Enter the Labyrinth, 2

by Let Us Reason

We find the use of this design is put to smaller patterns that are a non-walk through spiritual practice. The patterns of the labyrinth are similar in design and conception to the mandalas of South Asian Buddhism, that are supposed to be physical representations of the spiritual realm designed to aid in meditation.

Mandala means circle. It is a circular design which is used to focus in on and bring one into a meditative state. We are told that true meditation occurs when the physical brain has been calmed or neutralized, a mantra or a mandala is used to bring calmness so the mind is then freed and can then discover new truths it normally was not open to find.

Labyrinths have become so popular that there is a Labyrinth Society, based in Connecticut which is a national network of labyrinth users. We are told there are an estimated 1,000 labyrinths created across America, Grace Cathedral Labyrinth Project, the St. Louis Labyrinth Project, St. Charles Episcopal Church Labyrinth, the Labyrinth Project of Alabama.

The foremost promoters of it are Jean Houston and Grace Episcopal Cathedral. Dr. Jean Houston is the past president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology and is one of the premiere New Age promoters and speakers in North America. Jean Houston called The Starseed Transmissions, channeled by "Raphael through Ken Carey" "perhaps the finest example of 'channeled knowledge' I ever encountered." She states, "The very best way and perhaps for the present the only way [of contact with these entities] is within the context of an altered state of consciousness" (Robert Masters and Jean Houston). One cannot underestimate the connection between her influence on Artress and her bringing the Labyrinth to Grace Cathedral who is open to New Age concepts.

One of the major initiators in reviving the labyrinth in our time is Rev. Lauren Artress. After meeting Jean Houston, Rev. Artress brought the form back to the Grace Cathedral of San Francisco, CA. in 1992. Over one million people have walked this labyrinth to date. People from all different backgrounds and religions are using it. Jews, Buddhists and even Christians use the institute's labyrinth. If one visits Grace Cathedral's website you find it being inclusive, they offer every conceivable item, from New Age holistic to interfaith to the Koran. They are a church that is not holding the Christian distinctive at all.

A labyrinth is unicursal - this means there is one open, unobstructed path the walker follows into the center and back out again. A labyrinth has only one path leading to the center and back out again with no dead-ends. There are three basic designs being used -- the seven circuit, eleven circuit, and twelve circuit; the seven circuit is the most common design found today.

It is described as you roam back and forth, turning 180 degrees each time you enter a different circuit. As you change your direction, your awareness changes from right brain to left brain. They are right brain activity enhancers. So the claim is that the labyrinth can induce different states of consciousness. Others say it also helps balance the charkas, spiritual energy centers described in Hinduism.

One would think from statements like these it's about as close to God as one can get. Lauren Artress writes, "The path that guides us deeply into the psychological and spiritual center is the same path that takes us back out again into the manifest physical world in this way it is interpreted as a tool for personal, psychological, and spiritual transformation. Archetypes that help us group the experience of unity and wholeness. The labyrinth is an archetype of wholeness that helps us rediscover the depths of our souls."

They are found in many sizes and shapes, and made out of just about any natural material. They are built in a permanent fashion from stones, cut into turf, formed by mounds of earth, or embedded designs in the floor of buildings. Here are pictures of Labyrinths and pictures of people walking Labyrinths.

We are told that the labyrinth is a tool useful to people of all religions or no religion. Each person's walk can be interpreted differently each time to the same individual. From some of the quotes I have read one can assume life is one big labyrinth. This experiential walk is spiritualized to have meaning. "We are not human beings on a spiritual path, but spiritual beings on a human path" (Labyrinth, Walking a Sacred Path, Reverend Lauren Artress).

Labyrinths are being used for reflection, meditation, prayer with various interpretations of what these mean. Some see it as a metaphor of the path of life, a journeying to God. Some ask forgiveness on the way in and empowerment on the way out. The participant can ascribe their own spiritual meaning to this ritual walk, the theory is that by walking the labyrinth one partakes of a spiritual journey of self-examination and enlightenment. What happens to everyone may not all the same, but many claim to receive a spiritual transformation.

R. White writes, "Walking the labyrinth supposedly promotes spiritual awakening and deeper inner knowledge. Followers testify to arousal of feelings (good and bad), renewed creativity, brain re-mapping, and energy production. Labyrinths have taken their place next to sacred circle dances and sweet-grass ceremonies taught as rediscovered ancient practices to enhance spiritual growth" (White, R. Aug. 15, 2000. Walking the Labyrinth: New Age Fad or Traditional Technique? http://www.christianweek.org).

What are Labyrinths used for? The explanations come from those using it. The Rev. Sarah Bentley of New Life Institute, a center for counseling, education and spiritual growth related to the Austin-area United Methodist churches, said she introduces labyrinths to people as a form of meditation. They are training the participant in a walking meditation.

Meditation is the process of quieting the mind, various methods can be used to bring a consciousness change so that you will still your mind, you become uncontrolled conscious. Meditation is a spiritual practice of many eastern religions. We are told that by clearing a space within the mind, and allowing yourself to experience whatever emotions or thoughts surface during your walk you come out with a labyrinth experience.

Your questions can be answered. People, while they walk, ask questions such as when, what, or where about their life and find it is answered. Many others testify when you get to the center you find Self, answers, illumination, God, Goddess, just about anything. As they walk, meditate, and pray healing can occur.

Here is an example: "When word got round the close-knit labyrinth community, two bodyworkers proficient in reiki, the art of healing touch immediately came to help." "I was in a lot of pain, because I really landed hard." She says, "But I actually experienced the pain moving right out my body. It was a phenomenal experience" (quote from Theater of Enlightenment by Colleen O'Connor).

Stories of angels or spirits are common as well. Renee Gibbons, a long time labyrinth walker, relates the story of her first experience on the labyrinth: "When I got to the center of the labyrinth, I got a really strong message that said 'send an angel to your sister Fiona.' My sister Fiona had not spoken to me for four or five years at that time." After sending a gift to her sister, she waited. Although a miraculous new relationship did not develop, she says, "I saw that a lot of my resentments dropped when I did that."

New Ager's and those mystically inclined are especially attracted to this kind of subjective experience. One said to ask your deity of choice, or your higher self to walk with you. Some go as far as to say that self realization can occur, where you discover the divine that is within us all, bridging the separation of us from our own truth, from the Creator.

"In every culture there are ideas that promise spirituality to the seeker sometimes couched as finding the god or goddess within. Artress describes the labyrinth as a large, complex spiral circle that is an ancient symbol for the divine mother, the God within, the goddess, the holy in all creation" (Artress, L. 1995 Walking A Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool).