This mandala arrived quite spontaneously on a retreat to Maui to process the loss of my sister, Nancy. The retreat location supported my goals in turning inward to gain more awareness of the meaning of our relationship. This descent was a powerful one and during my retreat there I met a woman, Isabela, with whom I discussed the necessity of expanding one’s heart to contain the pain and sorrow of loss – any kind of loss. This expansion often transforms pain into compassion and takes an incredible amount of patience and self-compassion to sustain. It becomes a practice if one has the devotion and commitment to the process.

We agreed that the capacity to take this path can provide a paradigm for healing – self, society and planet. We dedicated ourselves to this process at a sacred heiau on Maui and vowed to follow this path. My sister Nancy practiced unconditional love for most of her interesting  life and was a true model of maintaining this stance through very challenging life situations. I showed this mandala to Lama Gyaltsen at the Maui Dharma Center and he asked me to name it, dedicate and show it to as many people as I could as a vehicle for healing. The mandala is dedicated to my sister Nancy.