mandala letter

Several years ago, Bart created a set of metal work mandalas and delivered them with this note. I hope it can be of value to you. Namaste! -eve-

Please find inside a mendalla. I hope that it can be of value to you. These are my first attempts at metal work, but wanted to do them myself. The circles represent the great circle of life, and the different levels of consciousness that exists in all of us. The center with the clear stone is the place of pure consciousness, enlightenment, and Buddha consciousness, not to be mistaken for Buddha nature. The lotus blossom in the center, is the symbol that unfoldment, which is parallel with detachment, because with detachment comes unfoldment, which is the pathway to the light. The yellow stone is the highest manifestation of the mind, (not the intellect.) The red is the manifestation of the body, that place that allows us to experience Buddha nature in the sensory, life and all that is has to offer. The blue is the essentail nature of man, or the soul, the place of our connection with all things. The green stone is understanding, the pure blending of heart mind, and the essential nature. The purple stone is wisdom, the place where experience and compassion come to meet. The orange is manifesting, the movement created through the pure mind and pure movement. The mind is the keeper of all knowledge, decernment and perception. The body is the keeper, and the gateway to experience and expression. All is experienced through the body. All expression happens through the body. The essential nature of man is the gateway to connection, to knowing. The great knowing resides in the place of spirit.

I will get further into this when I see you again. Thank you again for all that you do and are doing, and most of all for being you.

Joy to you always,
Love,

Bart

Opening a Closed Door (Track 14, 21st Century Writings)

Now that I'm sitting here in my room,
I'm thinking of all that's gone before me.
And you, you were living beside me,
And in my mind and heart we were always one.

Why was it so hard to realize,
That the thing I wanted most, was right beside me?
Only through my pain did I recognize,
That you, you were the light in my life.

CHORUS:
If I had the chance to do it over,
The sweetness of your soul, I would ignite.
For the darkness I've been carrying on my shoulder,
Would be lifted as we stepped into the light.

Why did I have to wait until it was over,
To tell you how much you have meant to me?
I would give you my life, if we could start over,
And try to find the love that could set us both free.

Have you ever wanted to step beyond the memories,
And let the past fade away into dust?
For there's a new dawn on the horizon,
And a new day waiting for us.

CHORUS:
And the wild flowers are opening inside of me,
Just the thought of you sets my heart free.
The winds whisper your name to me,
Because with you is where I want to be.

Take my hand, and walk with me into the light,
From the shrouding of our darkest nights.
I wish you could see the beauty I see in you,
For you, you are the one that sets my heart free.

Our lives they could entwine, like the rivers
Flowing down to the sea.
And the morning's song, awakening fields of clover,
And you, you will always be walking inside of me.

CHORUS:
The road doesn't have to be rough and rocky,
For together life could be so sweet.
I am asking you now, show me how,
Two hearts, they can beat as one.

And when our lives here on earth are over,
It is you I want beside of me.
And the angels will sing, as our love will bring,
A new light that will cover the earth.

To me you are so beautiful,
As your love, it burns inside of me.
I'm telling you that I want to spend my life with you,
For you light the fire that sets my soul free.

CHORUS:
And now I sit in the morning's flow,
Feeling alive, because you are inside of me.
What ever will, it's set my heart free,
For you, you are the love of my life.

An Unsettled Mind (Track 13, 21st Century Writings)

You're standing in an open door,
With the broken pieces in your hand,
And you don't know which way to turn.
Life makes such vicious turns,
You wreck your body and your mind,
'til you see the destruction within.

CHORUS:
And yet somewhere in the distance
A desperate voice still cries,
And you don't know where it's comin' from;
But it always leaves an unsettled mind,
Trying, but never coming to rest.

Life doesn't seem the same anymore
As when you ventured a gaze,
And you don't know which way to turn.
The vision is blurred by memories,
That blackened your hopes and dreams,
Now you look at the mess you've made of your life.

CHORUS:
And yet somewhere in the distance
You hear a baby cry,
And you don't know where it's comin' from;
But something deep inside leaves an
unsettled mind,
Trying, but never coming to rest.

You've run so far so fast
That there's no place left to hide,
And you don't know which way to turn.
It seems you're trapped by others' dreams,
We live such desperate lives,
Trying to find our way back home.

CHORUS:
And yet somewhere in the distance
You hear a hollow scream,
And you don't know where it's comin' from;
You close your eyes and hold your ears,
And hope that it will end,
'cause you're trying, but never coming to
rest.

You slowly destroy all you've known,
While you drink yourself to sleep,
And you don't know which way to turn.
You'll do anything to hide the fear,
That you've lived with all your life,
And now there's no where left to hide.

CHORUS:
And yet somewhere in the distance
You hear the angels weep,
And you don't know where it's comin' from;
You wak and then you realize,
That the walls are closing in,
And it's leaving you with an unsettled mind.

You laugh and mock and criticize,
While you sell your body and mind,
And you don't know which way to turn,
And now you've grown hard and colder.
Trying to justify your life,
You've reached so low there's no where left to turn.

CHORUS:
And yet somewhere in the distance
You hear something die,
And you don't know where it's comin' from;
And no one here is laughing,
I don't think they care anymore,
And it's leaving you with an unsettled mind.

A Whole Lot of Nothin' (Track 12, 21st Century Writings)

Why have I been sitting here,
Trying to reach out to draw you near.
With my eyes not willing to see very clear,
And endin' up with a whole lot of nothin'.

How long will I keep this veil over my eyes,
Before I wake up and begin to realize.
I must have been self-hypnotized,
Between you and me, there's a whole lot of nothin'.

CHORUS:
And I ask myself why,
that I should need an alibi
I can see now,
It's life and life only

What makes me not want to see,
What my soul has been telling me?
This dark cloud that's been over me,
Was the fact that there was really nothin'.

You only wanted what you thought was real,
I don't know if you know how to feel.
Was it really for you only a business deal,
That made it feel like I was holdin' a whole lot of
nothin'?

CHORUS:
I thought that you could feel,
that my love for you was really real.
But that don't matter now,
For life has found me.

Now I stop and look around
And finally see what I've really found.
I guess that it really isn't that profound,
That I was holdin' a whole lot of nothin'.

For myself I've lost respect,
That I could give and then expect.
And wanting you to give something back,
And be left with a plate full of nothin'.

CHORUS:
And now I leave it up to you,
Swimming in circles in your own canoe.
And it's all right now,
I'm only feeling.

I was so willing myself to compromise,
Forget the mystery I was trying to actualize.
It was really me, that I brutalized, and left me
holding a whole lot of nothin'.

I kept myself blind so I wouldn't have to see,
The message that you've been sending me.
That you have only been using me,
Leaving me holding a whole lot of nothin'.

CHORUS:
And I've found,
At your gypsy feet.
That you weren't all that discrete,
I just feel like trying something new.

For you I have no respect,
That you really didn't think that you could get
Your own deals and a playing deck,
Leaving me looking at a whole lot of nothin'.

All along I've loved something that wasn't there,
I guess that's why it felt you weren't really there.
Like trying to make bread using only thin air,
No wonder I'm left with a whole lot of nothin'.

CHORUS:
Is it real?
Is it okay to feel?
If I exposed my self to you
Would you try to kill it?

Is love really all that blind,
That I would crawl right out of my mind?
And leave my own needs that far behind?
Leaving me holding a whole lot of nothin'.

I think I need to find something new,
What I need I'll never get from you.
I think your picture might be a bit askew,
Leaving you always lookin' for something.

CHORUS:
And the time is drawing near
It all seems so very clear.
I've got to walk away,
Or end up dying.

I really think you would have drained it dry,
And then come up with some alibi.
How you needed it all just to get by,
Leaving me holding a whole lot of nothin'.

I'm sure there are women with somethin' to give,
In the wrong back yard I've been trying to dig.
I've got to let go of this ill-fated gig,
Or I'm going to be left with a whole lot of nothin'.

CHORUS:
I wish that you could see,
The destruction that you keep leaving me,
I let it go now,
And now I'm living.

Sweet Dove (Track 11, 21st Century Writings)

You kept your heart all locked up,
In the portrait of your dreams.
And kept them clutched so tight,
That they never got their wings.
When all along it was your heart,
That needed to fly.
And now you just sit here,
And watch it pass you by.

There are tears that are for sorrow,
And tears left for pain.
And now you lose because you choose,
To pass around the blame.
But the truth's outside,
Your willingness to decide.
Where someone else should reside,
And all according to the picture in your mind.

CHORUS:
Oh sweet dove of the morning light,
Can it be you've lost your way in flight?
And are you so locked up,
That you can't feel it any more?
I'm sittin' here, bleedin' on the floor
I can't take it any more.

Your fantasy was a plan for me,
Like a painting on the wall.
And now you're there, how do you prepare,
To hold and keep it all?
When there's no way out, you can't even shout,
Because you're frozen in a frame.
And yet your heart is driven,
By some unknown flame.

I don't fit because I couldn't sit,
In a painting on your wall.
I even tried, and to me I lied,
But all I could do is fall.
For the picture's not real, and there's no place to feel,
Like I really am alive.
Can't you see the fantasy is not me,
And that's who you tried to bribe.

CHORUS:
Oh sweet dove of the morning light,
Can it be we've lost our way in flight?
And are you so locked up,
You can't feel it any more?
I'm standing here, knee deep in fear,
Asking, isn't there any more?

So I let it go, I don't need to show,
Or tell you any more.
Or writhe and lie, or step aside,
To keep you from bleedin' on the floor.
For life's outside, and still resides,
Beyond these pictures in our minds.
So I turn from what I knew, to start anew,
As I leave it all behind.

CHORUS:
Oh sweet dove of the morning light,
Can it be we've lost our way in flight?
And are you so locked up,
You can't feel it any more?
I don't feel, that I got through to you,
That I wanted so much more.

Track 10 (21st Century Writings)

What does it mean, what does it matter,
Did you think that life was your silver platter?
Look at what's comin' down the street,
Fate is nippin' at your feet.

You seem so sad, you seem so disappointed,
To find out that you were not the anointed.
Heaven has opened up its door,
And you're still lying on the floor.

CHORUS:
It all seems so unusual, it all seems so strange,
That you would expect everyone else to re-arrange
To make it just right for you,
Isn't that what you're really trying to do?

You always thought that you were some bad
desperado,
Did you really think it gave you your bravado?
Talkin' with the wind in your hair,
You're not goin' anywhere.
Now that you're alone, you act so broken-hearted,
But you pouted and raged, until they all departed.
Can't you see the writing on the wall?
You had a part in making it fall.

Have you stepped outside of all of your confusion,
Long enough to find, it's just one big illusion?
Trying to swim your way up stream,
Could that just really be a dream?

You'd think that we could find someplace to live in,
Where we didn't need to make everything a prison.
Life doesn't have to be that rough,
Why do we need to go out and make it tough?

Life was never meant to be your plump tomato,
What you do today, is what you get tomorrow;
You just thought it would be so neat,
To have it all just laid down at your feet.

How can you say that it wasn't your own doin',
that someone else was the cause of all your ruin?
Baby that sounds so neat,
But try to take that between the sheets.

We think it's so safe, to live in mutual exclusion,
While in our own world, we draw our vain
conclusions.
Wouldn't it be so grand,
If everyone would follow, our well-laid plan?

Now for ourselves, we seek some resolution,
Did you really believe, someone else could give you
absolution?
Why don't you wake up and see the light,
You're the one who has to set it right.

You're holding on so tight, to all that you believe in,
And try to make them real, and it's going to be your ruin.
For with them we can never be free,
Why is that so hard for you to see?

And now I bring this song to its own conclusion,
It would be so nice to see some resolution.
Because the pain doesn't deserve you anymore,
Why don't we just open up our doors?

Of Art, Work, and Passion (Track 9, 21st Century Writings)

Art is a passion that drives me onward,
For all of this expression is a passion waiting to be set free.
To touch, to actualize, to be able to make your visions become real!
And so begins the journey, work becomes art, art becomes work, and both are driven by the passion of expression.

So here I sit in my workshop, my art, my work, and my passion.
Driven on by the work, by the art, by the expression needing to be set free.
The passion drives me onward, first in frustration,
For my hands cannot produce what it is that my mind sees,
And then because the expression begins to take form and grace.
But I always see the human in the Divine,
The imperfection that will hopefully be its own perfection.

So then there is more work, more art, and more and more passion.
The passion drives me on as a seductress that I cannot refuse.
More work, more hours, more energy, and more frustration.
But now I am getting somewhere for I am working sixteen hours a day seven days a week.
I've got to be getting somewhere, surely. I am putting in the time necessary.
But my seductress still eludes me, taunting me with glimpses of excellence,
Only to be dashed by some human element that diminished my bliss.

Gradually exhaustion begins to set in, but the adrenaline seems to compensate,
And then finally the setting free of the passion that drives me one.
Now I am locked into Art, Work, and Passion,
Now I can dance with the nymph, and I make love with my work,
My passions aroused, and we dance as if suspended in time and space.
Now I am locked into art, work and passion.
All else seems unimportant, for now I can see the expression beginning to take form.

Now it again begins to flow, now it is expressive, now I can see its beautiful form
But I am driven harder because of the imperfection that I see my hands produce. Now the world is locked outside of myself, for I am lost in my art.
So lost that I can no longer see that world revolving out there, we dance in the mystical moment this seductress and I, free from all human bondage.

Now fatigue has robbed me of my senses, and with the passion of lunacy, I press on.
I push away all that is external to the art.
Those who are close to me try to reach out to make me slow down, if only for a moment.
But I am dancing with the muse, I am harboring the nymph,
So I push them away in anger and frustration.
I must go on, there are things to be done, there are great things to be done.

Now everything has become rigid and forced, and I am no longer productive and I begin to brood.
Now my body has been driven to collapse. My mind is lost in delusion.
So now I sleep for my body will take no more,
I am finally forced to stop and see what has become of me.
To start the process of unwinding, and letting go of the muse, and relaxing.
Now I view my art from another perspective, seeing its rigidity, but its flow.
Another grand paradox, discipline and free flow of expression in the same breath.

I release the rigidity as I again enter my workshop, pick up my tools and proceed.
Now it flows, now it attains grace and beauty,
And now it is a fee flowing expression from within.
But now I lay it down in the evening, and walk away, knowing full well the seductress still lies within, and will open her doors again,
But for now the grace and beauty of expression will be there tomorrow.
And on the 'morrow, as I pick up my tools with joy in my heart,
For all that has been struggling to take form is right in front of me.