Janna's Personal Labyrinth
Labyrinths are found all over the world. The labyrinth is an ancient archetype. It symbolizes the “path” to the center... whether it is the center of your being, the center of your connection to the universe, your consciousness, the center of your peace, or your answers.
Labyrinths have been here for thousands of years. No one knows where they originated, but they have been found on cave walls in paintings, on ancient Grecian coins, in American Indian baskets, in churches, and on beaches. They seem to proliferate on the planet when we are in “hinge time” or a time of great transition of our human experience, as we are now.
The gifts of the labyrinth are many. It is a tool that brings one into deep connection with themselves, with the universe, and with community. Some people feel the closeness of Spirit as they walk the labyrinth, as it is said that it is a “thin” place, bringing you close to the spirit world, and closer to the other dimensions of consciousness.
Due to the nature of the winding path, the labyrinth encourages being in the moment rather than in the future, or being at the goal, because you cannot see the end of the path. As you take each step you have the opportunity to be fully present in your thoughts, your intention in receptivity, in creative inspiration and ideas that seem to bubble up as you walk. This happens without effort.
As the path makes 180 degree turns frequently, it changes not only one’s body orientation but the brain’s as well. This switches from right brain to left and back again each time helping to promote integration of your thinking and processing to combine capacities of the linear, rational side, and the creative, intuitive receptive side. This action brings about inspiration, grounding and deep peace.
The very nature of the form of the labyrinth creates a certain frequency vibrationally, as other sacred forms do. This also contributes to the feeling of peace, and a chance for connection to one’s intuition, and “higher levels”, as well as inspired guidance from being in other dimensions if one if open to that.
The way we walk the labyrinth is a metaphor for how we do our lives, so a level of introspection is a valuable asset when this tool is used. If one finds themselves looking for the goal, and not being presen In each step, being impatient for the end, or the answers, you can be sure that it will reflect a similar pattern in their experience of their life.
The labyrinth can be used for meditation or prayer, to brainstorm creative ideas and inspiration, to grieve a loss, to be in gratitude, to be at peace, to accept and deal with illness, to be in community, to see how you are in relationship.
One man who was adopted and had never thought about finding his birth mother before had that thought occur to him while on a labyrinth walk. He decided he would look for her. Upon arriving home he found a voice message from her on his voicemail. This is an example of the mysterious way of the labyrinth.
My experience of the labyrinth is that of stepping into a “sacred bubble” which helps me quiet my too active mind and emotions, and experience being in the moment fully present in each step, and not in the end result or goal. This allows me to drop in to my feeling and intuition, which gives me greater connection to my inner self, to what I know and what I need to know. I can’t push this experience.. it just has to bubble up. I often get answers to intentions I set before walking and at the very least I get a feeling of calm and peace when I am done. It is an experience that is so connective I seek it out again and again. It led me to want to do this work.
