Originally Published October 20,
2003 -- Your Wellness Guide
Water
Your Spirit Through The Labyrinth
——————————————————————
|
Have
you ever walked a meditation labyrinth?
Having
been around for at least the last 4,500 years, labyrinths have been
used as a meditation and spiritual tool.
Labyrinths are not mazes but rather made with a circular
back-and-forth path that leads to a center. There is only one path,
no decision points (unlike a maze), and one entrance. |
Lauren
Artress, arguably one of today’s foremost labyrinth experts, told me that
even in 1995 the general population did not know what a labyrinth was, its
history, or uses.
“The
labyrinth is a watering hole for the spirit. It can be used for
imagination and mind, body, and spirit healing.
Lauren, who
is conducting beginning research on labyrinths’ benefits and results, says
that boundaries between mind, body, and spirit break down once we step
into the labyrinth, especially if you are focused on self-care.
|
“The
labyrinth is highly structured. The fact that you are turning left,
right, left, right -- somehow this balances and gives a sense of
peace -- almost like being rocked in a cradle,” says the author of
Walking a Sacred Path.
There
has been enormous recent interest in the labyrinth’s peace-producing
effects, including appeal to hospitals, cancer support groups,
stress-reduction clinics, religious groups, prisons, and families.
Debra
Landwehr Engle told me that she was first introduced to labyrinths
while writing her latest book,
Grace from the Garden. |
Photo Courtesy: James Madison University
The labyrinth at James Madison
University is open to the
public and enjoyed by the community, students,
and staff as a place to find solitude and peace. |
“One of the
benefits I found,” she says, “is that your path is set for you, so you
don’t have to think about it.”
Her feeling
is that labyrinths bring the mind into balance -- balancing out the right
and left sides of the brain with twists and turns -- and help you to let
go of worries.
Ron Nelson,
English professor at James Madison University in Virginia, headed up the
building of a labyrinth in the campus’s arboretum.
“The spot
was dead and dying trees,” Ron told me. The area was cleared, except for
a few trees. And, instead of constructing a labyrinth with pavers or
stone, the project used large rocks to line the crushed limestone path.
Since the
initial creation, healing plants have also been installed around the
labyrinth’s periphery. The entrance has also been partially shrouded with
bushes to give the additional feeling of entering a place separate from
the world.
When you
visit a labyrinth, you usually have a purpose. The purpose could include
a need for calmness and peace, for heightened spirituality, to have a
daily cleansing of the mind, to grieve for a lost loved one, or to
celebrate.
Once you
enter the labyrinth, you walk the path at your own pace until you reach
the center. Ron says that he likes to bring along a notepad, stopping
along the path and jotting down ideas and thoughts when they come to mind.
At the
center, you take the time you need to focus and meditate. “The center is
not just a physical location,” Ron says, “but also a spiritual location --
one of the beauties and mysteries of the labyrinth.”
Then, you
are encouraged to leave the labyrinth along the same path you entered,
without cutting across to get out.
“There’s no
one right way to walk a labyrinth. But, it is a purposeful walk,” says
Ron. “It’s also a mistake to think that it’s a panacea. We live in a
hectic-paced world. The labyrinth helps you to stop and go slowly and
thoughtfully about something.”
If you are
interested in trying out a labyrinth, over 1800 labyrinth locations are
databased at
http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/
(link updated 8/26/05).
Many of the database’s privately-listed labyrinths allow public use with
an appointment if you call ahead.
Or, the
book
Way of the Labyrinth by Helen Curry also lists labyrinth
locations.
Terra
Wellington
is a
national authority on creating a wellness lifestyle.
www.terrawellington.com
© Copyright Terra
Wellington