Table of Contents:
How to Walk a Labyrinth
Video taken from the channel: Connie Bowman
Ancient Labyrinths • Video Walk-Through
Video taken from the channel: Werner Elmker
Walking a Labyrinth (#withcaptions)
Video taken from the channel: Meg Gilbert
Labyrinth Walk Meditation | Spiritual Practice 101
Video taken from the channel: Northeastern Spiritual Life
Finding Meaning, not Minotaurs: A Beginner’s Guide to Labyrinths | Eliza Pillsbury | [email protected]
Video taken from the channel: TEDx Talks
Labyrinth A Walking Meditation
Video taken from the channel: Tori Fiore Film Projects
Labyrinth History & Walking
Video taken from the channel: The Labyrinth Society
Labyrinth walking is an ancient practice used by many different faiths for spiritual centering, contemplation, and prayer. Entering the serpentine path of a labyrinth, you walk slowly while quieting your mind and focusing on a spiritual question or prayer. What Is a Labyrinth? A labyrinth.Some walkers identify the twists, turns, and center of the labyrinth with the twists, turns, and center of their own lives.
Labyrinth proponents claim walking a labyrinth can lead to deeper relationships, a stronger sense of community, a feeling of being on a spiritual journey, a sense of inner reflection and connection to sources of guidance, a sense of living in the present, greater creativity, and stress.Walking a labyrinth can be a wonderful walking meditation. Walking into the Present Moment When most people first attempt to practice meditation in a traditional sitting position, the first thing they notice is the flood of thoughts that suddenly engulf them as.Walking a Sacred Path reintroduces the ancient Labyrinth, a walking meditation that transcends the limits of still meditation.
Walking the Labyrinth has emerged today as a metaphor for the spiritual journey and a powerful tool for transformation. This walking meditation is an archetype, a mystical ritual found in many religious traditions.However, when a pilgrimage was not possible, the discipline of this spiritual journey was found on the labyrinth as a symbolic prayer walk. By walking the labyrinth today, we are rediscovering a long-forgotten tradition found in various traditions and forms around the world.
Walking the labyrinth can release patterned behavior, thoughts, and feelings of various sorts. It can “untorque” or unwind you. As you release old patterned energy, the alignment of your body may shift or straighten into a greater spiritual alignment. Some walk a labyrinth as a kind of moving meditation.
There are many ways to walk a labyrinth. One can walk it in silent meditation, attentive to each step and breath. One can walk a labyrinth while praying a specific prayer or recalling one’s life journey. This time, as I entered the path, I felt called to pray God’s names on the way into the center, one name for each step.
A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It is a metaphor for life’s journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to “That Which Is Within.”.
pilgrimage of walking the labyrinth regularly provides a means of assisting our spiritual development. Regardless of where we are on our journey or whether we are seeking peace, deeper insight and understanding into an issue we have encountered in life or an aid to entering more deeply into prayer or meditation, walking the labyrinth can.If you live near or can visit a suitable labyrinth, this will be an ideal place to meditate or take your spiritual walk. Labyrinths are typically found in such places as church courtyards or within churches, parks, spa resorts, educational institutions and even medical facilities, such as hospital gardens.
Walking can be a spiritual exercise! Movement can be prayer! In fact for some of us, like St. Augustine, walking is the way we do contemplation, discernment, and often can best encounter the Divine. The labyrinth is a spiritual practice that helps us use our walking for spiritual purposes.
The labyrinth has been rekindled as a tool for emotional and spiritual support. In communities, churches, schools, parks, clubs, spas, spiritual retreats, and even prisons from all over the world the labyrinth is used as a recreational and anti-stress resource to cope with the troublesome reality of big urban centers [28,29,30].Walking the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, France on July 29, 2010. This was part of a Spiritual Pilgrimage led by Lynne McNaughton and Gerald Hobbs.Labyrinths blend their visual symbolism with the process of walking, which is similar to the Japanese Zen practice of kinhin, literally “walking meditation,” where all of the attention is focused on the process of each step, one foot in front of the other, and the breath is controlled and regulated.
At the entrance to the labyrinth, pause and open your senses as you center yourself with a few deep breaths. Acknowledge your coming meditative or spiritual journey with the labyrinth by perhaps closing your eyes, saying a prayer, bowing your head, waist, or knees and set the intention for your walk.
List of related literature:
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| from The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals and Stones |
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| from Thomas Merton and Thich Nhat Hanh: Engaged Spirituality in an Age of Globalization |
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| from The Mandala Workbook: A Creative Guide for Self-Exploration, Balance, and Well-Being |
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| from Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us |
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| from Spiritual Diversity in Social Work Practice: The Heart of Helping |
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| from The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Daily Life |
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| from The Tapping Solution for Weight Loss & Body Confidence: A Woman’s Guide to Stressing Less, Weighing Less, and Loving More |
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| from Confessions of an English Opium-eater |
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| from Consciousness, Bioenergy and Healing: Self-Healing and Energy Medicine for the 21st Century |
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| from The Buddha and His Dhamma |
34 comments
It’s not in early Christianity, it’s in CATHOLICISM.
That is called apostate beliefs.
The combining of pegan and christian beliefs.
This is the meaning of a Pharisee, a hypocrite, a lukewarm christian!
It’s not biblical so to say it’s christian is like saying gay marriage is part of Christianity.
You don’t change a faith to fit you.
You change yourself to fit the faith.
That is the point of them trying to create one world religion under CATHOLICISM.
Because catholicism is the combination of all religions.
THAT IS WHY CATHOLIC MEANS UNIVERSAL!
what is the name of the gregorian chanting in the background please?
The most fun Labyrinth 3D cartoon game! http://dodland.com/maze-cartoon-labyrinth/
Guidelines for walking the labyrinth • sacredgardenmaui.com
An ancient path of pilgrimage, rich with meaning, serves as a powerful tool for self-discovery, stress reduction, gaining awareness and clarity, as well as a path of prayer and spiritual renewal. The magic of the labyrinth walk happens with metaphor. Whatever you experience on the labyrinth will mirror what need to see in your life. Walk not to learn about the labyrinth, but to learn about yourself.
Just like a pilgrimage, the labyrinth offers a three-fold path:
1. The walk into the labyrinth, is a time for contemplating your life and letting go of any inner obstacles you may encounter—stress, grief, thoughts, feelings—in preparation for reaching the center. Be self-observant. What do you notice about yourself as you walk? Are your choices serving you? Experiment with how you move through the labyrinth of life.
2. The center—the sacred destination is a time for silent meditation, contemplation and renewal. Bring your attention to the present moment and notice how you feel. Stay in the center as long as you like, until you feel complete.
3. The return journey back out—the return journey back out—offers a time for integrating the insights that we gained on the labyrinth and implementing them into our lives.
Let go of expectations. The message of the labyrinth is often subtle. Just relax and enjoy this peaceful path of prayer.
Find your own pace. Some people will want to walk swiftly, others will walk slowly. Some will run, others will dance. Experiment and find the right pace for you.
Emotions may be evoked, simply breathe and observe. Remember that everything is metaphor and the labyrinth will mirror for you anything you need to see.
Some people will tell you labyrinths aren’t mazes! actually labyrinths are the most ancient form of maze! Where do you think modern mazes come from?
Don’t believe anybody who tells you a labyrinth isn’t a maze it is there plenty of proof that it’s a type of maze! Yes labyrinths are different from modern day mazes but a maze is a maze weather it’s a labyrinth maze or a modern day maze!
I’m not particularly religious, but this does sound like a good tool for meditation. I heard about this in an article about social work, and was interested.
yes and then the end you will regret this is one of the devil’s to Satan and his demonic forces why do you need to walk around a path to get relax and meditate. I hope that you find Jesus
While there are a couple of points I would ask her to consider modifying 2,000 years and “you can’t get lost”, Eliza’s final comments are the meat and well spoken: “UneXpecTED” and “…keep an open mind to new knowledge and new perspectives you cannot imagine the connections you can create.”
You Are Invited To Open Yourself To A New Spiritual Experience • sacredwalk.com
The Sacred Labyrinth Walk, Illuminating the Inner Path, is the ancient practice of “Circling to the Center” by walking the labyrinth. The rediscovery of this self alignment tool to put our lives in perspective is one of the most important spiritual movements of our day. Labyrinths have been in use for over 4000 years. Their basic design is fundamental to nature and many cultures and religious traditions. Whatever one’s religion, walking the labyrinth clears the mind and gives insight. It calms people in the throes of life’s transitions.
People, formal cultures, and traditions have used the spiral and labyrinth designs as a symbol of their search for meaning and guidance. The labyrinth is a “unicursal” or one path design there are no tricks or decisions to be made much as the surrender to walking a sacred spiritual path in life our only decision is to choose spirit/God and surrender to divine guidance. The labyrinth is non -denominational. People of all faiths and people longing to re-connect to faith come to walk labyrinths. “I found peace and a sense of God’s presence that I had not experienced since childhood,” responds a labyrinth walker.
Some of the earliest forms of labyrinths are found in Greece, dating back to 2500-2000 B.C.E. This labyrinth is called the Cretan labyrinth or classical seven-circuit labyrinth. So much a part of the fabric of this early society was the labyrinth, that it was embossed on coins and pottery. Early Christian labyrinths date back to 4th century, a basilica in Algeria. The Chartres design labyrinth is a replica of the labyrinth laid into the cathedral floor at Chartres, France in the thirteenth century. The Chartres design is a classical eleven-circuit labyrinth (eleven concentric circles) with the twelfth being in the center of the labyrinth.
One walks a labyrinth by stepping into the entrance and putting one foot in front of the other. After traveling through all the paths and windings, the walker comes into the center the six petal rosette, after a time there, the walker returns out to cover the same path out as in. Total travel is approximately one third mile, depending on the size of the labyrinth. The Chartress Cathedral Labyrinth is 42′ in diameter. My portable labyrinth is 35′ wide.
This sounds AMAZING!!! the music is also INCREDIBLE. Thank you…. Uhmmmm… Idk why, but, I was in a church today. Wanted to find a place of meditation then the preacher mentioned a meditation labyrinth… I suddenly got excited with goose bumps all over my body. Why is that!? Can I sit and meditate in the center with crystals!? Thank you in advance!!
graciaous Lesliethis was great & you look Great!! hope all is well… I luv You & Miss you both tt
Dear Eliza, I am one of the volunteers who helped build the “secret garden” labyrinth in Chartres. Delighted to find your talk and learn of your walking and building experiences. I reunited with several of the volunteer builders this weekend, and we wrote a card to send to you. How can I get your current mailing address?
45 seconds of this was about labyrinths. the rest was her bragging about her trip to France and then ending on a random note about someone getting beheaded.
so interesting! I enjoyed this talk and now want to build one!
If I can imagine a perfect example of a first grade teacher in my minds eye, it would be this girl.
Thanks so much-I actually checked out the link and am interested in seeking out some local labyrinths. (Did you do the dance baby dance song once you made it through?:) )
For people who have been asking about finger labyrinths, try this site.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/494585356/finger-labyrinth-with-stand-african-red?
Always grateful
Thanks Eliza. I am researching as much as I can about Labyrinths before creating my own in my Permaculture forest garden. I never knew that there were so many different types of Labyrinth and that each one works on a different energy system within us. I am specifically looking for a design of one that offers healing.
Thanks again.
Johnnie
Don’t dismiss the story of the Minotaur and the labyrinth it was associated with. Because of the love story between Ariadne and Theseus, the labryinth is the symbol of love (between Ariadne and Theseus) and freedom (because Theseus freed the youth of Greece from the curse of the Minotaur.
I think it’s about the path of time. It’s the path that your supposed to take but it is unseen
this is a great labyrinth… love the wise old snail at the center
Thank you! I walked my first labyrinth last night! It was amazing!
I love labyrinths! We have one fairly near to us about an hours drive. We were there last Summer but as I had two lovely kids in tow there wasn’t much mindfulness meditation going on, it was more like walking at top speed!! I am determined to go again and will leave kids in the cafe with dad whilst I walk in peace!! Love these spiritual sharings x
thank you for the link to finding a labyrinth near me. I enjoy mazes & your video was calming & interesting. Keep on doing what you’re doin:)
very nice…i’ve walked while meditating to the san francisco grace cathedral labyrinth…
it was a unique spiritual experience…
How do you know what each petal symbolise?
https://shop.spreadshirt.de/heilige-geometrie/labyrinth-A5d80b896b264a129db6fff5f?productType=943&sellable=gnLoLO5NpjH2gDb8ZB4x-943-8&appearance=2
It’s wonderful that people are discovering and are becoming aware of labyrinths. Unfortunately they’re becoming stuck on Chartre & Cretan designs as being the definitive makings of a labyrinth, and travel to sites they believe are more sacred than what they can manifest if they create their own labyrinths closer to themselves.
Can someone tell me about what time the laybrinth in Crete was built?
Very beautiful and well done, dear Werner! I am doing these meditative walks to power spots, especially on the holy mountain Untersberg close to Salzburg. Since I will give a lecture with picture presentation end of this september, I will maybe show your video in the end. Thank you!
The Prayer Labyrinth • grace.org
A labyrinth is simply a place to walk and pray. There is nothing mystical about it. It gives you the freedom to walk around while focusing your mind on God – and not worry about getting lost.
A labyrinth contains a single walking path to the center and then back out again. It has many turns but, unlike mazes, and does not have dead ends. Labyrinths come in a variety of forms: you may walk through them inside on a canvas mat or outside on grass, tile, or a stone-laid path. There are also finger labyrinths and even an online labyrinth • http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/flash/labyrinth.htm. Labyrinths have a long history, both inside and outside the church, and can be found all around the world.
In Christian usage, the purpose of the labyrinth is personal and spiritual transformation. One way to pray a labyrinth is to worship and praise God as you walk to the center, then intercede for people and concerns as you walk back to the outside. Today there are churches from many different denominations that encourage people to use labyrinths as part of their devotional practices.
Hi!I have discovered a labyrinth where I live In Canada. Im going to explore it this week, however reluctant to do so based on other strange things that are going on with me and may be related. I would like to show you a photo and get your opinion.
Your shirt is awesome sir! I’m a proud Tohono oldham! That’s our “man in the maze”!
Guidelines for Walking the Labyrinth • veriditas.org
The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. It has a single circuitous path that winds its way into the center. The person walking it uses the same path to return from the center and the entrance then becomes the exit. The path is in full view, which allows a person to be quiet and focus internally.
Generally there are three stages to the walk: releasing on the way in, receiving in the center and returning when you follow the return path back out of the labyrinth. Symbolically, and sometimes actually, you are taking back out into the world that which you have received.
There is no right way or wrong way to walk a labyrinth. Use the labyrinth in any way that meets what you need while being respectful of others walking. You may go directly to the center to sit quietly whatever meets your needs.
To prepare, you may want to sit quietly to reflect before walking the labyrinth. Some people come with questions, others just to slow down and take time out from a busy life. Some come to find strength to take the next step. Many come during times of grief and loss.
There are many ways to describe a labyrinth. It is a path of prayer, a walking meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit and a mirror of the soul.
Walking in bare feet is the key,. To me it is an absolute must. Bare feet signifies humility as Moses was told to take off his sandals on holy ground. Also any kind of shoes or socks shorts circuits your connection to mother earth