Walking to Center: The Labyrinth Experience
by Cait Johnson

Four years ago, I walked a labyrinth every day, sometimes several times a day: at dawn, as the first birds began to wake; in the golden afternoon, while bees darted in and out of the Queen Anne's lace; at dusk, attended by swooping bats; and in bright moonlight, where the labyrinth took on an entirely different mystery. I walked to find the answers to agonizing questions about a life that was falling apart. I walked to keep my sanity. I walked to find my center. It worked.

At this point, some of you may be wondering what a labyrinth is, and why anybody would want to walk one. So here's the scoop on labyrinths:

1. Labyrinths are large patterns on the ground incorporating a clearly-marked path, usually indicated with low-lying stones, that one is intended to walk. The labyrinth pattern is often spiral in nature and switches direction several times. While labyrinths are usually outdoors, one of the largest and most famous is in the cathedral at Chartres.

2. Labyrinths are ancient and found in nearly every culture in the world. Some scholars believe they symbolize a cyclical journey into and out of the underworld, or that they represent the life journey itself.

3. Labyrinths are not the same as mazes, which present the walker with several path options and the possibility of getting very, very lost. There is only one path in a labyrinth: if you follow your nose in, you will eventually get out again.

4. Labyrinths are a form of meditation thought to balance and integrate the right and left brain hemispheres, or to induce a state of alert relaxation. While labyrinths are designed to be walked, you can derive some benefit from simply tracing a labyrinthine design with your finger, a boon for shut-ins or the physically challenged. Some folks draw one before bedtime to promote sound and refreshing sleep. Labyrinth-walking is used in healing, ritual, and spiritual process. Many people walk the labyrinth with a question in mind. I can vouch for the fact that answers often appear, sometimes in very unusual ways.

For those of us who would like to try the labyrinth experience, there are several local options, some more satisfying than others. Perhaps the best-known is set atop a low hill on the campus of the Omega Institute. This one feels a trifle exposed: anyone walking down the busy path that passes the main building will be witness to your labyrinth journey, so if it's privacy you're after, this may be a bit off-putting. The labyrinth itself is a very modest, do-able size, but the path—wood chips over black plastic—isn't the best for bare feet, and the plastic may be offensive to some, although it does keep the weeds down.

There is also an "eleven-circuit labyrinth similar to the design laid onto the floor of Chartres Cathedral" at the Unification Theological Seminary in Barrytown, located "in a shedltered and serene meadow . . ..about 100 yards behind the school." The labyrinth is open to the public. For information, contact Gillian Corcoran, (845) 758-3909, or cgcorcoran@webjogger.net.

The most beautiful labyrinth I've ever run across is at the Center at High Valley, an alternative community center in Clinton Corners. This labyrinth is nestled in a beautifully private hollow near a lake, and the path (lovingly maintained by musician/artist David Budd) is simply mowed grass, delicious to bare feet, with clumps of wildflowers here and there. There is a more-or-less formal labyrinth walk at 3:00 p.m. the first Sunday of every month, open to anyone. Call (845) 266-2309, or go to www.highvalley.org.

Labyrinths have definitely caught on. Now people are going beyond simply walking them to imagining the benefits of constant access to such a powerful healing and centering experience. After all, why travel for miles to have the occasional labyrinth adventure when you could have one in your very own back yard? Deirdre Fisher, for instance, was inspired first to build a beautiful brick-and-mulch labyrinth on her property at 24 South Street in Rhinebeck, and then to start a company devoted to planning and building labyrinths for anyone who wants one. Find information about Lakeside Labyrinths of Rhinebeck at LabyrinthInquiry@aol.com.

Do-it-yourselfers take note: my then-eleven-year-old son and I built a small three-circuit labyrinth in a clearing in the woods one steamy summer, using just the stones that we found lying around loose. We managed to complete our little labyrinth in two short but very sweaty work sessions, and our only maintenance was a bit of leaf-raking in autumn, since the surrounding trees kept down the weed growth. It may have been small and unassuming, but I can attest to our labyrinth's power as a decision-making ally, a grounding meditative guide, and a nourishing companion on a sometimes difficult life path.