A Soft Return to Wholeness

As the year bows its head, it is a time for reflection. The days move quickly, yet my inner clock has begun to slow. I am listening more closely. I am choosing what matters.

This year began with a bright drumbeat. A new team gathered around my work. Paint returned to my hands. I felt the spark and the flow. Then life called me to attend to what was tender. My mother became very ill, and our path took a sorrowful turn. Grief rearranged my calendar and my cells. My work changed. My energy changed. I changed.

I am still devoted to healing the Mother Wound, and I am leaning even more into the medicine of art making, mandala making, and intuitive coaching. I am now a Certified Intuitive Coach, and that certification has woven a golden thread through everything I offer. If you would like to hear more about what that looks like in practice, I am happy to share.

A small story about mandalas. My very first painting as a pre-kindergartner was a mandala, though I did not have that language yet. I called it a Turtle. I remember the easel towering above me, the colors singing, my four year old self stepping back with a grin that felt larger than the room. Pure exhilaration.

The circle kept finding me. In undergraduate art school, I drew a series of Avocados, each with a seed or an opening at the center. In graduate school, my drawings leaped off the page and became sculpted circular forms. The shape of the mandala has been walking beside me for a long time.

As an art therapist, I became curious about the MARI method, the Mandala Assessment Research Instrument created by Joan Kellogg. MARI describes a cyclical journey through twelve, sometimes thirteen, stages often called the Great Round. The map is deeply influenced by Carl Jung’s work with the collective unconscious and offers a compassionate way to witness where we are in our process.

Here we are in the twelfth month. In MARI, the twelfth stage invites a return to wholeness through acceptance. We soften our grip. We gather what the year has taught us. We allow completion to prepare the soil for beginnings that are already stirring.

If you feel called, try this simple practice.

1.    Set aside a few quiet minutes. Breathe. Place your hand over your heart. Name how you are arriving.

2.    On a plain sheet of paper, trace a large circle the size of a dinner plate. This is your container.

3.    Spread out your materials. Colored pencils, markers, paints, pastels. Anything you have is perfect.

4.    Pause, breathe, and ask your body for a color. Begin anywhere. Let shapes and lines emerge without judgment. Allow symbols to arrive. Trust your hands.

5.    When you feel complete, sit with your mandala. Notice what draws your eye. Offer it three words. Date it. Thank it.

I would love to witness what you create. Send me a photo of your mandala, or share it on Instagram and tag @creativehealingintegration.

I am considering a monthly circle that journeys through the Great Round together. Each month, we will explore one stage, make a mandala, and translate its symbols into language that supports healing and next steps. This is the sweet spot where science, creativity, and intuition braid into something quietly powerful. If that resonates, add your name to the interest list and I will keep you posted.

This season can stir so much. As a gentle offering, I’m sharing something special for December. Get Daughters of Critical Mothers for half off (only $111) and receive my digital book Overcoming the Mother Wound as a free gift. A little extra support for the path you're on.

May this month bring you a gentle settling. May acceptance open the door. May your circle lead you home.

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With care,

About the author

Mari Grande is a licensed Creative Arts Therapist, coach, and founder of Creative Healing Integration, Inc.
Through The Mandala Corner and her coaching programs, she helps people reconnect with creativity, clarity, and healing in everyday life.