Hello and welcome to this labyrinth meditation.
Labyrinths are one of the most mysterious symbols known to mankind.
This unique symbol is a geometric shape that does not occur naturally and yet feels very much at home in the landscape.
Labyrinths have been part of indigenous cultures for thousands of years and Native American cultures have depictions on their artwork,
Pottery,
And petroglyphs.
Unlike a maze,
The labyrinth has one circuitous path in and out,
Where there are no secret passages,
No trickery,
And no goal.
A labyrinth's journey is a walking meditation and each person walks at their own pace with no expectations.
Along the journey,
We release any thoughts,
Take our time,
And welcome reflection.
Labyrinth walking is a movement meditation that can be healing,
Inspirational,
Or simply calming as we link the body and breath with present moment awareness.
In this practice,
We are going to use finger walking for our labyrinth.
It's a meditation that holistically joins the eyes,
Heart,
And body.
Finger labyrinths can be found on the web in a wide range of designs and complexity for purchase or printout.
In my experience of bringing mindfulness to school classrooms,
Children love the labyrinth,
So grab a friend and have fun with your journey.
Beginning in a quiet meditative pose,
Connecting to the breath,
Bringing awareness to the body and space,
Noticing our environment around us,
And beginning by taking a few longer than usual breaths in the nose and out the mouth.
Now pick a labyrinth that works for yourself and your family or whomever you're choosing to journey with today.
We will each follow our own journey through the circuits.
Choose either your dominant hand or your non-dominant hand to start.
I encourage you to do one journey of the labyrinth with your dominant hand,
And then the second time change over to the non-dominant hand.
The path is followed as quietly as possible so that each person can have their own journey in peace and without distraction.
Let's begin.
Putting your finger at the start of your labyrinth,
Begin by noticing the path ahead,
Just looking at the entire labyrinth ahead of time.
And when you're ready,
Begin journeying with your finger.
As you journey,
Notice the path you're on.
Notice whether your labyrinth is grooved for the fingers or if it's a printout and it's flat,
Really connect the eyes to where you're going.
Be sure to pay attention to your breath as sometimes when we're focused,
We may either hold our breath or we may have a shallower breath than usual.
It's nice to stop at the turns in the circuit and use that as an opportunity to take a deep breath.
And then continuing on with the path.
At this point,
I encourage you to pause the recording and continue on your own for as long as it takes for you to reach the center.
When you reach the center,
If you're using a finger labyrinth that is made of wood or ceramic,
Notice the texture at the center.
Definitely stop here for as long as you would like noticing your breath,
Maybe even closing your eyes and doing a meditation just in the present moment.
Noticing your body,
Following the in-breath and the out-breath,
Noticing the connection of your finger to the surface of the labyrinth,
Closing your eyes and just noticing that sensation.
Definitely also bringing in the other senses such as smell,
Hearing,
Taste and noticing anything that you can at this time.
And when you're ready,
You can journey back out the labyrinth,
Opening your eyes and following the path out that you came in from.
Again,
Please pause this recording until you have reached the end,
Which is also the beginning for some additional guidance.
When we reach our starting point,
Let's take a few more deep breaths,
Noticing where we have come from,
Looking over that path that we just followed on the way in and back out.
And reflect on anything that has come to mind.
Sometimes walking a labyrinth gives us some messages and inspiration.
And if others are doing this with you,
I recommend waiting until they have completed their walk.
And when everyone is done,
I recommend holding hands,
Taking some deep breaths together.
And if comfortable,
Participants may share their labyrinth journey with each other.
Maybe there's time to do some journal writing.
For our young children in this group,
Maybe coloring what they feel,
What they have learned,
What they have been inspired by during this labyrinth walk.
And I thank you very much for joining me in this very special meditation using the labyrinth.
If you have the opportunity to actually walk a physical outdoor labyrinth in your area,
I invite you to do so and enjoy that journey.
Thank you for joining me.
