Walking a Labyrinth as Spiritual Exercise

One suggestion for how to walk a labyrinth. Enjoy!
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Ancient Labyrinths • Video Walk-Through.
This video serves three purposes:
1. To bring attention to the ancient tradition of walking a Labyrinth..
2. To enable people without regular access to a Labyrinth to ‘walk’ the Labyrinth by watching this video, which depicts a complete walk through the Labyrinth pattern of the Chartres Cathedral. The video can also be used by people with disabilities. In addition to this video, you can also walk a Labyrinth online: www.labyrinthsociety.org/flash/labyrinth.htm.
3. To recognize the efforts of the Creative Edge company, which has created true works of art labyrinths utilizing waterjet technology on materials like granite, concrete pavers, marble, terrazzo, rubber, carpet, and vinyl • creativeedgemastershop.com.
Video produced by Werner Elmker Audio-Visual Studio • elmker.com.
About the Labyrinth: In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur eventually killed by the hero Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it. In colloquial English, labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze, but many contemporary scholars observe a distinction between the two: maze refers to a complex branching (multicursal) puzzle with choices of path and direction; while a single-path (unicursal)labyrinth has only a single path to the center. A labyrinth in this sense has an unambiguous route to the center and back and is not difficult to navigate..
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the labyrinth symbol, which has inspired a revival in labyrinth building..
Countless video games depict mazes and labyrinths. On bobsled, luge, and skeleton tracks, a labyrinth is where there are three to four curves in succession without a straight line in between any of the turns..
Prehistoric labyrinths are believed to have served as traps for malevolent spirits or as defined paths for ritual dances. In medieval times, the labyrinth symbolized a hard path to God with a clearly defined center (God) and one entrance (birth). One can think of labyrinths as symbolic of pilgrimage; people can walk the path, ascending toward salvation or enlightenment. Many people could not afford to travel to holy sites and lands, so labyrinths and prayer substituted for such travel..
Many newly made labyrinths exist today, in churches and parks. Modern mystics use labyrinths to help them achieve a contemplative state. Walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and thus quiets the mind. The Labyrinth Society provides a locator for modern labyrinths all over the world • labyrinthsociety.org.
Labyrinths have on various occasions been used in Christian tradition as a part of worship. The earliest known example is from a fourth-century pavement at the Basilica of St Reparatus, at Orleansville, Algeria, with the words “Sancta Eclesia” at the centre, though it is unclear how it might have been used in worship..
In medieval times, labyrinths began to appear on church walls and floors around 1000 C.E. The most famous medieval labyrinth, with great influence on later practice, was created in Chartres Cathedral. The purpose of the labyrinths is not clear, though there are surviving descriptions of French clerics performing a ritual Easter dance along the path on Easter Sunday. Some books suggest that mazes on cathedral floors originated in the medieval period as alternatives to pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but the earliest attested use of the phrase “chemin de Jerusalem” (path to Jerusalem) dates to the late 18th century when it was used to describe mazes at Reims and Saint-Omer. The accompanying ritual, depicted in Romantic illustrations as involving pilgrims following the maze on their knees while praying, may have been practiced at Chartres during the 17th century. The use of labyrinths has recently been revived in some contexts of Christian worship. For example, a labyrinth was set up on the floor of St Paul’s Cathedral for a week in March 2000..
Music: Fluidscape by Kevin MacLeod, provided free of copyright by YouTube..
Video produced by Werner Elmker Audio-Visual Studio.
Website http://elmker.com.
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World Labyrinth Day is Saturday, May 3, 2014..
Walking a labyrinth is a mindfulness meditation practice. Find a labyrinth near you: http://labyrinthlocator.com/locate-a-labyrinth.
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Reverend Megan Holding, Episcopal Spiritual Advisor at Northeastern University’s Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service and the OpenTable Lutheran Episcopal campus ministry, describes the ancient meditative practice of walking a labyrinth..
The portable labyrinth used here was created for Northeastern CSDS with a non-denominational message. Walking the labyrinth is a restorative meditative practice that is open to people of all faith backgrounds..
To learn more about Rev. Holding visit https://www.northeastern.edu/spirituallife/about/spiritual-advisors/..
To learn more about OpenTable visit http://www.lecm.neu.edu..
https://www.northeastern.edu/spirituallife/.
Music courtesy of YouTube audio library..
The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/.
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

When thinking of labyrinths, you might imagine a maze filled with twists and turns, or perhaps a hero battling a minotaur in the middle. In reality, a labyrinth is a tool crafted by many ancient cultures that is becoming increasingly relevant in our modern, chaotic times. Anyone seeking clarity and peace can walk in a labyrinth as a meditative and creative journey. With artist, educators, and a disparate band of fifteen students, Eliza built the first labyrinth in Lyon, France, this summer. She will share her global insights as well as how to take advantage of local labyrinths. Keep an open mind to the unexpected..
When faced with a challenge, Eliza Pillsbury will not back down. Unless it is a sport, in which case she will gracefully leave that particular challenge to a more capable individual. Eliza is a romantic at heart, and is determined to move to France after college. She attends Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts as a theatre student. She loves Polaroid photography, Jane Austen, experimental theatre, and Wes Anderson films. Anyone who wants to start an argument with Eliza should challenge the literary validity of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, but only if prepared to encounter Eliza when she gets excited about something. She yearns to explore, create, travel, and tell stories..
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

TaiChiHealthProducts.org presents a walking meditation with Facilitator Leslie Pettis. Learn about some old labyrinths dating around 2000 BC, how to design and build one, and beautiful environments where people have placed them. The calming, prayerful walk can have many healing benefits. Music: Gregorian Chant origin unknown. More videos like this one are on our.ORG website. Please pass this video on.

The world’s preeminent labyrinth historian, Jeff Saward, talks about the appearance of labyrinths over 4000 years ago and their ancient use in Europe, Africa, the Far East, the Northern Isles and the Americas. The Rev. Dr. Cheryl F. Dudley, a pastor of the American Baptist Churches, comments on the nature of walking labyrinths as a group, joining together with others in community as a joyous experience..
The labyrinth archetype is prevalent in many cultures as an expression of the soul’s path and as a symbolic tool for life’s mythic events. From the classical labyrinth found on the Minoan coins of Knossos to the elaborate 11 circuit medieval labyrinth in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France, those that have survived hold a certain aura, drawing us in as we gaze at a photo, trace with our fingers or reverentially walk them. We owe these ancient artists a debt of gratitude for the flowering of labyrinths we see around the world today in all their myriad permutations..
Labyrinth walking can be as simple as stepping onto the path, or it can be a highly structured exercise in mindfulness, peacemaking, conflict resolution, chakra alignment, or healing. Walking alone is a different experience from walking in a group, just as a candlelit canvas labyrinth experienced indoors is different from a moss covered one out in the woods. Among seasoned labyrinth walkers there is a saying, “Each time is different because you are different each time. You are walking for a reason even you might not understand in the moment. Let go and let be.”.
This is an excerpt from the Labyrinth Society DVD ‘Labyrinths for Our Time’ which is available for purchase in hard copy or in the near future as a digital download. For the full video see: https://www.createspace.com/295431