Mine is probably a little bit of both.
A Maze has a beginning and an end but along the way there are lots of wrong turns and dead ends. Even when you do get to the end and you almost always will whether by sheer determination or by asking for help, you are often exhausted, confused and turned around. You are off balance. Mazes, like most of our daily lives, are linear and left brained.
A Labyrinth, on the other hand, has no twists, turns or wrong ways. It is a journey to the center and back. There is one way in and one way out. While some of the turns take you away from the center, the experience is calming, rhythmic, right brained and yes, meditative. You can not get lost. When you get to the end you feel relaxed and quiet. You are balanced.
A labyrinth is an ancient symbol of wholeness dating back 3500 years. Walking a labyrinth is a unique experience and often a healing experience. Whether it’s relief from emotional or physical pain or you are just looking for a way to relax, reduce stress, quiet your mind or even for some insight on a matter of concern, a labyrinth walk may just do the trick.
It is interesting that the medical community is always asking for “proof” for double blind placebo studies to see if traditional healing methods “work” yet many hospitals have labyrinths in their gardens for their patients and staff because it’s calming, because it reduces stress, because “I just feel better” even though there is no “proof”. To learn more about labyrinths or to find a labyrinth to walk, please click above (not to the right) on Articles.
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