The Consciousness of the Labyrinth

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the labyrinth. I love walking it and I love introducing it to others.

For those of you who do not know what a labyrinth is, it is a walking meditation dating back at least 4500 years. It is not a maze, but one spiraling path inward to the center and back out again. There are no tricks or puzzles or anything to figure out. You simply walk it. Its walkers receive enlightenment, inner peace, profound answers to life's questions, or simply a sense of relaxation. The early Christians used the labyrinth as a metaphorical journey to Jerusalem when they could not make the trip on foot or horseback because of the dangers of the Crusades. They were traveling to their Center to God.

I have been facilitating labyrinth walks for a few years. At our walks, we use the labyrinth to quiet our minds, let go of the distractions, set intentions, ask questions of our higher selves, intuit Spirit and more.

One of the questions I am most asked by newcomers is: "Does the labyrinth itself hold power or is it magic?" This is what I think on this topic. We are all consciousness. I believe the labyrinth holds the collective consciousness of 4500 years of travelers walking its path. Its consciousness is one of healing, communing with God, miracles, a place to hear the Truth within ourselves. We are all subject to the consciousness of the labyrinth when we walk it, but we still have the choice to take the journey.

For over a year, my friend and fellow practitioner Lynn and I have brought the tradition of walking the labyrinth to the California Rehabilitation at Norco. We have witnessed the consciousness of the labyrinth transform the inmates there as they bring their longing for release of tension, pain and the craziness of daily prison life. A part of them, even in their skepticism, believes that the answer is there on the labyrinth. Their experience on the labyrinth transforms their thinking. It is done unto us as we believe.

We are all energy. The labyrinth is energy. As we seek to raise our consciousness to a higher level by walking the labyrinth, AND SO IT IS! That's all!