Flower Mandalas Project

Before I started my training as a therapist, I took a short course in community mediation. Most of my mediation experience was as a volunteer in small claims court. We mediators helped conflicting parties try to reach a mutually satisfying agreement rather than simply letting a judge adjudicate the case. Small claims court is all about settling financial arguments, and money was always the identified issue in the cases we handled. But in mediation, a strange thing happened: almost always, it turned out that what the aggrieved party most needed was a sincere apology and a way to remedy their grievance. When the apology came (and it often did), the agreement quickly followed. The change in demeanor from start to finish could be dramatic: I remember one case where two women – a homeowner and a landscaping contractor – began in bitter conflict but walked out with their arms around each other, sharing tears. Something similar happens in couples counseling. Couples often come to therapy a...

UPDATE : I'm now blogging at http://davidbookbinder.com/photoblog/ I hope to see you there! Best, David Consider this an invitation. The Flower Mandalas blog has moved to Beliefnet.com , the leading spirituality portal, where it has taken on a new (and improved) form. My Flower Mandala work will still appear there, but now in the context of an ongoing exploration of art, healing, and transformation. New address: http://blog.beliefnet.com/flowermandalas The blog serves as a platform for a much broader discussion of the transforming power of art, with "art" defined in the broadest possible way (visual, literary, performing, popular, classical, modern, ancient, professional, tentative, eternal, spontaneous, etc.). I'm still looking for your input! I would very much like to hear from you not only for the Flower Mandala Project but also to invite you to share your art, thoughts, and experiences as part of this broader discussion. I'm hoping to use this f...