Mandala Minds: Why Amy Left a 32 Year Nursing Career for Mandalas
Why Amy Traded a 32-Year Nursing Career for the Healing Power of Mandalas | The Purpose Chasers
For 10 years, she heard it. Not a whisper. A scream.
A scream that said the bedside was no longer her place. That there was another way to help people. That the system she had given three decades to could not hold all of who she was becoming.
For 10 years, Amy, founder of Mandala Minds and Wellness and a nurse with 32 years of experience, sat inside what Dr. Seuss called the "Waiting Place". She felt the pull toward something more holistic, more whole, more her. And she waited.
In Episode 102 of The Purpose Chasers, host Mark Crandall sat down with Amy for one of the most honest conversations this podcast has had about the cost of ignoring your calling and the extraordinary gift of finally answering it.
What Is a Mandala and Why Does It Heal?
Before Amy could explain what she does, she had to explain what a mandala actually is. The word mandala means circle in Sanskrit. But as Amy describes it, mandalas are not just art. They are embedded in everything: sun, moon, flowers, the cellular structure of the human body.
What Amy teaches in her workshops is dot painting, a specific modality that uses acrylic paints and dotting tools to create symmetrical mandalas. The symmetrical form is deliberate. It organizes a chaotic brain and moves the participant into presence and mindfulness.
The Three Things That Happen in Every Workshop
Amy told Mark there are three things she sees in every single class, representing the core of the experience:
Releasing Perfectionism: Amy reminds participants that from a distance, no one can see misplaced dots. The mandala is forgiving.
Creative Self-Love: Encouraging people to love their own creation as much as they love everyone else's.
The Unknown Journey: No one knows what their mandala will look like when they start. It evolves dot by dot.
If you are a coach or purpose-driven entrepreneur feeling the same pull toward sharing your expertise, the free Happy Check book shows you how to capture and share transformation stories like Amy’s.
The Bad Outcome and the 10-Year Waiting Place
About 12 years ago, Amy experienced a bad outcome at work. This catalyzed a decade of growing dissatisfaction. She felt the Silence Tax, the cost of staying quiet about who you are becoming because the risk of stepping into it feels too high.
What She Gained From the Bedside
Amy’s spirituality came from witnessing life arrive and leave at the bedside. This exposure propelled her toward this work. Nothing was wasted. All of it fed the version of Amy who now helps people calm their nervous systems through the quiet focus of a single dot.
The Real Takeaway: Honoring Yourself Is the Strategy
Mark asked Amy what it feels like to be on the other side of fear. Her answer: "It has alleviated a huge amount of depression for me. Because I am finally honoring myself."
What Honoring Yourself Sounds Like
Sal went from a people pleaser to someone who knows what he is worth. In his words:
"Mark stepped in and he drew a boundary for me and allowed me to assert myself."
More real stories on the Happy Check client results page.
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