The Labyrinth

Trinity's Chartres style, 11-circuit labyrinth is available for walking and quiet meditation every Sunday morning from 9:15 am to 12:15 pm in the St. Richard's School Ruth Lilly Activities Center (gym).

What is a Labyrinth?
Labyrinths have been found in cultures as far back as 3500 BC. A labyrinth is different from a maze in that it is unicursal, having a single path leading to the center with no loops, cul-de-sacs or forks.Trinity's large canvas is an 11-circuit labyrinth which is a scale replica of one constructed around 1200 AD in the stone floor of Chartres Cathedral, France. Medieval Christians walked labyrinths as an alternative to taking a hazardous pilgrimage to Jerusalem "to walk in the footsteps of Christ." 

Labyrinths come in many sizes. Besides the large walking version, Trinity has two small wooden lap labyrinths available for tracing the path with a finger of your non-dominant hand.

Modern pilgrims at Trinity can walk the labyrinth path as one of many tools to enhance prayer, contemplation, meditation, and personal growth. The winding path is a metaphor for one's own life and spiritual journey.

There is no required or "right" way to walk the labyrinth. It is good to:

• Walk in silence. Be quiet throughout your time in the area of the labyrinth and anywhere within earshot.
• Be creative and imaginative. You can design your own method of walking.

Many discern three or four distinct stages in the overall labyrinth experience:

• Entering. Often referred to as shedding or purgation, this stage involves walking the path to the center while trying to quiet your mind and eliminate worldly concerns. You may walk at any speed that's comfortable for you and not disruptive of others. You may pass a slower walker by going around that person at a respectful distance. Often walkers begin rather quickly, and then settle into a slower, rhythmic pace. Some stop at intervals along the way. 
• Illumination can come while you're in the labyrinth's center. It's a feeling of peacefulness and openness. Take all the time you wish to receive the uniqueness of the moment. Make yourself comfortable?cushions are available. Sitting, kneeling, and standing are all appropriate postures while in the center.
• Union is the journey outward from the center. On your way out, you're actually following the same path you were on when you came in. You may wish to contemplate what has occurred during the entrance walk and your time in the center. You can also begin to play with thoughts about how the experience will apply to your life.
• Implementation. This is sometimes considered a fourth stage, and it represents your life outside the labyrinth?the world you'll carry your experience into. The labyrinth can be a haven for clearing your mind of worldly concerns. It can also be a place where you bring your troubles, where you wrestle with your challenges in prayerful ways. Many people report gaining new perspective and clearer understanding after walking the sacred path.

Connecting to the Divine
The labyrinth is a tool that can connect us to the Power of the Divine. Long forgotten, sometimes feared, it has been lying dormant in the archives of the Christian mystical tradition under centuries of dust. The creative intelligence that gave us the labyrinth understood the Mystery behind human existence. It bestowed upon us a watering hole for the human spirit, a deep channel for the human soul. The labyrinth is an old watercourse that dried up over time and circumstances. But it is filling again now, with clear, cool waters. It is inviting us to drink. The labyrinth has been awaiting rediscovery, longing to guide us, awaken us while we walk this earthly path. The time has come.

(Dr. Lauren Artress, Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool.  New York: Riverhead Books, 1995, pgs. 182-183)

Trinity welcomes you to traverse the labyrinth and discover what other pilgrims have experienced for ages?a "walk in the footsteps of Christ."