| A Meditation For Those Who Can't Sit Still |
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| Tammy Vigue | |||
| Wednesday, 22 October 2008 | |||
  Until quite recently I assumed a labyrinth was a maze full of dead ends and paths meant to confuse you. In fact, the labyrinth has one way in, and one way out. It's a metaphor for our journey to self and back out again into the world and has been used as a meditation tool for centuries.I discovered the labyrinth quite unexpectedly. While in Lucca, Italy my husband and I decided to visit the 'labirinto' that was featured so prominently in the tourist brochures. Not knowing anything about labyrinths at the time, we envisioned a huge maze carved into stone in the bottom of a cathedral where we could compete to see who could find their way out first without getting caught in a dead-end. I imagined it would be similar to the maze in The Shining – sans a knife-wielding Jack Nicholson! We spent what seemed like hours searching for the elusive labyrinth. We knew we must be close because there was a sign for the labyrinth carved into the wall on a particular cathedral. Surely it had to be here!? Well, it turns out that the sign for the labyrinth (which we had taken as an indication that we were getting close) was actually THE labyrinth. The famous labyrinth in Lucca is about 2 feet square and carved into the marble on the wall outside of the church! A little anticlimactic for us two who had envisioned spending an afternoon running around in it! Although our experience of the labyrinth wasn't exactly what we had expected, the image was very beautiful and I was intrigued...what was it used for? I discovered that the labyrinth is actually a metaphor for our search for spiritual wholeness and has been used for centuries as a tool for meditation. Although the Lucca labyrinth was likely used by tracing the path of the labyrinth by hand, most labyrinths are designed so that you can walk their path. Walking the spirals drops you from your thinking mind into your intuitive nature and connects you to your inner wisdom. I walk the labyrinth when I am struggling with a question that I can't seem to solve on my own, when I want to let go of something, or when I just want to see a new perspective. I use it as a time of self-reflection and connection to something bigger than me. For those who struggle to sit still in meditation, the labyrinth is the perfect solution. For more infomration on labyrinths and where to find them in South Africa, read this article: http://www.harmoniousliving.co.za/Spirituality/Mind-Meditation/Labyrinths/
Disclaimer: Harmonious Living is written for and read by a community of individuals with strong and independent opinions. While the publishers of Harmonious Living are dedicated to providing a forum in which views can be openly expressed, those views do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.
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