Conscious Choice: Labyrinths Renew Ancient Spiritual Connections

September 2000

Labyrinths Renew Ancient Spiritual Connections

by Bobbye Middendorf

"The present labyrinth...creates a sense of evolution entering into time, calling us to awaken to a citizenship in a universe larger than our aspirations and richer and more complex than all our dreams." — Jean Houston, from the Foreword to The Way of the Labyrinth

A new movement is afoot. New, and yet old. Older even than history, if some archaeological records are to be believed. Ancient and universal, yet simultaneously a real-time, 24/7 manifestation of one of Jung’s archetypes from the collective unconscious: Labyrinths are making a comeback in a big way.

I walked a labyrinth for the first time a year ago, out in the rain at the annual open house at the Theosophical Society. Try as I might, nothing profound seemed to emerge. Lightning doesn’t strike on each and every walk, I later learned. But for those who continue to make labyrinth walking a part of an ongoing meditation practice (as many people are), deep connections are common. It doesn’t matter if you walk with your feet or with your fingers on a portable labyrinth board or use a drawing of a labyrinth. By any of these methods, all the benefits of this centering meditative activity can unfold.

What is a Labyrinth?

Simply, a labyrinth is a circuitous pathway on the ground. Many people envision paths along giant hedges, but experts identify those as mazes. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has only one pathway — a unicursal path — in to a center. Then the same path is retraced back out, symmetrically; you traverse the path in the opposite direction. There are no dead ends, wrong turns, or blind alleys and no decisions to make. Engaging both conscious and subconscious mind, the labyrinth takes the walker on a metaphorical and literal journey on as many levels as he or she is ready to experience.

Walking the labyrinth can be a form of meditation, a conscious ritual, a method to release stress and get centered, or a way to worship. Or a labyrinth walk may contain all those meanings at once.

"Each walk is different," counsels Helen Curry, president of the International Labyrinth Society, whose mission is "to support all those who create, maintain and use labyrinths and to serve the global community by providing education, networking, and opportunities to experience transformation." Curry is author of a new book, The Way of the Labyrinth, (Penguin, publish date October 2000).

According to Jean Houston, in her foreword to Curry’s book, the spiral patterns of the labyrinth connect deeply with the spiral patterns common in nature — from the whorl of flowers to the nautilus shell to the spiral dance of galaxies millions of light years away. This universal pattern inspires connection, healing, meditation, and consciousness.

Many credit Houston for bringing the labyrinth back to the attention of late-twentieth-century seekers. It was while attending one of Houston’s mystery schools that the Reverend Dr. Artress, Canon at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, was introduced to the labyrinth. In 1991, Artress launched a labyrinth ministry, Veriditas, out of Grace Cathedral. It sparked a renewed interest in church-based labyrinths. Artress has made it her life’s work to introduce the labyrinth to as many people as possible. Some make their first encounter through her book, Walking a Sacred Path, (Riverhead Books, 1995).

Mysterious in origin, the labyrinth symbol is found across at least 5,000 years and in virtually every culture. Its near-relations include mandalas, medicine wheels, and meander patterns (epitomized in the Greek key symbol), as well as spirals and mazes. A seven-circuit labyrinth known as the classical or Cretan labyrinth has been around for millennia. The labyrinth symbol appeared woven in baskets of native Americans of the southwest. It was swept into the clay on giant plateaus in Peru. It was imprinted on coins of ancient Crete. It appeared in China as a box made for burning incense. Experts cite appearances in ancient Egypt, Scandinavia, Iceland, Sumatra, India, Wales, and among the Zulu of Africa. Even as scholars pursue possible paths of connections, the labyrinth retains its enigmatic origins.

Discovering and recovering these ancient symbols on the Earth was initially the purview of those who studied Earth energies, including dowsers. According to Sig Lonegren in his book Labyrinths: Ancient Myths and Modern Uses (now out of print), labyrinths are sacred spaces where earlier societies and communities were able to experience the reality of the spiritual realms. Some theorize it is a symbol from the earliest goddess cultures.

What Does a Labyrinth Do?

Explains therapist and author Melissa Gayle West, in her book, Exploring the Labyrinth (Broadway Books, February 2000) "Walking the labyrinth fulfills six important contemporary needs: deepening spirituality; inwardness and connection to soul; access to intuition and creativity; simplicity; for integration of body and spirit; and intimacy and community. The labyrinth addresses all of these six human needs, transforming the lives of those who take the time to walk its circuits."

Even as the hurry sickness of contemporary culture pervades our lives, a counter movement toward consciousness and integration emerges in the labyrinth. According to Curry, "The labyrinth is one of the most compassionate and humane meditation tools available. It accesses all parts of what it means to be human. It is sacred space, and yet it uses the body to pass through the pathways. It is a meditation tool that makes profound heart connections, yet it engages the rational mind as well.... It works best when — and because — it works on all these levels simultaneously."

Local therapist and labyrinth expert Neal Harris at Relax4Life observes that "something unusual and profound happened to many people when they experienced the labyrinth." Says Harris, "Walking the labyrinth or using a finger labyrinth — one that is portable and easily available even when a full-sized labyrinth is not — gives people a chance to connect to quiet space within themselves. Labyrinth walks allow people to touch something deep within, achieve a sense of relaxation and introspection they can’t normally get."

In addition to building labyrinths (He was the creator of the giant Earth-Wisdom labyrinth in Elgin and the brand-new labyrinth at Provena St. Joseph Wellness Center, also in Elgin.), Harris has been using labyrinths in his therapy practice. He wondered, "If a finger labyrinth helps someone turn their attention inward, then what would happen if both client and therapist simultaneously were able to turn inward?" So he created an innovative finger labyrinth that can be used by therapist and client simultaneously. Harris’ "Intuipath" has since expanded its reach into relationship-building within families, among friends and even co-workers.

"When using a labyrinth with others, I have found that the path tends to magnify our thoughts, attitudes, and emotions, allowing us to see how our thinking may not be the most productive at times, thus providing an opportunity to change for both," comments Harris in an article appearing in Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association. "Because these designs contain no blind alleys or dead ends, the fingerwalk journey becomes one of introspection and self-awareness (intra-personal communication), it can easily foster greater interpersonal communication as well."

According to Ronne Hartfield, who speaks on Sacred Images in Art, these images express something inexpressible, labyrinths function both as containers and conveyors of meaning. Hartfield suggests that sacred mandalas "are maps of the heavenly capitals. At the center of the universe is silence, and a world of meaning is deciphered from that silence." The labyrinth is, at the very least, a manifestation of a universal sacred container as ancient as prehistory and as contemporary as today. Yet its multiple modalities make it a purposeful path for those seeking insight into divinity and those who simply seek release from stress. The labyrinth is an open door between vastly different times, places, and people. So go ahead, take a walk. Discover the world, and yourself.

Bobbye Middendorf is a writer and artist in Chicago. She is a member of The Labyrinth Society and has created collaged finger labyrinths.

Resources

The following books are readily available at neighborhood and online bookstores:

Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool by Dr. Lauren Artress (Riverhead Books, 1995)

The Way of the Labyrinth: A Powerful Meditation for Everyday Life by Helen Post Curry (Penguin Compass, publish date October 2000)

Exploring the Labyrinth: A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth by Melissa Gayle West (Broadway Books, February 2000)

These great labyrinth Web sites will give you much more information, are sources for more links to take your journey deeper, and offer directories of labyrinths, both local and national:

www.relax4life.com Also includes a directory of Illinois labyrinths. Offers a variety of finger labyrinths for sale.

www.labyrinthsociety.org Features links with members who make or host labyrinths worldwide, as well as offering a variety of educational tools.

www.gracecathedral.org (Includes a directory of labyrinths, usually church-based Chartres-style labyrinths.

Local Labyrinths

Here’s where to connect with publicly available labyrinths in the Chicago area. Many offer programs or workshops periodically. Others have portable canvas labyrinths available for programs off site.

Chicago
St. James Episcopal Cathedral, downtown at 65 E. Huron between Rush and Wabash; Chartres-style labyrinth painted on pavement behind the Cathedral. 312-787-7360, or contact Judi Mason, labyrinth coordinator at 312-527-5488.

Garfield Park Conservatory, on the west side at 300 N. Central Park; seven-circuit classical labyrinth with crushed gravel path and grass borders. The Garfield Park Conservatory is owned and managed by the Chicago Park District. For more information, contact the horticulture program coordinator, Eden DeGenova, at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance 773-638-1766, ext. 20.

Deerfield
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church at the Northeast corner of Deerfield and Wilmot Roads just off I-94; 82 foot grass and stone outdoor Chartres labyrinth. Call the church at 847-945-1678; online at www.stgregoryschurch.org or contact K. Pokorney, labyrinth coordinator at 847-945-1815.

Elgin
The Earth-Wisdom Labyrinth at Elgin Unitarian Universalist Church located three miles West of the intersection of Randall Road and Highland Avenue, on Highland Avenue. 94 foot stone and mulch Chartres-style labyrinth; online at www.uuce.org or call 847-888-0668

Provena St. Joseph Wellness Center, 100 S. Hawthorn Street; 36-foot mulch and fieldstone 7-circuit Cretan labyrinth surrounded by a stand of fir trees. This is the first hospital-affiliated permanent labyrinth in the Midwest. 847-622-8289.

Naperville
RiverWalk Park Labyrinth — This exact replica of the Chartres labyrinth is 42 feet in diameter, constructed in inlaid brick paving stones on the floor of the outdoor amphitheater in the middle of Naperville’s RiverWalk Park, at the corner of Eagle Street and Jefferson. 630-552-3408.

St. Charles
St. Charles Episcopal Church, 994 North Fifth; on Route 25 about 1.25 miles North of Route 64 (North Ave.) 42-foot Chartres pattern created with granite cobblestones and crushed limestone and sand. 630-584-2596.

Wheaton
The Labyrinth at Olcott is on the grounds of the national center of the Theosophical Society in America. It is located behind the Quest Bookshop, at 306 W. Geneva Road; gravel and circular walking plates in a 50-foot seven-circuit classical labyrinth. 630-665-0123.

Woodstock
Resurrection Center 2710 South Country Club Road has created a 60-foot brick and grass Chartres design labyrinth. Call 815-338-1032 for information and directions.

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