The Labyrinth

“We are all on our own path, and exactly where we need to be. The labyrinth is a model of that path for it is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. Walking a labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world.” www.lessons4living.com/labyrinth.htm

Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools, and were a feature of many medieval cathedrals. One of the best remaining examples is found in Chartres Cathedral in northern France. People walk the labyrinth slowly as a tool for contemplative prayer and reflection, or as a spiritual exercise. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place, which takes us out of our ego to our center within.

Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. When most people hear of a labyrinth they think of a maze, but it is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved with twists, turns, and blind alleys. It is a left-brain task that is a logical and analytical activity to find the correct path into and then to exit. Many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the maze.

A labyrinth has only one path; the way in is the way out. There are no blind alleys. It is a right brain task which involves intuition, creativity, and imagery.

At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.

I walked a Labyrinth this month. This was my experience:

“A cooling breeze teased my hair as the sun’s intensity heated my back. I stood at the beginning; the entrance of a spiraling labyrinth made on the sandy desert floor. The circling path was lined with smooth river rocks of variegated blues, greens, grays, and reds with a few black rough lava rocks sprinkled in for contrast. I set my intention to go within and to center myself as I began to walk. Thoughts flitted in my mind, and without entertaining them they left just as quickly. Each step on the path took me closer to the center with the sound of fine red sand crunching under my feet. My intention focused me inward as I felt my breath go in and out in a rhythmic pattern of inhale and exhale. Step by step, breath by breath, I go inward…..into the silence, into the heightened awareness of every beat of my heart in its hypnotic rhythm…..taking me inward to a center point. The silence within matches the stillness without. I stand there at the center of the labyrinth; at the center of myself.”

A Labyrinth is simply a tool for which there are many to take us to our center. Have you taken any inward jou
eys lately? What have they been about? I would love to here about your experience in a comment below.

“Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path… exactly where you are meant to be right now… And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing, of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love.” ~Caroline Adams

Robert Smithson’s ”Spiral Jetty” is a 1,500-foot coil of black basalt rocks in the Great Salt Lake, Utah. Over the years it has been encrusted with white salt crystals. It is surrounded by shallow pink water in what looks like a vast snow field.

In 1970, Robert Smithson built the ”Jetty,” at a site called Rozel Point on the northeast shore because he liked the dark pink color of the water, an effect that results primarily from bacteria and algae that grow there. It is considered his masterpiece since he died in a plane crash at the age of 35.(There are 2 pictures with this article that illustrate what a laburinth is. http://radlinda.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/the-labyrinth/