Editor’s note: Sally Quinn is a columnist for The Washington Post and is Editor in Chief of On Faith, an online conversation on religion.
By Sally Quinn, Special to CNN
When I tell people I have a labyrinth and that I walk it regularly, most have no idea what I’m talking about.
They think a labyrinth is a maze, a place you walk into and then have trouble finding your way out.
In fact it is just the opposite. A labyrinth is a place you go to get found.
For many, walking the labyrinth is a
religious experience. There are many famous labyrinths in churches, the
most famous being the one on the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France,
which dates to the 13th century.
Others see it as more spiritual. Some find it a meditation tool or
walk it simply for the peace and serenity that come from being alone and
contemplating a problem or issue.
For me it is all of those things. It is a sacred space.
I first encountered a labyrinth at a California spa about 15 years
ago. I’d never heard of a labyrinth before and, though some at the spa
said it had changed people’s lives, I was skeptical.
But I agreed to give it a try. There was a ceremony in the evening,
with torches and drums, and about 30 of us there to do the walk.
I loved the ritual but didn’t really get much out of it. Too many people.
Still, there was something that appealed to me. So the next day, I
went up to the grove of live oaks on the hill where the labyrinth was
situated. There was nobody there.
I paused at the entrance and took in the surroundings. There was a
slight breeze whispering though the leaves and the late afternoon sun
had warmed the circle.
I began concentrating on my son Quinn, who had severe learning
disabilities at the time and was in a special school. What would become
of him? We had had a particularly difficult year and I was in despair.
I entered the labyrinth and began to make my way slowly toward the
center. Once I got there I sat down and looked straight ahead. My eyes
fell on a huge pine tree in front of me that I hadn’t noticed before.
It had beautiful spreading boughs, as though it was embracing the
circle of the labyrinth. It was one of the prettiest trees I had ever
seen and it was the only pine amid the live oaks.
I suddenly experienced a shocking stroke of clarity. That tree was Quinn.
He was different from all the other trees but he was more beautiful
than they were. I began to cry. How could I not have realized this all
along?
That moment transformed my whole view of my son and of me, along with
my attitude toward his problems. Not only was he beautiful but he could
use his differences to his advantage, helping others at the same time.
The following year I had a reservation to go back to the same spa.
Quinn was scheduled to have cognitive testing the week before I left. At
the last minute, they had to change the date for when I was to be away.
My husband convinced me to go anyway.
The hour of his testing I went up to the labyrinth, found my way to
the circle and concentrated on Quinn for the whole time I knew he would
be doing tests.
Later, when we went back to the hospital for the results, we were not
optimistic. Quinn had performed poorly on most of the earlier tests.
But the doctors said he had the highest score of anyone they had ever
seen on one of the tests.
“What was that?” I asked. “The maze,” said the doctor.
Since then, Quinn has written a book, “A Different Life,” about
growing up with learning disabilities (we now refer to them as learning
differences) and has launched a website called friendsofquinn.com for young adults with learning differences and their friends and families.
He is happily married and has a full and successful life.
I’m not sure I can totally attest to the fact that this is because of
walking the labyrinth that first day. But I can say this: Because I
told him about my experience with the pine and the oaks, he decided to
make a life using his problems to help others.
He has completely accepted who he is and his limitations and has a
sense of humor about himself and his issues. His motto for the site is
“own it.” And he has.
Does all this add up to a religious experience? Call it what you
will. All I know is that my life has become much richer by walking the
labyrinth.
Mine is modeled after the one at Chartres Cathedral. It is a 50-foot
concrete circle on a slope overlooking a river in the country southern
Maryland, surrounded by woods.
It has a path carved into it leading to the center, which is where I meditate.
I always begin my labyrinth walk by concentrating on something I need
to find an answer to. I walk slowly at first, really trying to lose
myself in my thoughts. The slowness is important because it gives me
time to focus on whatever the issue is.
Once I get to the center of the circle, I start meditating. Sometimes
I just stand and look out at the river. I might stay there for 10 or 15
minutes.
Other times I sit cross-legged for an hour or so. There are times,
too, where I lie down in a spread eagle position or in a corpse pose, or
chaturanga, and close my eyes.
I’ve stayed in those positions for hours at a time, completely losing myself to the experience
For me, achieving clarity is the most important benefit of walking
the labyrinth. It has happened so many times that I now expect it.
I can walk in the woods or on the beach for hours, thinking about a
problem and not be able to come up with a solution. Yet I can spend 15
or 20 minutes on the labyrinth and solve everything.