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A
labyrinth is an ancient experience of wholeness,
A
blending of the mind, body and soul. It brings together the sacred
geometry of the circle and the spiral into a purposeful path. The
Labyrinth offers us a safe and non-threatening journey to our own
personal and spiritual center and back again into the world.
Labyrinths
have long been tools for meditation and prayer. A labyrinth is a
simple yet sacred tool with which we can have a "direct"
or conscious experience. We can walk it. The labyrinth becomes a
metaphor for our own life journey. It is a tool that helps us to
create a visible sacred space. A conscious place and takes us out of
our human ego and guide us to that inner place of listening and
peace. A place of enlightenment and healing.
A
labyrinths is not a maze, they have often been confused. When most
people think of a labyrinth they in vision a maze. A maze however,
is like a puzzle, something to be solved. It has twists, turns, and
blind paths. It offers left brain challenges that requires logical,
sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the
maze and out.
A
labyrinth has but one path. It offers it's journeyers but one
destiny. The way in, is the way out. There are no blind paths. The
labyrinth path leads you on a safe and introspective path to the
center and out again. A labyrinth is a right brain experience. It
evokes intuition, creativity, and imagery. It opens the chakras and
pulls from our very root the inner longings of our personal
spiritual and human calling. With a maze many choices must be made
and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the
center. With a labyrinth, as with the inner longings of our
spiritual life, there is only one true choice to be made. The choice
is to enter into the experience or not. A more passive, receptive
mindset is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual
path. 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.
Come,
Walk The Inner Journey !

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There
is no right way to walk a labyrinth.
You have only but to
enter the experience and follow the call, the flow of the path. At different
time in your life's journey, your walk will present you with a wide
variety of emotional and physical attitudes. It may be joyous or
somber. It might be thoughtful or prayerful. You may use it as a
walking meditation. Whatever your experience, be open to its message
and its healing energy.
When you walk a
labyrinth you may consciously choose your attitude, but don't be surprised
if on more than one occasion an attitude chooses you. From
time to time choose a different attitude, vary your attitudes.. Make
it serious, prayerful, or playful, maybe all three at once.
Play music, sing, chant or tone. Pray out loud. Verbalize a mantras.
Walk alone, with a loved one, a child or with a crowd.
Walk with the visualization of an absent friend or loved one. This
is great for remote healing. Notice the environment. Listen to
the sounds. Most of all pay attention to your experience.
Some
general guidelines for walking a labyrinth are:
1.
Focus: Pause and wait at the entrance. Become
quiet and centered. Give acknowledgment of a higher power and of
your presence on Holy Ground or Sacred Space, through a bow,
nod, or other gesture and then enter.
2.
Experience: Walk with reverence and respect,
walk purposefully. Experience the process from within, you must not
be a spectator on your own journey.. When you reach the center,
allow it to welcome you , abide there for a time, remain focused and
listen with all of your senses. Begin the journey out when it seems
appropriate. Be attentive on the journey out.
3.
Exit: Turn and face the entrance. Give an
acknowledgement, a thanksgiving of this experience, such as a bow,
or even an "Amen."
4.
Reflect: After walking the labyrinth reflect back
on your experience. Use journaling or drawing to Interpret your
experience. Remain open to a heightened spiritual connection.
5. Walk
as often as you are directed to.
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