A Labyrinth Experience

A friend recently asked me for more information about one of my favorite topics, labyrinths. So, I searched this blog for articles I had written in the past to send to him. Weirdly, there weren’t any.

Labyrinths have come up a lot for me lately, as there is often someone’s work created in the sand here near my home, and they have been a big part of my life over the past 10 years or so. That’s when I was first introduced to the magic of labyrinths.

Of course, in typical me fashion, I wanted to find out more. And so, I registered for Labyrinth Facilitator training. This was a week-long workshop at a retreat center (now home of the Hoffman Institute), near Petaluma, California.

What a week! Led by Lauren Artress, founder of the modern labyrinth movement, and Lars Howlett, a leading labyrinth designer, we stuffed as much as we could into one week of learning. At the end of the week, not only could I confidently lead a labyrinth experience AND build my own labyrinth, but I connected with others that were passionate about the practice.

Okay, so let’s begin with the basics. What is a labyrinth anyway? At first glance, many might compare it to a maze, but while a maze is designed to get you lost, it can be said that a labyrinth helps you to find yourself. Most labyrinths have only one way in to a center area and one way back out again, and regardless of the design, much like life, if you stay on the path you can’t get lost. The labyrinth has been around for thousands of years, has been a part of all cultures and has even been found in the form of ancient cave drawings.

Labyrinths are a tool to facilitate walking meditation. It quiets the mind, opens the heart and grounds the body. Just as in mindfulness meditation, there is no right or wrong way to walk the labyrinth. Each person will have a different experience on the labyrinth, and each person will have a different experience each time they walk it. The fact that you can’t get lost on it allows you to let go. Generally speaking, there are three stages to the walk, known as the three “R’s” – Release as you enter, Receive in the center, and Return back out again. All that you experience on your walk can be viewed metaphorically, and that is certainly true for me. Do you feel like you’re lost? Did you stumble? Are you anxious to get to the center? Do you walk it fast or slow?

Labyrinths come in many shapes and sizes, always keeping in mind the idea that if you follow the path, you can’t get lost. There are classical labyrinths, typically seven circuits, perhaps the oldest going back at least 3,500 years, and found throughout the world. There are medieval labyrinths, also known as Chartres labyrinths, made famous by the eleven circuit labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France, built in the early 1200s. Then there are the modern day works of art that can take on any shape and size.

Your experience on the labyrinth is up to you. What I have witnessed is that those who understand the purpose of a labyrinth, as more than a walking meditation or an interesting artifact, those that connect with the metaphoric symbolism, are often moved to tears by that experience. In my own life, some of my most profound moments have taken place on the labyrinth.

Today, those labyrinths are being used around the world, in parks, hospitals, churches, schools and prisons, as well as on private property. I look for labyrinths on my travels and you can too, by using the world-wide labyrinth locator.