You’ve probably tried meditating. If you’re like many people you may have felt discouraged when you couldn’t quiet your monkey-mind and shut down random thoughts. Restlessness takes over as you fidget your way through the meditation process. This is so common and it causes many people to give up meditating even before they’ve really begun. If this sounds like you a Labyrinth Walk may be the perfect answer to your meditation problem.
Thoughts are just part of our mind’s normal activity. Unless you’ve perfected your meditation technique over decades they’re also a normal part of meditation.
The key to managing thoughts during meditating is to stop trying to banish them. Let them rise and then release them gently.
Your body takes time to unwind and settle after you’ve been busy. Because your body is naturally driven to keep up the momentum it continues to move even after you want to stop. It will eventually calm and settle down as you continue with the meditation process.
But there are many different ways to meditate and it may just be that you haven’t found your style yet. So if you find you’re somewhat impatient and can’t stick to the process, it’s worth trying other forms of meditation before giving up.
Active Meditation In The Labyrinth
Establishing connection to Source takes practice and it’s easy to get discouraged in the early stages. While meditation is commonly seen as “sitting in the stillness” some people find it easier to connect and stay engaged during slow measured movement.
Walking the path of the Labyrinth has stood the test of time. It’s a meaningful way to connect to Source through focused movement, and many people find it much easier than sitting quietly to meditate.
The Walking Meditation taught by Thich Nhat Hanh, and certain forms of dance are some of the other ways to meditate actively.
Throughout history walking the Labyrinth was a practice favoured by organised religions, so labyrinths were often found in churches or cathedrals. But recently many full-size labyrinths are being built in public places and parklands for everyone to access.
Labyrinth walks allow one’s mind to quiet, and invite insight through meditation. Many people use the labyrinth walk to create a calm mind, and to find inner balance and connection to Source or their Higher Self. Walking the labyrinth is a wonderful way to develop mindfulness and connect with inner knowing.
Ancient Sacred Symbols
Labyrinths are an ancient sacred symbol. The sacred spiral design is a very powerful self-alignment tool to bring perspective into our lives.
Although labyrinths may seem like mazes they are very different. Mazes require you to use the logical left brain to navigate them. But the geometric form of the labyrinth speaks to the imaginative, intuitive, spatial and visual dominant right brain.
Mazes are puzzles with dead ends and many twists and turns in different directions. Labyrinths have only one twisting path that leads right into the centre with no deceptive turns or blind alleys.
It takes logic and planned thought to solve a maze. But the labyrinth requires a more passive, yin approach. The only decision is whether to start or not. As you walk your consciousness moves into a more receptive state by shifting from left to right brain, bringing holistic perception, balance and allowing insights.
How To Walk The Labyrinth
There are four stages to every labyrinth walk. Each is equally important to the whole process.
⭐️ To begin, pause at the entrance to focus and set an intention for your walk.
⭐️ Take slow, deliberate steps as you move towards the centre of the labyrinth. This is an opportunity to clear and centre your mind. Release any worries or obligations and surrender to the process of being fully present in your body, in the moment.
⭐️ When you reach the centre again pause and spend time in reflection, meditation, prayer or simple stillness. In the stillness you can realise your own sacred inner space and allow the divine into your life. Clear all thoughts and allow the connection to Source Energy. If you find your thoughts wandering use deep breathing to refocus.
⭐️ The return walk from the centre allows you time to integrate your insights. It prepares you for a return to your life intending to make transformational changes, and ready to take action.
Each walk is unique and you can expect to receive something different every time you walk the labyrinth. While it may at times just be a pleasant walk, on other occasions it may reveal deep insight and understanding. The labyrinth walk may even provide the answer to your question, or release of a worry or grief you’ve been holding.
The Journey Of Life Within The Labyrinth
Our life pathway is reflected in the walk through the labyrinth.
Life is a journey, but at times it can seem the path has disappeared so we feel we are lost in the undergrowth. We’re all on a path, even if sometimes it seems pretty overgrown, and at other times we have no idea where it may be leading us.
In some ways the labyrinth is a metaphor for our own journey. It takes us far into our deepest self then returns us back into the world.
In many ancient myths and legends the hero or heroine had to descend into the darkness before they could overcome their adversary or fear, and return back up into the light. Only after passing through the depths could they emerge triumphant with a deeper understanding of themselves. Similarly we can use the labyrinth walk to go deep within to broaden our understanding and acceptance of who we are.
Labyrinths can be transformational spiritual tools. If you choose to use this form of meditation make the labyrinth walk a regular practice which you integrate as part of your life.
As an ancient symbol of wholeness labyrinths allow you to pursue personal growth.
Find a Labyrinth
If you’d like to experience the power of the Labyrinth there are a growing number being created. Some are privately owned and require prior arrangement to use, but many are open for public use. Search for a local labyrinth in Australia on this comprehensive Labyrinth Link Australia list.
The beautiful labyrinth in the image at the top of this post is in Carrajung, Australia. I recently walked it and was moved by the power of the strong indigenous presence.
