Meditating helps a person to center spiritually. Meditating while
walking the winding path of the Labyrinth integrates the whole person,
mind, body, and spirit. Here are a few ways of walking the labyrinth in
meditation. Preparation. Stand at the entrance to the labyrinth and
center yourself. What is your intention for walking the labyrinth at
this time?
1. Do you have a breath prayer? Walk the labyrinth using your breath prayer. Match your in-breath and out-breath with your steps. On the in-breath, listen to the first part of your breath prayer. On the next step, listen to the end part of your breath prayer. You will be walking slowly. Stand still when you are drawn to do that. When you reach the middle. Sit down, kneel, or lie down. Just be there. Be open, rest. You will know when you are ready to follow the winding path out. What do you experience? When you leave the labyrinth, you might want to journal what you experienced.
2. Do you have a quote or a short passage from sacred writing that you would like to focus on? As you prepare yourself to enter the labyrinth, focus your intention. Walk slowly, pause, and be open to the thoughts, insights, or memories that come to you. Let them float in and then away. When you reach the center of the labyrinth, enter the restfulness that awaits you. The labyrinth is for resting in the connection with your deeper self and all that is good in the universe. Leave the center when you feel drawn to return to the outside. Take time to write down your experience.
3. Walk with an empty mind, a Zen walk. Be aware of the bottom of your feet and how they contact with the surface on which they walk. Be aware of what your senses perceive - the sounds, the scents, the viewing eye, and the skin's perception. In the center of the labyrinth, be present and open. Walk in the same manner as you wind your way out from the center. Write your experience in your journal.
4. Do you have a set of prayers - rosary, worry beads, prayers in Hebrew, Arabic, or other languages? From the tradition of your people, what do you bring? Use the labyrinth to accompany you in praying. There are many ways to walk the labyrinth, each one with intention, being focused, resting in the center, and then in returning to the outer world. Be in the world with a peaceful heart.
1. Do you have a breath prayer? Walk the labyrinth using your breath prayer. Match your in-breath and out-breath with your steps. On the in-breath, listen to the first part of your breath prayer. On the next step, listen to the end part of your breath prayer. You will be walking slowly. Stand still when you are drawn to do that. When you reach the middle. Sit down, kneel, or lie down. Just be there. Be open, rest. You will know when you are ready to follow the winding path out. What do you experience? When you leave the labyrinth, you might want to journal what you experienced.
2. Do you have a quote or a short passage from sacred writing that you would like to focus on? As you prepare yourself to enter the labyrinth, focus your intention. Walk slowly, pause, and be open to the thoughts, insights, or memories that come to you. Let them float in and then away. When you reach the center of the labyrinth, enter the restfulness that awaits you. The labyrinth is for resting in the connection with your deeper self and all that is good in the universe. Leave the center when you feel drawn to return to the outside. Take time to write down your experience.
3. Walk with an empty mind, a Zen walk. Be aware of the bottom of your feet and how they contact with the surface on which they walk. Be aware of what your senses perceive - the sounds, the scents, the viewing eye, and the skin's perception. In the center of the labyrinth, be present and open. Walk in the same manner as you wind your way out from the center. Write your experience in your journal.
4. Do you have a set of prayers - rosary, worry beads, prayers in Hebrew, Arabic, or other languages? From the tradition of your people, what do you bring? Use the labyrinth to accompany you in praying. There are many ways to walk the labyrinth, each one with intention, being focused, resting in the center, and then in returning to the outer world. Be in the world with a peaceful heart.
Judy Brutz, Quaker chaplain and author, writes and leads retreats
for abuse survivors. She lives in Idaho with her family. She enjoys
being in nature, photography, knitting for peace, and volunteering in
the classroom by listening to children read. Visit her web site