Judith Cornell, Ph.D., MFA, a classically trained Western artist, had a radical awakening in 1979 that completely changed her life, her view of art, and the nature of reality itself. She healed in an instant her sense of psychic fragmentation and experienced the abiding love of the universe as God, the Divine Light permeating all of creation. As a result, Dr. Cornell began painting luminous circles filled with healing light, not knowing for about two years that these were traditionally called "mandalas." She has since learned that mandala—a sacred circle, symbol of healing and wholeness——traditions found throughout the world are derived from direct experiences of truth and have always been used as a means of turning inward to investigate the mind and to discover the inner truth about our essential nature and oneness with the whole universe. Her awakening in 1979 resulted in the development of Dr. Cornell’s pioneering and wholly original method to help others to awaken and heal at the deepest levels using simple tools of art—mere paper and pencils—to incorporate the healing circle as an aspect of centering on that which alone is real. Her progress over the past 27 years became a synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions, blending the sacred art and the spiritual science of the mandala with theories in quantum physics, raja and kundalini yoga, and transpersonal psychology. Dr. Cornell received her masters of fine arts from New York University and her doctorate in art and philosophy from Columbia Pacific University. She originally published her award-winning title MANDALA: Luminous Symbols for Healing with Quest Books in 1994. In 2003, 2004, and 2005, Dr. Cornell applied for and was awarded a Lloyd Symington Foundation Cancer grant. These grants enable her to offer Mandala: Circles for Healing programs free of charge to cancer patients at Mercy Regional Cancer Center in Mount Shasta CA and at the Community Hospital of Monterey in Monterey, CA.
