Journeys Through Labyrinths
Barefoot, I walk upon the cool limestone, worn smooth by the feet of many thousands. Souls have tread this winding spiral path over the span of several hundred years. I sense their presence even now, as though we journey together here. Resonance floods my senses as I commune with the source arising within and around me. This nonmaterial reality—frequency, telluric energy—hums throughout my body. I attune to the life force, or as Chartrian masters would say, the anima mundi. The cavernous cathedral, like a womb or a cocoon, embraces me on this meandering, transformational journey. Stained glass, luminous with jeweled light, casts a spell upon me as I travel ever closer to the center. Fellow pilgrims, as well as souls of the past, meditatively move inward and outward—lost in prayer. I, too, am lost, but also found—cradled by the cathedral. Held in a mother’s arms, I am home.
I return again and again, in body or in spirit, to Chartres Cathedral in France, walking this ancient path, a pilgrimage to my soul. Since my first encounter with this 11-circuit labyrinth in 2007, I have created many labyrinths, some inscribed in sand or with chalk, some with rope or rock. I create labyrinths on my own and, at times, with others—most notably with my husband Michael. As a non-formal educator, I have engaged children in the process of creating, walking, and often running labyrinths. As a guide, I have led adults on transformational journeys through labyrinths. From quiet introspection to exuberant expression, traveling the path alone and with others is for me deepening and life-affirming.
Walking the labyrinth can be calming, quieting, and centering, a refuge from fast-paced everyday life, unsettling news, or turbulent circumstances. It allows the sojourner to slow down and experience eternity in the moment. This may lead to reflection, contemplation, or simply being. This experience is emotionally and energetically rebalancing, the serpentine journey subtly affecting the psyche and body as well as forging new neural pathways in the brain. Furthermore, it activates and intensifies quantum awareness through the experience of chi, flow, and ecstasy—evidence of an unseen yet ever-present reality.
The journey may also connect the individual with fields of possibility where their healing intentions can spread and manifest in the world. It may also bring them into relationship with the ecofield itself, allowing them to actively experience physical, relational, and spiritual interconnections with the more-than-human world. Those who walk the labyrinth may awaken primal resonance within, experience a sense of inner peace, and attune to the wisdom of the planet. Labyrinth in a Bag is my way to share the gifts and wonders of walking labyrinths.
The labyrinth as a symbol has been around for millennia—embossed in coins, carved in clay or stone tablets, inscribed on the walls of caves or tombs, woven in basketry, and inlaid in the floors of medieval cathedrals. These meandering, often circular, walking paths have been used for prayer and meditation, sacred initiation, personal transformation, ritual and celebration, healing, and more.
Unlike a maze, a labyrinth is unicursal, having a single path to the center. There are no dead ends and you cannot get lost. The path inward and outward is the same. As you travel the path, you don’t have to make decisions about which way to turn. You can simply relax and open yourself to the free-flowing experience of walking the winding path. A resulting sense of surrender may calm your heart, mind, and body, alleviating stress. Research also suggests that walking a labyrinth may lower blood pressure, enhance cognitive functioning, increase creativity, and improve physical balance (1). It may also balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain (2). While walking a labyrinth, transformations small and large may occur, leading to insight, clarity, or a sense of healing. Furthermore, it may lead to spiritual awakening and be a portal to new states of awareness or consciousness.
Through this blog, I offer an exploration of labyrinths informed by my regular sacred practice of walking labyrinths, and my creation of non-traditional labyrinths and different ways to explore and experience them. My hope is that readers will use, adapt, and share the ideas presented here in ways that foster healing, peace, joy, and delight.
For all that is,
(1) Michels, Barbara, Debra Maxwell, & Ching-Wen Chang (2010). Labyrinths: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow—Implications for Education. Critical Questions in Education. Volume 1, Issue 1. https://academyedstudies.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/michaelsvol1no11.pdf
(2) McCarthy, Marge (2008). Kids On The Path: School Labyrinth Guide. Labyrinth Resource Group. Santa Fe, New Mexico.
