It’s the year 2011, and our world is filled with chaos. Americans are involved in multiple wars, we’re all impacted with the global financial crises and natural disasters are abundant. Now, more than ever, the need for balancing, calming experiences is paramount. When human beings are faced with stress, disorder and confusion, we gravitate toward quieting and bonding experiences. It’s part of our ability to continue on our evolutionary path, part of our survival. Enter the labyrinth... a tool for walking meditations.
Walking the path of a labyrinth, stepping on every bit of its path before entering the labyrinth core or center, and then retracing back to the beginning, can represent a journey to one’s own center and back out into the world again. It can be healing. Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School’s Mind/Body Medical Institute 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, and these have led to a resurgence in the popularity of labyrinths. Hundreds of hospitals, churches, health care facilities, spas and even prisons have installed labyrinths in recent years.
The labyrinth dates back to prehistoric times. They have been an integral part of many cultures, such as Celtic, Mayan, Greek, Cretan, and Native American. The word “labyrinth” is a word of pre-Greek origin and they were depicted on Greek coins as early as 430 BC. So labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools. And today they’re springing up all around us. If you seek the serenity found when walking a purposeful path and wish to walk a labyrinth, here are some in our area:
- Centenary United Methodist Church, 16th and Olive, St. Louis
Downtown, 24' Santa Rosa on concrete, open 24/7. - The Mercy Center, 2039 North Geyer Rd., Frontenac
80' stone and mulch Chartres. Call first for permission: 314-966-4686 - First Presbyterian Church, 7200 Delmar, University City
24' brick and grass Ravenna pattern. West side of church. Open 24/7. - Camp Manitowa, Retreat Center & Summer Camp near Rend Lake, IL, 28’ 5-Circuit Chartres replica of logs and mulch. Open for retreats or camp at the site. Dan: 314-375-6766
This article was submitted by Debby Siegel, who recently participated in the construction and unveiling of a labyrinth in a 9/11 Peace Ceremony at Camp Manitowa in Benton, Illinois.
