I really like the illustration picture with the mandala stones. I need to find such stones and try it out :-)

Interesting reading your article because earlier today I just created my first doodle mandala (as an entry for the sticky art contest :) you can see my post on my blog if interested ) I never really did it before but I liked the process. I didn't really have a concrete idea in the beginning but then I just drew some regular structure and filled out the spaces in different shapes, and then it came all from alone without thinking and I forgot about the time, and at the end I realized that I completely had disconnected and I did unconsciously some kind of mediation with this exercise. I liked the experience :)
Simply doodling on a blank page is difficult for me, I need some structure, and this worked here quite well, I might be repeating it in the future if I want to have some "disconnection" :)

Thanks for sharing the recommendations given to you. I'll try it out next time starting from the outer circle :)

Good luck to you on your way to find what best fits you!