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