Walking the labyrinth
An invitation from the Trinity Gardens Labyrinth in Whitehaven, England, says:
Walk this path with an open heart and mind, seeking awareness as you journey.
Some suggested guidelines:
Walk this path with an open heart and mind, seeking awareness as you journey.
Some suggested guidelines:
- Be present. Pause before you enter. Be aware, in this moment.
- Set an intention. Why are you here? What is it that you seek? Your intention may be to seek guidance on some troubling issue. It may be to be open to spiritual insight. It may be to express spiritual devotion. It may just be to have some time of peaceful presence. A common labyrinth invocation includes, “I am a pilgrim seeking _______.”
- If you wish, choose a meditation. Some people find that being completely open to the thoughts, feelings and images that arise as they walk the labyrinth fits for them. For others, it can help to focus attention on some phrase, or word, or mantra, that has personal meaning.
- Go at a pace that feels comfortable for you. Navigate quietly around other people as necessary, keeping your attention on your own journey.
- Walk (as the Trinity Gardens invitation says) with an open heart and mind. You set an intention, and then you open your heart and mind to what follows. Avoid the expectation that something in particular has to happen. Avoid the assumption that there are right and wrong ways to walk. This is your experience; it need not follow the pattern or experience of anyone else. Your experience may have some powerful feelings or insights. Your experience may feel like nothing at all. It may be very different from what you had anticipated, or it may not. Walk with a spirit of curiosity, awareness and an open heart, to be present to whatever your experience may be.
- Remain at the center for as long as you wish.
- When you are ready, follow the path in reverse, reflecting on your experience in the journey to the center and allowing it to become a part of you.