Last year on September 9th, I approached my local labyrinth and as is often the case I stood at its entrance and considered if there were things that I wanted to bring to the walking meditation before me and found all the swirling thoughts to simply be too much to sort through, so I just uttered the word “help” and started walking.
Shortly after I began pacing around the circuits the clear thought of “work with me every day for a year” appeared so I spent the next minutes wondering how that would look and decided that however I could make the labyrinth a part of my life for the next 365 days I would.
What followed was a combination of daily practice and exploration of finger labyrinths, walking labyrinths, conversations about building and history of labyrinths and touring different ones wherever I was traveling, thanks to the awesome locator that exists online. It was (and still is) my work to utilize this ancient tool for connecting to my self and to the Earth wherever and whenever I could – the small metal finger labyrinth with accompanying stylus that I could pack in my bag saw more use than any other “labs” over the past year, what a wonderful little gem! Though these labyrinth cards are a pretty sweet option to work with as well.
As one who trained in the calm abiding (object) style of meditation, the labyrinth has been not only a friend for the last 20 some years, but a teacher and mirror for many of my queries into the nature of being in relation to this time and space – for this I am forever grateful. Over the last year I took many more questions to the labyrinths that I sought out….and walk after walk, trace after trace, the answers I wanted would often find their way out of the tangle of thoughts, voices, and ideas that filled my mind with each breath and placing of trust I extended to the still form that lay before me, just waiting, for me to appear.
I’ve never thought of time spent with the labyrinth as work in the same way I consider what pays my bills as work, but it very much is, as it informs me about me and the larger world with calm, clear connectedness so that I can show up for whatever else it is I need or want to do that is the rest of my work while I’m still here.
Have you experienced a labyrinth in your life? Do you want to? My suggestion for you today is to learn more about them and how they may assist you on your journey. For a great start, check out this list of options and see where you can take yourself!
TimeSpaceOne 