Days are hectic here in Madison. Our children – like most around the country, of course – are preparing for school to start. We are in flux, with too many things to do, too many interruptions, too many distractions tugging us this way and that…
“So what do you use it for?” asked a friend, who found the maple labyrinth beautiful, but was unclear as to its purpose. She was also only vaguely familiar with foot labyrinths and had never walked one.
I told her about my own experiences with labyrinths, how much I love them, how deeply I appreciate their simple power, how profoundly I am affected by their physical and their metaphorical paths.
Of course a hand labyrinth is not a foot labyrinth and it provides a very different kind of experience. There are many ways one can use it in their own spiritual life. I know I use it different ways on different days, depending on my schedule and what I most need.
Here are a few ideas:
- Use your hand labyrinth to “book-end” other experiences — before and after journaling, meditation, prayer time, etc. I often find that the simple practice of tracing the path inward at the beginning and outward at the end frames the ritual in a centering, sacred way that always enhances the experience for me.
- “Speed” trace the labyrinth — I find this technique particularly satisfying when I am feeling more frenetic than usual. I move the stylus as quickly as possible through the path, in and out, in and out, in an almost non-stop motion, for as long as it takes, or until it feels right, to slow down. For whatever reason, this works for me, when I feel moved to use the labyrinth in this way. Perhaps it’s a metaphysical way of ‘letting off steam’ or maybe just the mindless repetition of the motion allows my jittery mind to take whatever time it needs to slow down on its own. All I know is whenever I try this, usually after 3 – 5 trips, my hand moves more slowly and I feel more relaxed.
- Mindfulness/Mantra — Move through the labyrinth as slowly as possible repeating a specific thought, word or prayer as you go. Out loud is best, but silently if necessary. As with any mindfulness mediation, if you get distracted from your phrase or word, just allow yourself to move with ease back to the focusing thought. When you get to center, it may be helpful to lay down the stylus, close your eyes and repeat the prayer/phrase a few times before you begin the journey back out of the labyrinth. When I do this, I like to keep my hands on the wood, as another centering tool.
- “Let Go and Let God” — When I am seeking guidance in a particular matter, I attempt to come to my labyrinth with an open, receptive heart. Before beginning, I picture in my mind whatever it is for which I am asking help, and as I move through the path, I say to myself a short prayer that enhances my willingness to let go and listen. “I let go and let God.” Or, “I am open and receptive to divine guidance and love.”
Ultimately, your relationship to your labyrinth, and the ways you decide to use it to enhance your own spiritual path, be they traditional or trailblazing, must be your own. A labyrinth is a tool to enhance your spirituality and strengthen your bonds of love, faith and peace to God, Universal Truth, Divine Mind, or however it is you choose to identify Spirit in your own life.
~ Namaste ~