Labyrinth Ministry
Second Saturday Labyrinth Walks take place from 9 am - 12 noon in the Auditorium on the lower level. Hosted by the Labyrinth Ministry Team, the monthly event provides the general public and North members the opportunity to walk North Christian’s portable canvas labyrinth, which is modeled on the medieval labyrinth set in the floor of Chartres Cathedral. Labyrinths are used world-wide as a way to quiet the mind, find balance, and encourage prayer, meditation, insight and celebration. There are many ways to describe a labyrinth: a path of prayer, a walking meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit and a mirror of the soul. Come walk the labyrinth and be nourished!
Labyrinths are found in many cultures dating back as much as 3500 years. Unlike a maze, the labyrinth is unicursal, having a single path leading to the center with no loops, cul-de-sacs or forks. They all share the basic features of an entrance or mount, a single circuitous path and a center goal.
Walking a Labyrinth
Written by John Ridder, Paxworks 2003
Environment --
Begin by setting the environment for the experience. Your host prepares by adjusting lighting, selecting music, controlling air conditioners, and saying opening prayers. Set your personal environment by removing your 'physical baggage' such as key-chains, pocket change, cell phones, watches and dangling jewelry. Removing watches removes the temptation to measure your progress chronologically. On an indoor labyrinth you may be asked to remove your shoes and walk in your socks. Outdoors, enjoy the sounds of nature; experience a bare foot walk on a grass or stone labyrinth.
The Walk--
There is not a "required way" to walk the labyrinth. The beauty of the labyrinth is that people can approach the experience on their own terms. However, as a guideline, we can break the 'walk' down into these states.
Entering: (also referred to shedding or purgation)
During this stage you walk the path toward the center, and should try to acquire a relaxed, peaceful state, temporarily release concerns and quiet the mind.
Illumination:
The time in the center. This is a time of openness and peacefulness; you experience, learn or receive and consider what this unique moment offers. Take your time.
Union:
The journey outward. You choose when to leave the center, following the same path. This is a time to review and consider what occurred in the center and how it may be applied in your life.
Implementation:
This stage represents your life outside the labyrinth; the world where your experience or illumination is carried into and affects your everyday life.
