What is a Labyrinth?

A labyrinth is a pattern with a purpose, an ancient tool that goes back 5000 years.  It speaks to a long forgotten part of us.   Lying dormant for centuries, labyrinths are undergoing a revival of use and interest. They offer a chance to take "time out" from our busy lives, to leave schedules and stress behind. Walking a labyrinth is a gift we give to ourselves that leads us past our intellect to a deeper place within.

The labyrinth represents our passage through time and experience. Its many turns reflect the journey of life, which involves changes of direction, transition, some uncertainty but also discovery and achievement. Different from a maze (which has dead ends and false passages), the labyrinth has a single path that repeatedly comes close to the center then back out to the perimeter before it leads unerringly to the center. It shows us that no time or effort is ever wasted; if we stay the course, every step, however circuitous, however many turns, however distant it seems, takes us closer to our goal.

The Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool

A labyrinth is a tool of spiritual growth, healing, conversion, and transformation of heart, body, mind, and spirit. It is used in sacred and secular settings as a place for meditative walking, prayer, relaxation, ceremony and spiritual reflection and connection to God. The very act of walking with intention has a healing and holy impact on the body, mind and spirit. It can calm, quiet and center the soul.  Thinking is not required to walk a labyrinth. At the same time, one must remain alert to stay on the path. This combination of reduced mental activity and heightened awareness makes the labyrinth ideal for walking meditation or prayer. The turns of the labyrinth are thought to balance the two hemispheres of the brain, resulting in physical and emotional healing. As reaching the center is assured, walking the labyrinth is more about the journey than the destination, about being rather than doing, integrating body and mind, psyche and spirit into one harmonious whole.

There are no strict "rules" for walking a labyrinth. Some people like to pause briefly before entering. Be aware of your experience, your body, your thoughts, and feelings. Allow yourself to find your own pace.  Listen to what you are being invited to release or surrender. You may pass people or let others step around you at the turns.

Our ‘Hanover’ Labyrinth

Our labyrinth is based on a design known as a ‘Hanover' Labyrinth’.  It is an adaptation of a design from The Labyrinth Company which comes from a pattern which appeared in prehistory around the shores of the Baltic Sea in present-day Germany, Poland and Scandinavia. This labyrinth is also known as the "Baltic Wheel" or "Wheel," after an important example in Hanover, Germany.  This ancient design is unique in that it utilizes two entrances.  There is a shorter path that leads directly into the center and a longer path that winds around until arriving in the center. 

The two paths give many options depending on what you sense is your need.  You can go directly in and back out again.  Or follow the longer path bringing you into the center then out again.  Or you can enter by one path and leave by the other.  Each choice has its own significance for your life, your spirit and your journey. 

Our labyrinth was designed around the existing trees in a clearing in our woodlands.  The pattern also resembles a tree, an ancient archetypal symbol of a connection between heaven and earth.  A tree has its roots in the ground and its branches reaching up to the sky.  The trunk of the tree separates the two entrances. In our Labyrinth this entry way is shaped like a Chalice.  This is the Cup of Blessing given to us to nourish, forgive, cleanse and heal our lives so that we may become God’s blessing poured out into the world. 

Our labyrinth is constructed with a base of mulch that came from trees of the church.  These trees stood on each of the corners of our church for decades, surrounding our family of faith in worship each week.  Beneath the mulch are palm leaves blessed as part of Palm Sunday worship.  The stones came from all over.  Some have special stories or prayers attached to them.  Some are given to honor special memories of family and friends.  You can read about these in our album “Stories in Stone” available at the church. 

Ours is a living labyrinth in that the flowers, foliage, wildlife, stones, and trees will be constantly shifting and changing.  It will always be the same and always be different each time you stop by to walk and pray.    We hope you will stop by often.