BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality New Age Labyrinths

I've had the wonderful opportunity in the last months to walk some labyrinths, some permanent and some transportable, most recently the indoor one at Grace Cathedral in SanFrancisco. Each experience has been quite different. I would like to hear about your experiences and get recommendations of labyrinths you've walked that a fellow pilgrim in these things should not miss!

I've got a list of labyrinths I've walked and what each was like at http://www.squidoo.com/labyrinths

I used to live in SF and I've walked their outdoor one, but not the indoor one.

Good info there Rae. I walked the labyrinth at White Mountain Retreat at dawn. Although I wanted to do it the time wasn't right until the end of my stay, when I walked it two mornings in a row. I was going through some emotional turmoil & I found it steadied me- though I can't pretend I received answers as such!

I find that the more I experience labyrinths, I more I am able to be open to them and whatever information I might get.

My latest, the Goddess Labyrinth in Nevada, was very powerful physically. I felt energy zapping right into my third eye, but as to any tangible info, I haven't figured that part out yet... LOL...

Rae, I've got to tell you about my experience with the indoor labyrinth at Grace in SF...I figured the location of the outdoor one might be noisy and distracting, and really wanted to experience the sanctuary setting for a labyrith. Hah! It was cleaning day inside, and they kept vacuuming and vacuuming. I had dragged my good (and grieving) friend all the way across the country for this experience and I was fit to be tied! Just as we had decided we couldn't wait any longer and would just have to walk with the noise in the background or go outside, the workers packed up and left! Talk about mixing the sacred with the profane.
Each labyrinth walk has been markedly different, although all have been of the same Chartres pattern. I'll be glad to check out what both you Rae and you Lauren have recommended. Thanks!
Tell me, do you feel definite points of progression in your walk? I read after having walked several that there are suggested points of release etc. on the walk.

I've had enough experiences with "public sacred space" I tend to observe my mental reactions to the distractions now and then let go of them. It definitely took some practice to get to that though....

There was a group of students walking the outdoor labyrinth at Grace the time I was there. My friend and I were coming out and they were going in. There were seven of them in a single file line and when they got to the center, each young person stepped into one of the petals of the flower shape and they all closed their eyes and dropped their heads back at the same time, it wound up looking very cool to me as an observer.

I've walked several labyrinths now that weren't the Chartres pattern and I have to say some can certainly feel more eclectic than others. The Goddess one in NV has been my most potent experience to date. I found out later from my friend who designed it that she was on her moon cycle while they laid it out and she buried some of the blood in the goddess figure part to help "juice it up" as she put it.

I've often felt like the walk in seem shorter to me than the walk back out. I'm not sure why that is, but I've felt it repeatedly.

At Gaia's Oasis, when I'm there for gatherings, there's often a gift exchange that goes with the labyrinth. For the first two days of the gathering, when you feel called, you take your anonymous gift into the center and place it in the container. Then over the last two days, again when you feel the time is right for you, you go back and walk the labyrinth again, this time selecting something from the container. It's fascinating in that everyone seems to receive something they need.

I found the meditation Labyrinth at the �Spirit of Life� fair at Coventry Cathedral UK, I attended in May, spiritually satisfying and soothing. It is always good to have a new spiritual experience, and I will certainly trace my steps around another labyrinth when the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime I have created my own artwork labyrinth, which I have placed in a clear plastic coaster and it sits on my computer desk.

I just read the novel Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. Interesting read for anyone who likes history (I learned lots about the Cathars and the Crusade of the 1200s against the French Christian heretics) but not so much really dealing with labyrinths - aside from saying that the Chartes one is a coverup decoy- no real power there. Anyone else read it and care to comment?