threshold symbolizes the light you see around others and the healing pranic energy you offer to others.

Coleus, one of your favorite plants, has a lot of symbolism in different faith traditions around spiritual evolution and healing and are associated with enlightenment and spiritual growth. They are also said to possess healing properties. Your beloved bees called serve as a symbol of rejuvenation and divinity.

The outer ring symbolizes Immanence. The mystic in you that sees the beauty of the natural world. I chose one of your favorite flowers, the day lily, for it’s “unique structure” and sits in the four directions. Also the canaries you love and birds for your mother who sang to them.

The outer pattern symbolizes your love and appreciation of Islamic architecture and culture, and your recent journey to Andalusia.

May this mandala guide you on your journey of FAITH…

New Painting (Commission)

“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way”.” -Richard Bach from Jonathan Livingston Seagull


“Pam’s Beach”, 36×24”, Acrylic, 2023. (Commission) ©Amy Livingstone

I love this quote from Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the 1970 text that helped shape a generation of free spirits pushing the social and cultural boundaries of that era. My eldest sister, Pam, is of that generation and am grateful to all the women like her who broke through established norms so those of us coming up behind them could have the freedoms our mothers never had, and to choose how we wanted to live our lives (though our reproductive rights are being stripped across this country which is outrageous to say the least).

Pam recently commissioned me to paint a beachscape (seen above) for her new home in SW Florida as she begins life anew. Her only requests were lots of blue and to feel peace and calm. It was a joy and a lot trickier to paint water lapping up on the sand than I had imagined! Of course, she also loved the sanderlings so ubiquitous to the beaches and her own Livingstone Seagull.

Shri Yantra Mandala


Shri Yantra Mandala

Soul-symbol Mandala for G. Ota
At the center of the mandala is a Hindu ‘Shri Yantra.’ This represents the union between the masculine and feminine. The Sri Yantra is a configuration of nine interlacing triangles centered around the bindu (center), drawn by the super imposition of five downward pointing triangles, representing Shakti; the female principle and four upright triangles, representing Shiva; the male principle. The nine triangles also represent the spiritual journey from the material realm to ultimate enlightenment. I was drawn to this symbol for you as it brings together in union your bold, masculine nature (as you spoke of with me) with those feminine aspects of yourself—compassionate heart, relationality, generosity, and healer.

The center of the mandala symbolizes the cosmos, the union with the divine (enoughness), which is then held by the cycles of the moon (31 days to represent your birth month) and nature (where you feel closest to God) and the cycles of the seasons. The four Japanese characters read as the cycles of the seasons. To the North is Winter. To the East is Spring (daffodils). To the South is Summer (echinacea). To the West is Fall. Framing the mandala, I was drawn to the bright red and green from the Japanese culture which represents your ancestral line and wisdom. The lotus pattern a reminder of death, rebirth, and healing. When you meditate with this mandala, my hope is that you will know that you are more than enough and whole. You are one with all creation and a gift to us all.

About Soul Symbol Mandalas
Mandala is sanskrit for circle. The mandala has long been a vehicle for healing and meditation in many spiritual traditions including Native American and Tibetan sand paintings. In Christianity, the twelfth-century abbess and visionary Hildegard of Bingen often expressed her illuminations of God through mandala paintings. A mandala represents wholeness and can be seen as a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our connection to the Divine, or God, as well as our interconnectedness in the web of life. In this way, mandalas are an expression of the Sacred that is both immanent and transcendent.

My studies in the spiritual traditions of the world have given me a broader understanding of the shared symbolism that weaves itself throughout the sacred texts of Eastern and Western religions—most notably within the mystical arms of these religions—with those of earth-honoring traditions. It is my intention to create a visual tapestry that expresses our innate interconnectedness within the web of life. In 2002, I began practicing and studying earth-based spirituality and, more recently, shamanism which is an ancient but still practiced healing modality among indigenous communities around the world. Bringing together these two ancient healing practices of the mandala and shamanism, I offer original soul-symbol mandalas to support you on your spiritual and healing journey. Contact me at www.sacredartstudio.net for more information. aho