Transform Your Life -Walk the Labyrinth

Labyrinths

WHAT IS A LABYRINTH?

The labyrinth is a walking meditation, a path of prayer and an archetypal blueprint where psyche meets Spirit. It has only one path that leads from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center.There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. Unlike a maze where you lose your way, the labyrinth is a spiritual tool that can help you find your way.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WALKING THE LABYRINTH?

Walking the Labyrinth quiets the mind, opens the heart and grounds the body ... Some find answers to questions long asked, some find healing, creativity, a sense of wholeness ... What will you find on your labyrinth journey?

To learn more contact me.

Sharing my inner journey

I have been passionate about spiritual and inner journeys for as long as I can remember. From Joseph Campbell's Hero's journey to Phil Cousineau's writing about pilgrimage this inner journey is what I write about and it's what I practice.

Rev Lauren Artress inspired me to discover the labyrinth and to trust the path it has led me on and the deep wisdom it has offered by walking that path. I am honoured to have been trained by Lauren. Now I want to share that path with you.

The Labyrinth

The labyrinth is an ancient symbol renewed in recent years. As people from all walks of life, cultures and beliefs look for meaning in their lives.

It is an ancient pattern found in many cultures around the world. Labyrinth designs were found on pottery, tablets and tiles that date as far back as 5000 years. Many patterns are based on spirals and circles mirrored in nature. In Native American tradition, the labyrinth is identical to the Medicine Wheel and Man in the Maze. The Celts described the labyrinth as the Never Ending Circle. It is also known as the Ka bala in mystical Judaism. One feature labyrinths have in common is that they have one path that winds in a circuitous way to the centre.

The labyrinth is a walking meditation, a path of prayer or contemplation, and an archetypal blueprint where psyche meets Spirit. It has only one path that leads from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the centre. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. Unlike a maze where you lose your way, the labyrinth is a spiritual tool that can help you find your way.

Labyrinths are currently being used world-wide as a way to recover a balance in life, and encourage meditation, insight, self-reflection, stress reduction, and to discover innovation and celebration. They are open to all people as a non-denominational, cross-cultural blueprint for well-being. The practice of labyrinth walking integrates the body with the mind and the mind with the spirit. They can be found in medical centres, parks, churches, schools, prisons, memorial parks, spas, cathedrals and retreat centres as well as in people's backyards.

The Modern Labyrinth Movement

Veriditas

The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress is a spiritual pioneer, author and a leading force in introducing the labyrinth globally. Her introduction of the labyrinth into contemporary awareness imbues new meaning of this ancient practice that ignites the imagination, fosters intuition yet is devoid of sin and guilt. Through her personal work with the labyrinth, Lauren lives out her ‘soul-assignment’.

Lauren founded the non-profit, Veriditas, the World-Wide Labyrinth Project in 1996 to “pepper the planet with labyrinths”. With over 6000 labyrinth sites in the US alone, her non-profit work embraces the vision to activate and transform the human spirit through the labyrinth experience.

The labyrinth design used by Lauren Artress is a replica of the Eleven-circuit Medieval Labyrinth from Chartres Cathedral in France. This pattern, made of Beauce quarry stone and an unnamed black stone to delineate the path, was inlaid into the stone floor in 1201. For the last 250 years, however, it has been forgotten and covered with chairs until Artress led a small group of people into Chartres cathedral to remove the chairs to experience the meditative walk first hand.

Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training

The goal of the Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training is to prepare people to introduce others to the labyrinth in an articulate, professional and effective way. The training addresses both meditative walking and ceremonial use. It is focused primarily on the Eleven Circuit Medieval Labyrinth but is inclusive of all forms.

The Veriditas Facilitator Training -- which began in 1997 -- remains the most rigorous and comprehensive training offered. To date, Veriditas has trained more than 5,000 labyrinth facilitators -- therapists, clergy, hospital administrators, parish teams, doctors, artists and labyrinth enthusiasts -- who are introducing the labyrinth to their communities. More than 2,000 people are certified.