The Labyrinth – a spiritual journey
By Katherine Miller
CROWLEY – On Holy Saturday, March 22, The First United Methodist Church presented “The Labyrinth,” for the first time in Crowley, at the Agriculture Center.
The Labyrinth has served as a very meaningful tool worldwide for those who are lost.
Upon arrival on the site of the center, Pastor Dale Hensarling greeted attendees and shared with the group a brief history of the Labyrinth and its purpose, along with what to expect upon entering the building. He shared a few stories that had been related to him, in which people’s lives had been affected and renewed by their experience of walking the Labyrinth. Hensarling also said, “No two people would have the same experience, that each walks in his own pace, and that some of the biggest mistakes that have been made by walking the Labyrinth, have been some of the most life changing events in those people’s lives.”
For example, one person realized they had gone the wrong way on the path, and the Pastor heard the word “oops”, and it was later said that this experience was a powerful revelation to the individual.
Hensarling further explained that The Labyrinth stands as a model of the Cathedral of Chartres, France, and is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have, for centuries, been used as powerful meditation and prayer tools.
A labyrinth is a model with which we have a direct experience, and is a metaphor for life’s journey. The Labyrinth creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to “That which is within.”
Mazes and labyrinths also have been confused, and when most people think about a labyrinth, they think of a maze. However, a labyrinth and a maze are in fact, quite different. A maze is similar to a puzzle to be solved, involving twists and turns, and blind alleys. It is a left brain task that requires logical, sequential activity to find the correct path into and out of the maze.
A labyrinth, however, is a right brain task that involves intuition, creativity and imagery. In a maze, there are many choices that can be made to find the center. In a labyrinth, only one choice can be made...to enter or not to enter. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
The metaphor, of the labyrinth, therefore, or its basic intended purpose is for each to walk the journey to the center of one’s deepest self and to walk back into the world with a broadened understanding of who they are.