Labyrinth Meditaion

Labyrinths have been around for over 4000 years and are found in almost every major culture and religious tradition around the world. Like the mandala, the labyrinth has been an integral tool used for both meditation and prayer. 

For example, in the Christian tradition, labyrinths were originally designed to provide a symbolic pilgrimage for believers to the Holy Land. The Native American Hopi tribe called the labyrinth the symbol for “mother earth” and equated it with the Kiva, a sacred place for holding spiritual ceremonies, symbolic of the womb.

Those who use this tool today continue to recognize the inherently powerful and healing quality of the labyrinth and to utilize this sacred space for meditation, prayer, contemplation, solving problems, connection, comfort, celebration, stress relief or simply clearing the mind and centering. It is a place where calming energy and reflection can bring spiritual balance to our earthly challenges.

 
There is a misconception among many who think that a labyrinth is a type of maze.  The truth is that a labyrinth is not a maze at all. A maze has many paths, intersections and dead ends and its sole purpose is to confuse you. With a labyrinth, there are no tricks, no choices and no dead ends. It has a single path that starts on the edge and leads dependable, although circuitously, to the center.  It’s only purpose it to bring you to the center and if you stay on the path, you will arrive at the intended destination. 

  
The Metaphor for Life’s Journey
The labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey of life. So as in life, the path is full of twists and turns, and each of us experience this journey’s is a distinct, unique, qualitative way. The labyrinth represents life’s journey inward to our own true selves and back out into the everyday world. Walking a labyrinth is in essence a compact, visceral experience representing walking the path of life.  We take each step, one at a time. In life we are moving in a direction, pausing, breathing, praying, observing, contemplating etc.  Ultimately the path of life like the path of the labyrinth can bring us into closer union with the Divine or with ourselves.  

Labyrinths are found in many sizes and shapes and are created from every imaginable material including sand, food, stones, carved into wood, cut into turf or crops, formed by mounds of earth, bricks, sticks and so on. There are even finger labyrinths that you can download online or I have seen them carved out of wood. It’s the same visceral experience to follow the  path with the finger as it is to walk it.

There are three basic design; seven circuit, eleven circuit, and twelve circuit. The most common design found around the country today is the seven circuit. These seven circuit designs were found on pottery from over 2000 years ago.

Chartres Cathedral at Chartres, France is a very famous example of an eleven circuit design. One of the most famous aspects of the cathedral in Chartres is the spectacular rose window over the great west doors. It has the same dimensions as the labyrinth and is exactly the same distance up the west wall as the labyrinth is laterally from the cathedral’s main entrance below the window. An imaginary cosmic hinge located where the doors and floor intersect would, if closed, place the rose window directly on top of the labyrinth, thus the sparkling, colored light of the window and the darkness of the labyrinth pilgrimage are combined.

Walking a Labyrinth
When walking a labyrinth, you meander back and forth, your body actually turning 180 degrees each time you enter a different circuit. As you shift your direction you also shift your awareness from right brain to left brain. In essence, you are effortlessly gaining access to the creative, intuitive, imaginative part of you and to the logical, analytical part of you. It is believed that this is one of the reasons the labyrinth can induce receptive states of consciousness. It can also help to balance the chakras.

Labyrinth walking is among the simplest forms of focused walking meditation and the demonstrated health benefits have led hundreds of hospitals, health care facilities, and spas to install labyrinths in recent years.

Research conducted at the Harvard Medical School’s Mind/Body Medical Institute by Dr. Herbert Benson has found that focused walking meditations are highly efficient at reducing anxiety and eliciting what Dr. Benson calls the ‘relaxation response’. This effect has significant long-term health benefits, including lower blood pressure and breathing rates, reduced incidents of chronic pain, reduction of insomnia, improved fertility, and many other benefits. Regular meditative practice leads to greater powers of concentration and a sense of control and efficiency in one’s life. 

Each person’s walk is a personal experience. How one walks and what one receives differs with each walk. As I have already mentioned some people use the walk for clearing the mind and centering. Others enter with a specific question or concern. The time in the center can be used for receiving, reflecting, meditating, or praying, as well as discovering your own sacred inner space. Whatever is received from the inward journey can be integrated on the outward journey or the walk out. Your walk can be a healing and sometimes a very profound experience or it can be just a pleasant walk. Each time is different.

The invitation is to approach this meditation as though you are entering a sacred space or embarking on a healing or spiritual journey. Be willing to play full out with your imagination, with an open mind and a conscious intention. 

Labyrinth Meditation
Find a comfortable position. You may choose to stand for this mediation to make it more of a visceral experience or be seated and let you imagination be completely free. Either way is fine. When you are ready, go ahead and close your eyes.

Begin by taking in a nice deep breath together and then slowly letting it out. Just letting the body and the mind come to rest with each deep breath.  Take another deep breath in, and releasing all stress and worry on the out breath. Good. Acknowledging that we are all on this sacred pilgrimage to our divine selves, take in one last deep breath and just feel yourself surrender to the path that is laid out before you as you exhale.

Imagine yourself in a beautiful place on the Earth. It can be anywhere or any place that you perceive to be beautiful. Perhaps in a serene mountain meadow with a meandering stream; perhaps an arid, sandy desert at sunset with the alpine glow colors reflecting off of each grain of sand. Maybe you are near the ocean seeing the vast, endless horizon spread out in front of you. Whatever you perceive as beautiful is perfect. If you don’t see it, just get a sense or knowing of it. Go ahead and add as much detail as you like using all of the senses. What does it smell like? What is the temperature? What are the colors? Can you hear any sounds? What would happen if you were to completely rest in this place?

Begin to let yourself feel love for this place and for all of the nature. For every being that lives in this ecosystem, every cell that makes up the beauty that is now surrounding you.  Continue to let the love grow into this space until your heart is beating with the warmth of this love.

The Inward Path
Resting in the peace and love that are here, imagine that in front of you a path begins to appear. This is unlike any path you have ever seen or been down before because it is a path that will take you right to the center of your own being.

Now just notice as the path starts to come into focus, it is actually a very large walking labyrinth.  You can see or get a sense of its size as you stand on the edge, looking in.  Notice what the path is made from. Maybe stones, or sticks, or it is carved into the earth. Maybe it has been cut out of grass or it has been painted. What ever is here is perfect.  Then notice how many circuits there are. Maybe 7, 11 or 12. Notice how the path eventually leads to the center and how clearly it is marked without any tricks or confusion. One way in, and one way out.    

As you step up to the entrance of the labyrinth, feel the invitation that is here for you. You may actually feel your body or your being pulled into the labyrinth as though there were some magnetic field in charge.  And before you take that first step in take just a moment to recognize what brought you here.  Is there a question that wants to be asked and answered? Is there an intention or prayer here?  Maybe there is just curiosity about what you will find along the way as you follow this path? Is there a problem that has been challenging your life recently that you would like to ask for a solution to? Maybe this path is simply a tool for centering, grounding balancing yourself.

Whatever is showing up for you as you stand at the entrance to this labyrinth, go ahead and place your intention on it and then just let it go as you take your first step into the labyrinth.
Begin by walking slowly. If you are standing, you can step in place. If you are sitting, just imagine yourself walking slowly, pausing after each step welcoming whatever thoughts or emotions that show up to come and go naturally as they always do. Notice how the ground feels underneath your feet as you walk down this first circuit. Without attaching to any one thought or emotion, just notice what shows up. And as you reach the end of this first circuit, make the 180 degree turn and begin walking slowly again. Notice the metaphors that might be showing up. How is this path similar to life’s path? How is this path similar to the problem or question you asked?

Really stay present with yourself as you continue walking, pausing, asking, turning. Notice if you are anxious or impatient about getting to the center. Maybe there is the desire to skip over the journey and to just have the experience of the center. Without judgement, just notice if this is here for you. And keep walking, staying on the path that has been laid out specifically for you. What would you have to face feeling if you couldn’t skip the journey to find the answers you have been seeking.

Begin to realize the uniqueness of this path that is the metaphor for your life. As you make your next 180 degree turn, notice that while you can see the path that you have walked in the past and the path that lies ahead of you, the only place where you are in form is exactly where your feet are touching the ground in this moment, in this step you take.
As you continue to walk, you may notice other people who are walking this path with you. Notice how there are times when you are walking in the same direction, on different circuits but still in unison and with synchronized steps. Then one of you makes the 180 degree turn and you pass each other moving in opposite directions yet still on the same path. How is this a metaphor for your relationships. Without judgement, just notice how it feels to be moving in the same direction, to pass one another going in opposite directions, and what it will be like to meet in the center.

As you continue making your way to the center, with all of the twists and turns, how does it feel to be heading a direction and then have that direction changed? Just notice, without judgement and being gentle with yourself. Ask yourself, how is this a metaphor for how you feel about changes in life?
And continuing along the path toward the center, making yet another 180 degree turn to follow the next circuit  laid out before you, notice how far you have traveled and all that you have learned along the way. Get a sense or know if there are any specific gifts you picked up along the way. Notice how the winding path at times felt like you were learning the same lessons over and over yet, each new circuit took you to a deeper awareness of the truth. Each circuit brought you closer to the center with a greater understanding of who you really are and your purpose for taking up form here on earth.

As you near the center of the labyrinth, you may notice a mentor or guide waiting there for you.  This is someone whose wisdom you trust completely. It may be someone of your imagination, a saint, a sage. Just know that they are here for your highest and best. So as you continue walking this path and prepare to step into the opening of the center of this labyrinth, go ahead bring to mind again that original question, prayer or intention. Now follow the path right into the center and when you arrive, be sure to greet your mentor or guide.
Just rest here in the center with your mentor or guide. Taking in some nice, deep, well deserved breaths, let yourself just relax in this place as you take stock of what was learned long the path. You don’t need to analyze anything too deeply. There will be plenty of time of this later. Just let the lessons and awarenesses resonate with the body and the cells.

Turning to the mentor, if you have not yet received the answer to your question, go ahead and ask for that now.  If you don’t have a future vision of your intention being manifest, ask the mentor to show you this now. If there is some solution to a problem that you are still unclear about, ask for clarity. If you are still unsure about your purpose for being here, ask to know. In the knowledge that you have journeyed to the core of your own being where all answers are available, go ahead and ask now for whatever you want to know. We will just wait patiently for the answer to show up and it will.  It always does.
 

The Outward Path
Knowing that you can return to this place anytime you like, go ahead and thank your mentor now and we will begin the outward journey with grateful hearts. And before we begin back onto the path, just take one more moment to whisper out loud to your self, “It’s going to be okay.” “It’s going to be okay.”
When the time is right, go ahead and you take your first few steps from the center. You are leaving here with new awarenesses and moving back into the world a different person. Consider the solutions, answers, or visions you were given.  As you let these answers, solutions and visions integrate, become a part of your reality, your map of the world, notice how each step you take is taken with greater confidence. Notice how you use your new found awareness to navigate the path with all of its twists and turns.  Notice how the 180 degree turns feel different as you walk and live with this expanded awareness. 

Continue walking and moving outward as the path leads you through each circuit. Again, realize the metaphors that are here. This path is an exact mirror of the path inward yet it feels so different as you experience it with a deeper truth of who you are in the world.

Notice how alive you feel with each step you take and the anticipation that is here to live life fully from this authenticity. Feel the ease with which you take each turn. Feel the gratitude that pulses through your body knowing that each of these curves have been the exact gift you needed to answer your own deepest prayers.

Consider the path before you now that you have the solution or answer or vision for your future. Is life outside of the labyrinth really any different than life inside? Notice what it feels like in your body to be following the path that has been laid out specifically for you. Notice how you are breathing with each step you take. Notice the lack of resistance as you follow the curves and make the turns with ease and grace.

As you continue to walk, consider the path outward as a metaphor for your whole life. What if each circuit represented some aspect of your life as a whole and begin to ask “Will this solution, answer or vision support your growth in all areas?” Making the 18 degree turn ask, How could it help you physically? Will your body and health be affected in a positive way? 

At the next turn as, What about in your relationships? Will knowing how to easily connect with yourself help you feel and be more connected to others? 

Continuing to walk the outward path, ask How could these answers support you financially? Now that you have had a real visceral experience of walking the highest and best path for yourself, how will this impact your decision making, your awareness of what’s best for you? How much different is life already by knowing you have access to the answers with in you?

And as you continue on the path and begin to near the exit to this labyrinth, ask your self how your spiritual awareness has already started to shift and change. Do you already feel more connected to life, source, god and goddess. How does knowing your life’s purpose here completely change the way take each step now and your perception of the world.  Notice how much easier it is to just not take things personally, to recognize each being on their own unique yet similar path. Allow yourself to really feel the greater sense of Oneness.

As you stand now at the exit of the labyrinth, before you leave, take  a moment to once again thank yourself and all who showed up to assist in this journey. And if it feels appropriate, you may want to make commitment to yourself to find a labyrinth in your community that you can go walk.
 

So when you are ready, go ahead and step out of the labyrinth back into that beautiful place where you started. Just resting here for a moment to let the experience, this journey integrate.

Final Integration
You know that time and place are just a construct and the fact that we can even conceive of all that has shifted, changed, manifested and healed means that it is already here, in this moment. So when you are ready and as soon as all parts of you are in agreement that this healing can continue organically, on its own, without you having to do a thing, you can come back to the present. And taking in a nice deep breath, letting this revitalized energy flow through the body and you can open your eyes.

Mandalas - The Art of Inner Discovery

Like the warm, comforting embrace of loved ones who are welcoming us home, mandalas enfold us in a soothing, tender cradle. They draw us in with tranquil arms, then encircle us in a sanctuary of love and protection.  To fall into this embrace is to dive into the very core of our own beings and to gracefully swim in the circular pool of insight, healing and self expression.
 

The word Mandala comes from the ancient Sanskrit language of India and simply means “circle”.  The essence of this translation is “wholeness” or “completeness.”  Symbolically, a mandala is that which has no beginning and no end.  It is a visual representation of our relation to the infinite world that extends both beyond and within the physical form.  By interlacing symbolism, numerology, symmetry, sacred geometry and color, mandalas reveal the awe inspiring complexity and simplicity of life.

Mandalas appear naturally in all aspects of life.  They surround us in our daily activities whether that be at home, at work, or at play.  They are apparent in both material and conceptual realities.  For example, mandalas are observed in nature from the smallest atoms to the largest galaxies. They are the flowers, the snowflakes, the fruits, the hurricanes, the spider’s web, the starfish, the eyes and so on.  They are also the cycles of life, the circles of friends and family, the organizational structure of many businesses, the musical scale, and the arena in which life itself is played.

For millennium, the circle motif has been employed to graphically illustrate wholeness and truth in both religious and secular cultures.  The circle is the foundation upon which all geometric forms are generated and thus, has a revered place in history and modern day existence.  The mandala pattern lends function and form, as well as symmetry and grace, to both ancient and contemporary places of worship, dwellings, tombs, architecture, urban plans, art and philosophy.  They have served exclusively in a functional manner as tools and purely in an artistic manner as expressions of beauty.  Sometimes mandalas perform multiple functions as in the giant stone circles built by our ancestors as time keeping devices and ceremonial centers.  No matter how this motif is being utilized, it clearly resonates deeply with humans and is intuitively part of our creative self. 

Mandalas are used in many spiritual traditions as part of meditative practices.  For instance, in the Buddhist tradition, Tibetan monks spend endless hours meticulously creating intricate mandalas out of colored sand.  These mandalas are complex arrangements of patterns or symbols that represent the universe and give expression to the infinite possibilities of the human subconscious.  The process of creating these mandalas is a reminder that all of the answers to life’s deepest questions lie at the center or at the heart of ones self.  There is nothing outside the circle that holds any allure and once this truth is fully realized, life can become a full expression of the inner self in the outer world. Upon completion of the sand mandala, it is literally blown away with the wind and thus, demonstrates non attachment to the material world where nothing is permanent.

In the Hindu tradition, mandalas, also known as sacred Yantras, are a model for the organizational structure of life itself.  These mystic diagrams are a matrix of a perfected universe and are usually made up of an outline (bhupur), the circle, petals, intersecting triangles, and the central dot (bindu).  The placement of the shapes around the bindu express harmony and balance as well as draw the eyes from the outside to the center of the Yantra.  In essence, this mirrors the spiritual practice of gently guiding the wandering mind toward the center of the being where one can rest peacefully.  From this place, unity with all, including the divine, can be experienced.  Yantras are tools for spiritual development rather than self expression and are often used in meditative practice in conjunction with chanting mantras.  

Native Americans are acutely aware of the power of the circle.  In fact, many tribes understand all of life in terms of circles and cycles.  This perception is pervasive in their art, their circular dances and their spiritual practices. The medicine wheel, for instance, is a mandala used for teaching lessons about life, morality and one’s place in the community.  Within this sacred circle, there are four cardinal points or directions arranged like the those on a compass.  Each direction has its own distinct qualities, colors, lessons to learn, insights to gain and skills to master.  According to the way of the medicine wheel, each person comes into the world with the understanding of at least one direction.  The endeavor of living is to master each of the other directions in order to be in balance and harmony with the natural order of life.

Mandalas, whether painted, carved, sewn, chanted or danced are created with the intent of expressing our inherent highest good.  Creating a mandala is very much like taking a self healing journey.  Every color and texture reveals a new awareness of the self while every symbol or geometric shape teaches us to speak the universal language of the heart. At the end of the journey, the truth that is discovered is the wholeness and perfection that has always been.  

Even if you never create a mandala, simply recognizing the mandala concepts is an extraordinarily powerful tool for growth.  To see the ultimate connection of everything is to begin to see the full spectrum of the divine; to know that there is an order contained within an eternal structure is to feel harmonized inside; to look inward for the deepest answers is to truly trust in the greatness of who you are; to imagine the circle as the protective arms of Grace supporting all that you do is to rest fully in the perfection of life.  These sacred circles guide, direct, protect and challenge us to open into the divine beings we are already.

What is Creativity?

As I sit to write this very first blog about creativity and releasing creative blocks, I find myself feeling blocked. Hmmmm, what if this so called block was really an opportunity to share with you one of tools I use everyday to stay clear?  Okay. Here we go....

Closing my eyes, I am taking in a few deep breaths through my mouth and letting them out; I can feel myself beginning to relax; I notice the sounds in the room and let them fade into the background; I feel the chair against my back, supporting me; I welcome the sensations showing up in my body;  my awareness is expanding in all directions, becoming vast and I open and embrace the emotions that are showing up here; emotions are coming and going; I gently welcome everything, especially the resistance and fear; I observe the inner dialog without engaging in it; it too fades into the background; I let my mind gently drift back to the question that started this specific blog...

What is creativity? Whenever I start working with a client, I always ask him or her what it means to be creative. Very often their answers will reveal the limiting beliefs they hold around their own creative ability. For instance, I had one man tell me that being creative meant being a poor, starving artist. Another client confided that if she allowed her creativity to be expressed, she feared that she would become an eccentric, reclusive, crazy old woman who whose only friends in life were the 42 cats she kept in her basement. 

Another limiting concept about creativity that I've heard quite often and will speak about from my own experience is the belief that we are only good for one creative endeavor in life and because of that, we had better use it wisely. This belief used to be so pervasive in my life that I was actually afraid of letting myself feel inspired or excited by anything or anyone because if I did, I was risking having that feeling well up inside and overflow into some prematurely expressed creative idea. In other words, I was terrified of wasting my one allotted creative expression on something that had no meaning.  It sounds crazy to me now and while I  recognized there was some sort of shut down going on in my life, I wasn't sure how to change it.  Before sharing with you how I finally uncovered and cleared that limiting belief, let's explore one more common belief some people hold to be true.

Have you ever heard someone say, "I don't have a creative bone in my body."? Through my experience of coaching individuals who have said these exact words to me, I have found that whenever I've offered them the tools to explore what's underneath this limiting belief, every person I've worked with has recognized that fear is the root emotion holding the belief in place. More often than not, the deepest fear is NOT about failing to be creative; rather the deepest fear is of their own creative power, innate genius, and unstoppable magnificence.  Most people are afraid of what they know they CAN create, not what they can't create.

Gratefully, what I have come to realize about creativity is that it is a constant flow of energy that is the catalyst for both self-expression and manifestation which, ultimately, are the same things. All of life is infused with the same creative force. We as living beings are both The Creator and The Created. Without exception, every living organism has this energy pulsating through its consciousness and creativity is truly the natural order of things. It is nourishment for the soul and if creativity is not flowing, life is extremely diminished, marginalized,  and compromised.

Using the some very potent questions and being brutally honest with myself was the key that helped me uncover the disempowering beliefs I used to hide behind.  For example, here are a few of the questions I asked myself to help reveal my own deepest fears  "What would I HAVE TO RISK FEELING if I let go of the belief that I've only got one good creative idea?" "How have I played small with my creativity?" "What guarantee from Life am I holding out for before I'd be willing to step into my creative power?"

When I finally spoke the deepest truth and allowed the core fear to have its way with me, all lies and illusions were dismantled. I also used a "Belief Change Process" to clear, on a cellular level, the old beliefs.  This technique, which was developed by Brandon Bays and Kevin Billett, works with many life issues and while I would love to just share the exact script I used, I also want to honor the copyrights of the those who created it.  What I can share is that this and other tools like it are what I use everyday with myself and with my clients to remove creative blocks.

 The intention of this blog is to share tools and techniques for clearing creative blocks because I know from my own experience how much more freedom and aliveness I feel when creativity flows. If you find it helpful, job done.