Monday, April 7, 2014

Prayer Practice: Walking the Labyrinth



The Labyrinth seems to be speaking to me again.  From time to time, I spend intense time on the labyrinth.  It comes into my life for short periods of time to teach me something about my heart.

You see, for me, the labyrinth is all about the journey to the center of my being — deep into my heart.  It is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path that leads to a Center and then back out again.  For me that Center is my heart — the Sacred — it is all the same.

Each time I step onto the Labyrinth, I am changed.  My pace slows with each step.  My anxiety falls away.  I trust the path that is before me.  I know it will take me to one destination — my Heart and the Sacred.  

Two weeks ago, I stepped on the Labyrinth and had a totally different experience.  I began to walk it like I usually do.  I know the path by heart now.  I step onto it and begin to wind my way toward the center.

But then something I was not prepared for happened.  The Labyrinth asked me to turn away from the Center.  I freaked out.  Inside me was screaming, “Why am I turning away from the Center?  How am I supposed to get to the Center if I turn away?”

I know the path.  I know some twists ask you to turn away from the Center and others bring you toward the Center.  It is part of the journey.  Sometimes we have to release our attachments, walk away from unfreedoms so we can move to the Center of our being toward Spirit.

I have never experienced this on the Labyrinth before.  Once I caught my breathe, I allowed this new prayer to be my journey.  What unfreedom do I need to release, to walk away from so I can move freely to the Center?  Each turn away brought that same panic all the way to the Center.

I am still sitting with this experience, weeks later.  It was powerful.

That is why I walk the Labyrinth.  It has powerful ways of awakening me in my spiritual journey.  It transforms me each time I step onto it.  It teaches me wholly — body, mind, spirit.

There is a reason this ancient path continues to be walked.  I invite you to find a Labyrinth and experience its healing and transformative power.


Have a good walk!

1 comment:

  1. I recently walked an outdoor labyrinth under the warm desert sun of Arizona! I noticed that at some point in walking a labyrinth I almost always have a niggle of fear that I might have misstepped or lost my way. So, I'm asking Spirit to deepen my Trust in "the path!"

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