I live in Australia and as a nation we are in the very early days of recovery over the impact of colonisation and the long term trauma and displacement of Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal Women (Nunga Miminis) are 45 times more likely to die in domestic violence than non-Aboriginal Women and there is a life expectancy gap of 20 years for Black Australians, many who are living in third world conditions in this country, their homeland of thousands of years.

One of the terms that has become popular in the areas of health, housing and healing is about 'building bridges' between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people...but I have found that 'building a bridge' begins from an assumption of disconnection and focuses on the need to traverse a wide, unexplored gap between nations of people.

A few years ago I came upon the 'Mandorla' which is the name for that almond shape that is created where two circles intersect.

The Mandorla reminds us that we all share commonalities as human beings...regardless of the skin-we-are-in...we are all the same within!

When I run workshops for Aboriginal women, as a non-Aboriginal woman, I find that introducing the Mandorla to people activates the memory of our Oneness and many of the divisions and suspicions and historical illusions of separation evaporate .

Finding our connections...that we all need air, food, shelter, love and belonging and then identifying connections within connections (e.g. animal lovers...grandmothers) empowers our Oneness. Where our circles do not intersect is where we learn from one anothers stories and life experiences.

I have an image of the Mandorla in my blog if you would like to have a look and consider how this beautiful image could bring its magic of connection and unity to your work....

Then there is the role of Mandalas...I would love to share some of those stories if people are interested in how they are used in art based workshops...

You can view the Mandorla here:
http://carolom.wordpress.com/about

Carol Omer
Adelaide (Traditional Kaurna land)