The Mandala Room
So this dream started 9 years almost to the day. I was in Byron Bay completing my yoga training and my husband John found this property on the market. Within a year we bought it, the little stone cottage complete with a broken down studio that had stood here crying out for love for over 20 years.
We didn’t know how or what we would end up with but we bought this property and moved in during April 2010. We spent about 4 years here looking at this very incomplete building dreaming of what it could become, in some cases we had considered demolishing it and starting again. Years went by and the babies just kept on coming, as I sat for what seems to be centuries breastfeeding my babies and surrendering to just that……………….then just before Denver was born we birthed the Quiet Cone by relocating it here from Parkerville and now it’s better known as The Sound Temple.
We did what we could afford to the building to open it enough to serve cups of teas and make people feel like they had come home. Late last year, the planets lined up for us and the ideas for this room started to flow. In November Janis and I started talking about finishing this room by May 2018 so that we could say yes to more of the requests that we get sent. Little did we know that there were high speed plans at play for this room, here we are late January, built and complete over the Christmas period, adrenals have been firing on all cylinders.
There are many to thank specifically for the creation of this space…..Janis for screeching with excitement with me at every turn, we would go in each night and turn the lights on and watch the progress, Ian Smith IDS Designs who has been here almost every day supervising and bringing together every last detail, Harry Evans and Veronique Rachel who travelled here over the new year period and camped on site for 10 days to make this amazing Mandala, Peter Ballard – the Hobbit, Sebastian Eder, Neil, Blessed Earth who handmade the organic carpets from NZ wool in India – they hand tufted every thread and naturally dyed – underfloor heating was installed to keep us cosy during the winter months, the projector and surround sound system are state-of-the-art to accommodate all sorts of requests, Paula, Louisa and Mango who helped with by making meals, cups of tea and keeping everyone nourished throughout the project. Helen and Melissa who are part of my sisterhood here formed part of what I am today, thanks also to Jenna, Christel, Sandy, Melissa and Janis who are here behind the scenes pulling all of this together. All the facilitators who share their gifts here are also very highly regarded and we are forever grateful to them for enabling their own dreams and sharing sacred space with us. Beautiful Rudi who passed over two years ago has his soul in this place, he erected The Sound Temple and worked tirelessly on improvements to this property over a five year period.
I thank my sisters here Harishakti and Kim Echammaal Coull who took me under their wings last year and we created these Kirtan events together, this room has been calling me for so many years but I was always wondering why, now I feel I know.
Last year we had visiting musicians Jackson Lewis and Marilena who played here and after their weekend in the space they suggested that their friends might like to come and make a Mandala for our property. They said “look up Hazel Mandala.”
And so it is……………The Mandala that has been lovingly created for this space is called Through the Water She Spoke, it’s our alter piece for this property, it’s based on the heart chakra, it is embodied with the earth through a crystal grid based on stones to support the heart. Harry and Vero sat here in sacred space for days and nights bringing all of this together, they sung and played instruments together and poured all of our intentions into this absolute masterpiece.
John and I just can’t believe we are here today in this lovely space welcoming people into our place to share special times with. This is a place of reverence and grace and all are welcome here.
Thank you, please enjoy what this night brings for you.
Love Dawn
Taken from a beautiful welcoming speech given by Dawn at Saturday night’s Kirtan event to a room full to overflowing with family, friends and newcomers to The Sound Temple. The space was awash with the voices of angels which created an amazing energy – a perfect and fitting way to honour The Mandala Room and the spirit of the people who had the dream, shared the dream and are now living the dream. Blessed beyond words.