The Peace Labyrinth

The labyrinth has existed as a symbol and walking meditation practice for over 5000 years.  No one know exactly what prompted ancient peoples who were separated both by distance and time to combine the circles, spirals, and meanders they saw in nature into the complex spiral of labyrinths.  The psychologist Carl Jung described this experience of the collective unconscious as “that inherited part of us that connects us with all other human beings.”

A labyrinth walk is composed of three parts: the walk in or releasing; time in the center or receiving; and the walk out or returning.  Every labyrinth walk begins with letting go of ego and any preconceived expectations of what the walk will be like, since these can clutter the mind and cause one to miss an insight, gift or metaphor while experiencing the path.  Since the labyrinth, unlike a maze, has only one path in and the same path out again, there is only one choice to make – to engage in this ancient journey.  Walking a labyrinth helps to bring one into the present moment.  It encourages a shedding of worries and a quieting of the logical, thinking, left brain.  The labyrinth journey is an inward walk towards the still, quiet center of the labyrinth within.  The center of the labyrinth is a place to pause and reflect.  In this stillness it is easier to listen, learn, and receive guidance, insights or energy for healing.  The final phase of a labyrinth walk is returning, or the walk back into the world.  It is a time to integrate the peaceful heart or insight received while resting in the center of the labyrinth.  It can also be a time of exhilaration because of the energy received from releasing a long carried burden, or for a new purpose of one’s life.

Please feel free to walk our Peace Labyrinth.  Relax, release, receive, reflect, return…enjoy!

Thank you to Dr. Robin Fuerst for sharing her information!

For more information about labyrinths on her site click here.