Once confined to ancient cathedrals, labyrinths are popping up in unexpected places as tools for creativity, healing, reconciliation and meditation.\u00a0 Using labyrinths can reduces stress, aid in problem solving, build communities and replace more static practices like sitting meditation.\u00a0 The American Psychological Association headquarters in Washington, D.C. placed one in its roof top meditation garden and they\u2019re also showing up in hospital courtyards, university campuses and traditional churches.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The labyrinth is not a maze.\u00a0 It has no dead ends and no tricks, but offers a single, circuitous path that leads to the center and then back out again.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s helped me get over the death of my mother and other challenges,\u201d says Charlotte, North Carolina resident, Kathy Mansfield who constructed one in her garden.\u00a0 \u201cResearch shows that it can even help children to calm down.\u201d She calls herself a type A personality and found it hard to meditate.\u00a0 But she finds a sense of calm at the center of the labyrinth.\u00a0 \u201cAs I\u2019m walking it, all the issues and stress drain away,\u201d she says.\u00a0 \u201cIt helps me to release tension and figure things out.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing,\u201d she says.\u00a0 \u201cI go in stressed out and when I come out it\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a right or wrong way to walk the labyrinth,\u201d Mansfield says.\u00a0 She built one in the yard of her mountain home and uses a three step process of releasing, centering and reemerging.\u00a0 She suggests beginning with a pause and moving the focus inward.\u00a0 The process for walking may follow an initial preparation or contemplation that includes thinking of a problem to solve, a family concern to let go of or an emotional wound to heal.\u00a0 The inward journey requires leaving behind burdensome worries, preoccupations and challenges.\u00a0 She makes a list of what she wants to let go of and empties herself to become receptive and open to the experience.\u00a0 The second part of the path entails arriving at the center.\u00a0 \u201cThis is a time to be open, expectant, empty,\u201d Mansfield says.\u00a0 In the center enjoy the stillness.\u00a0 Listen to your inner voice and consider the possibility of the new and miraculous transforming your life.\u00a0 The return marks the final part of the journey.\u00a0 Here, the walker retraces the path.\u00a0 It\u2019s a time to reenergize and gain insights into the world.\u00a0 To fully benefit from the experience Mansfield encourages people to write down their thoughts and reflections once the walk is complete.\u00a0 But the process is not limited to just walking.\u00a0 \u201cSome dance it or some sing it.\u00a0 My son ran it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Like most spiritual practices, this is not something that you do once and then consider it’s finished. Labyrinth walkers say that they learn something new each time they come back to it. Like most any spiritual practice, it’s something that one returns to again and again and each time brings a new experience.<\/p>\n
Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once confined to ancient cathedrals, labyrinths are popping up in unexpected places as tools for creativity, healing, reconciliation and meditation.\u00a0 Using labyrinths can reduces stress, aid in problem solving, build communities and replace more static practices like sitting meditation.\u00a0 The American Psychological Association headquarters in Washington, D.C. placed one in its roof top meditation garden…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,10,4,26,125,3],"tags":[530,346,529,345,23],"class_list":["post-785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-meditation","category-oneness","category-spiritual-practice","tag-american-psychological-association","tag-awake-in-the-world","tag-centering-practice","tag-debra-moffitt","tag-labyrinths"],"yoast_head":"\n