An Ahimsa Mandala: A Living, Non-Material Way to Set Intentions

In a world that often encourages us to rush, plan, and strive, this practice invites something very different: listening, softening, and choosing peace.

Rather than setting resolutions or manifesting material goals, this Ahimsa Mandala is an inner practice. It explores how we live, not what we accumulate. A way of orienting ourselves toward peace that begins within and naturally ripples outward.

1. Choose the Right Time

This is not a practice to rush.

Winter has always been a season of dormancy, dreaming, and gestation. If clarity isn’t there yet, that’s not a problem, it’s wisdom.

For me, this mandala is still very much in the dream stage. I’ll continue to add ideas and reflections, and I’ll consciously deepen and develop it at Imbolc / Brigid’s Day, the beginning of spring in the Celtic calendar. Imbolc is traditionally associated with renewal, inspiration, and gentle beginnings. A time for planting seeds, not forcing growth.

2. Create Your Circle

Draw a large circle on a page and divide it into sections.

You can keep this very simple, pen and paper is enough.

Or, if you feel inclined, you might like to work with colour, symbols, or images. Let this be intuitive rather than planned.

This is not about making something pretty or perfect.

It’s about creating space to listen.

3. Reflect Through the Ahimsa Themes

Sit with each section of your mandala slowly.

There is no need to answer everything at once. Let the questions work on you over time. Return to them again and again.

🌟 Beauty

When there is natural beauty, there is peace, a forest, a waterfall, the sea.

Beauty has the power to soften us and bring us home to ourselves.

What feels truly beautiful to you, and how can you invite more of it into your life?

🌟 Creativity

We are naturally creative beings. Creativity doesn’t have to be artistic, it can be how you move, cook, speak, or solve problems.

Creativity can cultivate peace and even promote it.

How can you use your creativity to add to a more peaceful world?

🌟 Food

Our relationship with food can be deeply peaceful or deeply conflicted.

Where might there be harm, physically, mentally, or emotionally, in how you source food or how you relate to it?

How could you bring more ahimsa into this relationship through nourishment, gratitude, and respect?

🌟 Noise

Noise exists both around us and within us.

Is it the noise itself that creates unrest, or our reaction to it?

How can you respond to sound, stimulation, and busyness with greater softness and peace?

🌟 Death & Letting Go

Peace often comes from our ability to release rather than hold tightly.

Where are you resisting endings, change, or uncertainty?

How might letting go, with trust and compassion, create more peace in your life?

🌟 Natural Order

Everything we do has an effect on all living beings.

Are your daily choices creating peace for the land, the water, plants, insects, animals, and people near and far?

How can you live in greater harmony with nature, knowing that what we care for ultimately cares for us in return?

🌟 Intelligence (Inner Wisdom)

True intelligence is not just knowing, but living what we know.

How can you honour the wisdom that already lives within you?

What would it mean to live in alignment with this inner knowing, choosing peace over habit or conditioning?

These themes were inspired by the documentary Ahimsa, which you can watch for free on YouTube.

4. Keep It Non-Material

This mandala is intentionally not about work goals, money, productivity, or external achievement.

It is an exploration of how you live, not what you accumulate.

A practice of ahimsa that begins within and naturally ripples outward into the world.

5. Let It Remain Alive

This mandala is not something to complete and put away.

Personally, I’ll continue to add to mine over the coming weeks, allowing it to evolve naturally. I’ll be developing it more consciously at Imbolc / Brigid’s Day, honouring the slow return of light and the quiet courage of new beginnings.

Practising Together

I’ll be exploring Aparigraha (non-grasping) and how it relates to intention-setting this Sunday Jan 4th at 5pm in the online Yoga Club.

We’ll also continue working with and developing this Ahimsa Mandala at the next Anú Rising Circle on February 1st.

You are warmly invited to join us, to practice gently, and to choose peace in ways that feel honest, embodied, and alive.