Tools - Labyrinths

Throughout very different ages, cultures and spiritual traditions labyrinths have been used as a way to enter into a contemplative state where the mind is at peace and the body is simply present. Travelling through a labyrinth can help us learn how to live one day, one hour, one minute at a time.

A labyrinth is a winding unicursal path leading to a centre. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth does not have traps or blind alleys. One of the labyrinths is in fact a maze. Can you identify it?

Labyrinths are very old. Some date back 4000 years or more. They have long been used symbolically in walking meditation, choreographed dance or as places of ritual and ceremony. The labyrinth evokes metaphor, geometry, and pilgrimage. It appears in spiritual practices, as well as environmental art and arenas of social commitment.

Instructions

Walking through a labyrinth one step at a time, or moving through it with a finger or a pencil point, implies right brain activity. Whenever you feel the need for a break, or want to build up your energy or creativity, trace your finger along the path of one of these 11 labyrinths. Follow the path to the centre, pause, then return through the labyrinth to the starting point.

Advanced Training

Once you have experienced moving through a labyrinth, try alternating your fingers or using your other hand. Another time, practise synchronising your breath with the movement of your finger as it moves through the labyrinth to the centre and back again. A final exercise begins with a gentle exhalation. Next, put your finger at the entrance to the labyrinth;  inhale until you have slowly counted to four as you begin to move along the path. Pause, holding your breath briefly. Then resume the movement with your finger by slowly exhaling while counting to eight. Continue at this rhythm until you leave the labyrinth.

These labyrinths were designed by Jeltje Gordon-Lennox and made by Jesse Venbrux © 2012