Article by Laura T. Coffey
Photos by Scott Wheeler
“For some people, walking the labyrinth is life-changing. For others, it’s subtle…When I left the labyrinth, I felt wonderul.”
- LUCY WRAY, co-chairwoman of Women’s Ministries of Palm Harbor United Methodist Church
People make thier way through the Prayer Labyrinth during the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Lakeland last May. The Labyrinth is considered a means to calm the mind, relax the body, reduce stress and provide a space that guides the mind and heart in prayer.
PALM HARBOR - It is described as a way to quiet the mind, relieve stress, evoke a feeling of wholeness and sense God’s presence.
An ancient form of meditation, walking a labyrinth, is becoming an increasingly popular way to pray throughout the United States. Many who have walked in a labyrinth say they view it as a metaphor for their solitary, spiritual journey through life.
“This can help people develop a strong sense of spirituality,” said Lucy Wray of Palm Harbor, who is bringing a labyrinth to Pinellas County next week. “It’s a tool that’s really an individual thing.”
Wray got a labyrinth on loan from the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church in Lakeland. Painted on canvas, the 40-foot-diameter labyrinth will be set up Monday and Tuesday at Palm Harbor United Methodist Church.
“For some people, walking the labyrinth is life-changing,” said Wray, co-chairwoman of Women’s Ministries of Palm Harbor United Methodist Church, which is sponsoring the event. “For other, it’s subtle…When I left the labyrinth, I felt wonderful.”
The local labyrinth event is part of an international movement spearheaded in part by the Rev. R. Lauren Artress, canon for special ministries at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, where Wray walked the labyrinth for the first time in October.
Artress is director of a worldwide labyrinth project called Veriditas and author of the book Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Sacred Tool. Her book describes the labyrinth as “safe territory for many who feel they are unraveling at the seams; it is a place to order chaos and calm the frightened heart.”
The labyrinth is especially popular with people who are dealing with serious illnesses, family problems and other traumas. Hospitals are installing labyrinths to help patients deal with stress, pain, and uncertainty. Labyrinths also are being installed in parks and even at airports.
A massive 120-foot-diameter labyrinth is under construction at the Life Enrichment Center in Leesburg, an adult retreat center owned by the United Methodist Church. A turn-of-the-century New Year’s Eve celebration is planned there from 4 p.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. Jan. 1, 2000.
“The whole labyrinth movement is marvelous,” said the Rev. Tanya Beck, founder and executive director of the Pilgrimage Institute for Integrative Healing in Largo. “The process can become a deeply meditative one. You’re walking in a focused path. If you clear your mind, you can truly feel God’s presence.”
In her book, Artress maintains that the labyrinth is a way for people to get in touch with the feminine side of their worship and spirituality. Consequently, the labyrinth has come to be viewed by some as a feminist Christian icon.
During the Middle Ages, Christians began using the labyrinth as a substitute for pilgrimages to the Holy Land they couldn’t make during their lifetimes. In her book, Artress explains that labyrinths have been used for more than 4,000 years and can be found in almost every religion in the world, including Jewish, Native American, Tibetan, Greek and Roman traditions. The oldest surviving labyrinth, a rock carving at Luzzanas in Sardinia, dates from 2500 to 2000 BC.
The labyrinth that will be used in Palm Harbor is based on the design laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France in the early 1200’s. The labyrinth’s twists and turns unerringly lead to the center, where many people say they attain a measure of illumination and clarity of purpose.
“You’re not going to find an easy answer to a problem, but you may discern the way to deal with it,” Wray said.
On Monday and Tuesday evenings, taped music will be played and votive candles will be set up all around the labyrinth, Wray said. As many as 20 people can walk on the labyrinth at the same time. People tend to get into a rhythm, tune other people out and walk at their own pace, she said.
The labyrinth can be used by people of non-Christian faiths as a prayer and meditation tool.
“It’s really not a journey for any specific group,” said the Rev. Patricia D. Brown, director of spiritual formation for the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Walking the labyrinth is meant as a way for people to lay out their lives, Brown said.
“There’s one way in, and one way out. It’s not meant to confuse you…This really is teaching people how to pray. It’s teaching people how to center themselves…how to be in solitude, turn off the media and go back to the simplicity of walking the path.
“Some people don’t experience anything the first time. And for some people this is not their way of prayer, and that’s okay.”
