Celebrating World Labyrinth Day
        Saturday May 7, 2016 is the eight annual World Labyrinth Day coordinated by the Labyrinth Society.
        World Labyrinth Day has a focus on Peace. People walking labyrinths at 1 o'clock local time, will send peaceful and peace-promoting energy rippling around the globe for 24 hours. I will be hosting an event in Masham QC, to which readers are welcome.
 
        In her book Melissa Gayle West names six aspects of the human relationship with the labyrinth, any or all of which can be adopted as part of a labyrinth walk.
Deepening Spirituality
    When our worldview is informed by a sense of connection to some power or system or entity greater than ourselves, we call it Spiritual. The designs we see in labyrinths reflect Cosmic Geometry, which is found in the physical expression we call nature. The Cretan or Classical labyrinth path conforms to the mathematics which shape galaxies, seashells, sunflowers and strands of DNA. Spending time in this energy field helps us to explore the depths of our place in the vastness of the Universe.
Inwardness and Connection to Soul
    Ramana Maharshi said "Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside." It is growing apparent that joy is not found in material things. No designer jacket or titanium golf club can be the cause of a positive life.     Walking a labyrinth will not fill an unhappy heart with delight, what it can do is make a quiet space where the miracles and wonders of life can assert their presence deep within.
Access to Intuition and Creativity
Writing in Taoism: Way Beyond Seeking. Alan Watts noted “If I wanted to go from here to there, the engineer would direct me to take the shortest possible route ... taking a straight route rather than a wiggly one. But one takes a wiggly route not only to better fit one’s path to the contours of the land but also for the pleasure of winding along and enjoying the ride. Enjoyment of winding and wiggling is really fundamental to life. Life is wiggly, and it isn’t wiggly just because that is the easiest way to be. It is wiggly for the pure love and beauty of wiggling.” The winding path opens up new ways of walking.
Simplicity
    There are no decisions on a labyrinth path. This is quite opposite of regular daily life in Western society. We live with a complication of assaults from visual media; noise from people and traffic and machinery; constant demands for our attention. There is only one labyrinth path: no forks, no dead ends, no deceptions or difficulties. The route is simple, and when we experience confusion or disorientation as we walk, we are being directed to look to the confusion in our lives.
Integration of Body and Spirit
    While the body is moving around the circuitous route that is a labyrinth path, the mind is freed from conscious activity. This makes a space for awareness of both physical and non-physical being. We can focus on the feeling of the floor or ground beneath our feet. At the same time, we can observe ourselves as we focus. We are not feet, we have feet, and the labyrinth is a useful place to explore who and how we are. 
Intimacy and Community
    Sharing an experience with another person creates a bond. You both witness an event and you have memories of what happened in common. When walking a labyrinth path with other people, aspects of each individual experience resides in other minds and memories. This makes for a rare level of connection which can be pursued or not.
    When we are in contact with a labyrinth, we are aligned with Universal Forces far greater than we can track with our physical senses or our language.
Join in on Saturday
    Douglas Penick suggests “The path of enlightenment is what is underneath our feet.” Understanding a labyrinth can only be found in walking the labyrinth. Perhaps this is your time.

    I have  been supporting clients through change and growth since the 1980s.
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