Labyrinth

"Walking a labyrinth is following in the steps of Shiva Nataraja, the Divine Transformer who is Lord of the Dance."-  Theosophical Society

The labyrinth is a mystic pattern found all over the world since ancient times. No place or time of its origination in the world has been found. Some see the pattern of birth or conception in the labyrinth. Others say it is a sacred map to God. It has been called an archetype of the brain or the mind, which is also linked with the mandala structure. A labyrinth is a kind of mandala, or concentric focusing device. It differs from the maze in that there is one continuous path only, with no choices.

There are many ways to use the labyrinth. Walkable labyrinths are the most familiar. They are constructed as permanent, with paving stones or flooring patterns, semi permanent with outdoor landscaping such as grass or hedges, or temporary with cloth or string lights, stones or sticks. But some labyrinths are meant to be traced with the fingers, or watched, as with this animated one. There are even iphone apps!

Walking or tracing the labyrinth is a sort of structured meditation. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Its origins are so deeply buried in the mists of the deep past, that no tradition can claim ownership or to have the 'correct' way to do it. 

Perhaps that's why it is enjoying a new popularity worldwide. International labyrinth day is May second. People all over the world will be walking labyrinths together that day. There is a society which lists all of the publicly available labyrinths in your area. I found several in my neighborhood and have already explored some of them. It is beautiful experience.

"A labyrinth contains non-verbal, implicate geometric and numerological prompts that create a multi-dimensional holographic field"-Crystalinks