Walking the Labyrinth
How to Begin
Sit in a chair near the entrance to the Labyrinth. Allow yourself time to become composed and focused, setting aside, to the degree that you are able, the world outside. Clear your mind and become aware of your breath. To help you embark upon this path, remove your shoes and socks, so that you may “touch the earth” of this road, (removing one’s socks and shoes in a Labyrinth walk has become customary to invite the walker to touch the sacred space by being uncovered. Exodus 3:2-5) Do this prayerfully. Move near the entrance and enter. You may want to say a prayer as you move to the entrance. Find your own pace. There is no need to rush. Some people will walk faster, others more slowly. An average walk takes 15 to 30 minutes. Because the labyrinth is a two-way street, you may ‘pass’ people, or let others step around you, whichever is easier. Those going in will meet those coming out. Do what feels natural. There is no right way or wrong way to walk the labyrinth. There are three stages but one path, and it is different for everyone. Simply relax and enjoy your journey. Sometimes it is helpful to think about your walk as employing the ancient, traditional three-fold spiritual path: Purgation, Illumination, and Union. From the entrance to the goal is the path of shedding or “letting go.” There is a release and an emptying of worries and concerns. At the center, there is illumination, insight, clarity, and focus. . Stay there as long as you like. It is here that you are in a receptive, prayerful, meditative state. Receive what is there for you to receive. Union is joining God, your Higher Power. Each time you walk the labyrinth you become more empowered to find and to do the work you feel your soul is reaching for, the work God is calling you to do in the world. The path out is that of becoming grounded and integrating the insight. It is being energized and making what was received manifest in the world. When you exit the Labyrinth, return to your chair. Sit for a space of time to allow the Lord to speak. Put on your shoes as an act of thanksgiving.
By walking the path of the labyrinth, we are rediscovering a long-forgotten ritual used as a walking meditation and a spiritual tool. The labyrinth is a tool that helps us to look within for the answers we need. It teaches us to recognize the wider pattern of our lives and to work in harmony with each other. The winding path becomes a mirror for our lives: each of us is on a unique spiritual journey with our separate joys, sorrows, twists, and turns. The labyrinth walk is different each time one walks it. Often people find peace, solace, release and a deep sense of joy. When walked with a community of people, the walk is a shared journey. To learn more about our ministry or to support our programs please contact us at St. John’s Episcopal Church 307-733-2603 [email protected] www.stjohnsjackson.org P.O. Box 1690 Jackson, WY 83001
Walking the Labyrinth
A meditative journey + + + + + + + +
+
St. John’s EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Jackson Hole
Scripture for Meditation I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. Leviticus 26:12 If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life. I Kings 3:14 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff – they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight. Proverbs 9:6 Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 We will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. Micah 4:5b I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name, says the Lord. Zechariah 10:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” Acts 3:6 We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2 We walk by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7
L
abyrinths have been known to the human race for over 4,000 years. The oldest form on record is the Cretan Labyrinth, also called the classical sevencircuit labyrinth. They are made of many materials. Some have paths outlined in stone others are carved into stone. Early Romanstyle labyrinths were made of mosaic tile. Turf labyrinths, found throughout England, Scandinavia, and Germany, are made from mounds of earth covered with grass. There are many indirect references to the labyrinth as a spiritual tool. Abbess Hildegard of Bingen defined divinity as “a circle, a wheel, a whole.” In The Divine Comedy, Dante uses both the metaphor and the image of the labyrinth. The winding path through Purgatory is a labyrinthine journey. The labyrinth at Grace Cathedral is fashioned after the classical eleven-circuit labyrinth found at Chartres. It is from the tradition of the Knights Templar. Legend says that the design was part of King Solomon’s temple and was carried to France by the Templars. This style of labyrinth is also associated with the Freemasons, the guilds that provided the expertise and labor for the building of the Gothic cathedrals throughout Europe.
P
ilgrimage often involves an honest assessment of life. Confronted with the truth of the past and present, pilgrims often feel a desire to change. The concept of making a 180-degree turn is embedded in the Greek word for repentance in the New Testament and in the structure of the labyrinth. Opportunities for practicing the art of changing abound as one moves on the labyrinth. There are twenty-eight u-turns on the way from the threshold to the center and the same number as one moves from the center back to the threshold.
T
he labyrinth at St. John’s is an eight-circuit labyrinth. The path enters on the East, and will take you to the center and out again if you remain on the path. Your meditative walk may be viewed as a three-stage process.
T
he first stage of the process is moving to the center of the labyrinth, releasing and letting go of the details of your life, bringing quiet to the mind.
T
he second is when you reach the center. This is a place of meditation, illumination, and prayer. The Hebrew Scriptures represent God’s people journeying to a land of Promise, to Zion, to sacred places. The Psalms also bear witness to this yearning deep within the heart of the Covenant people.
T
he third state begins as you leave the center – union, which is joining God, your Higher Power or the healing forces at work in the world. The winding walk of the Labyrinth symbolizes a pilgrim’s walk with God. It is not a maze; there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror to the way we live our lives, so walk it with an open heart, and mind.
Sit in a chair near the entrance to the Labyrinth. Allow yourself time to become composed and focused, setting aside, to the degree that you are able, the world outside. Clear your mind and become aware of your breath. To help you embark upon this path, remove your shoes and socks, so that you may “touch the earth” of this road, (removing one’s socks and shoes in a Labyrinth walk has become customary to invite the walker to touch the sacred space by being uncovered. Exodus 3:2-5) Do this prayerfully. Move near the entrance and enter. You may want to say a prayer as you move to the entrance. Find your own pace. There is no need to rush. Some people will walk faster, others more slowly. An average walk takes 15 to 30 minutes. Because the labyrinth is a two-way street, you may ‘pass’ people, or let others step around you, whichever is easier. Those going in will meet those coming out. Do what feels natural. There is no right way or wrong way to walk the labyrinth. There are three stages but one path, and it is different for everyone. Simply relax and enjoy your journey. Sometimes it is helpful to think about your walk as employing the ancient, traditional three-fold spiritual path: Purgation, Illumination, and Union. From the entrance to the goal is the path of shedding or “letting go.” There is a release and an emptying of worries and concerns. At the center, there is illumination, insight, clarity, and focus. . Stay there as long as you like. It is here that you are in a receptive, prayerful, meditative state. Receive what is there for you to receive. Union is joining God, your Higher Power. Each time you walk the labyrinth you become more empowered to find and to do the work you feel your soul is reaching for, the work God is calling you to do in the world. The path out is that of becoming grounded and integrating the insight. It is being energized and making what was received manifest in the world. When you exit the Labyrinth, return to your chair. Sit for a space of time to allow the Lord to speak. Put on your shoes as an act of thanksgiving.
By walking the path of the labyrinth, we are rediscovering a long-forgotten ritual used as a walking meditation and a spiritual tool. The labyrinth is a tool that helps us to look within for the answers we need. It teaches us to recognize the wider pattern of our lives and to work in harmony with each other. The winding path becomes a mirror for our lives: each of us is on a unique spiritual journey with our separate joys, sorrows, twists, and turns. The labyrinth walk is different each time one walks it. Often people find peace, solace, release and a deep sense of joy. When walked with a community of people, the walk is a shared journey. To learn more about our ministry or to support our programs please contact us at St. John’s Episcopal Church 307-733-2603 [email protected] www.stjohnsjackson.org P.O. Box 1690 Jackson, WY 83001
Walking the Labyrinth
A meditative journey + + + + + + + +
+
St. John’s EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Jackson Hole
Scripture for Meditation I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. Leviticus 26:12 If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life. I Kings 3:14 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff – they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight. Proverbs 9:6 Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 We will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. Micah 4:5b I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name, says the Lord. Zechariah 10:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” Acts 3:6 We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2 We walk by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7
L
abyrinths have been known to the human race for over 4,000 years. The oldest form on record is the Cretan Labyrinth, also called the classical sevencircuit labyrinth. They are made of many materials. Some have paths outlined in stone others are carved into stone. Early Romanstyle labyrinths were made of mosaic tile. Turf labyrinths, found throughout England, Scandinavia, and Germany, are made from mounds of earth covered with grass. There are many indirect references to the labyrinth as a spiritual tool. Abbess Hildegard of Bingen defined divinity as “a circle, a wheel, a whole.” In The Divine Comedy, Dante uses both the metaphor and the image of the labyrinth. The winding path through Purgatory is a labyrinthine journey. The labyrinth at Grace Cathedral is fashioned after the classical eleven-circuit labyrinth found at Chartres. It is from the tradition of the Knights Templar. Legend says that the design was part of King Solomon’s temple and was carried to France by the Templars. This style of labyrinth is also associated with the Freemasons, the guilds that provided the expertise and labor for the building of the Gothic cathedrals throughout Europe.
P
ilgrimage often involves an honest assessment of life. Confronted with the truth of the past and present, pilgrims often feel a desire to change. The concept of making a 180-degree turn is embedded in the Greek word for repentance in the New Testament and in the structure of the labyrinth. Opportunities for practicing the art of changing abound as one moves on the labyrinth. There are twenty-eight u-turns on the way from the threshold to the center and the same number as one moves from the center back to the threshold.
T
he labyrinth at St. John’s is an eight-circuit labyrinth. The path enters on the East, and will take you to the center and out again if you remain on the path. Your meditative walk may be viewed as a three-stage process.
T
he first stage of the process is moving to the center of the labyrinth, releasing and letting go of the details of your life, bringing quiet to the mind.
T
he second is when you reach the center. This is a place of meditation, illumination, and prayer. The Hebrew Scriptures represent God’s people journeying to a land of Promise, to Zion, to sacred places. The Psalms also bear witness to this yearning deep within the heart of the Covenant people.
T
he third state begins as you leave the center – union, which is joining God, your Higher Power or the healing forces at work in the world. The winding walk of the Labyrinth symbolizes a pilgrim’s walk with God. It is not a maze; there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror to the way we live our lives, so walk it with an open heart, and mind.
