Universal path

Churches in Arkansas are participating in World Labyrinth Day today and inviting the public to learn about the spiritual practice.

Labyrinths are mazelike patterns used as a form of walking meditation or prayer. But unlike a maze with many dead ends or false paths, labyrinths have only one path winding its way to the center and out again.

Labyrinths vary in size and pattern with some based on ancient designs and others more contemporary. They can be outdoors, crafted out of stone or cut into grass, and are often built indoors on church floors. Some are made of canvas or carpet and are portable while others are miniature, hand-held versions meant for tracing the path with a finger.

They can be found at churches, hospitals, prisons and in residential backyards.

The labyrinth has a long history, dating back thousands of years. They were found in many countries and cultures, even in Greek mythology, which includes a tale about King Minos of Crete trapping a minotaur in a labyrinth. The patterns have been found on walls, etched in rock and on the floors of ancient churches.

Christians have been using labyrinths for prayer for centuries, said Ruben Habito, professor of world religions and spirituality at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas.

“From our knowledge within Christian history there is evidence there was a labyrinth used around the fourth century,” Habito said, referring to a labyrinth discovered on the floor of a church in Algiers in North Africa, dating to the year 324.

“That was one of the early documented sources that noted there was such a thing as a labyrinth used in a Christian context,” he said.

Habito said writings by some theologians of the time, including St. Ambrose, also refer to labyrinths being used in prayer. The popularity of labyrinths in Christianity increased in medieval times when cathedrals in France and elsewhere in Europe were built with labyrinths incorporated into the flooring. The most famous is at Chartres Cathedral in France,which has a large labyrinth in the nave.

The winding stone path of the Chartres labyrinth leads walkers through four quadrants before arriving at a rosette in the center. The pattern is a popular one, as is a modified version found in Amiens Cathedral, also in France.

SACRED SPACE

The Rev. Joanna Seibert, deacon at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in North Little Rock, said the church’s outdoor labyrinth is based on the Chartres design. Made of slate that was hand-laid by members of the parish, the labyrinth was completed in 1999. It is located near the columbarium, where ashes of deceased members and loved ones are encased, and next to the chapel.

“It’s a very, very sacred space,” Seibert said.

The church, at 4106 John F. Kennedy Blvd., will host a labyrinth walk 9-11 a.m. today. In addition to the World Labyrinth Day event, the church also has labyrinth walks at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month and 9-11 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month. The labyrinth is also open 24 hours a day and lighted at night, for those seeking a place to pray.

A labyrinth guild at the church will have volunteers at the scheduled walks to talk to visitors about the labyrinth and pass out brochures.

Seibert said she has trouble sitting and meditating, so the labyrinth is a good fit.

“There’s something about walking,” she said. “You have to think about your breath, your steps and it’s a way to clear your mind of all that busyness.”

Seibert said anyone can walk the labyrinth, including children or those using canes or other walking aids. The church’s brochure notes there are three basic stages to walking the labyrinth - walking in, being in the center and walking out. The idea is to focus on the path while walking, using the time to meditate, reflect or pray. At the center, walkers are encouraged to pause.

“You almost always feel some peace there,” Seibert said. “Then you can go on out from the center and come back to the real world and bring that peace back with you.”

Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, 4823 Woodlawn Drive, Little Rock, will also host a World Labyrinth Day walk noon-3 p.m. today. The church’s labyrinth is indoors in Wesley Hall. Cristine Slikker said the labyrinth, also based on the Chartres model, is located on carpeting in the hall.

Slikker said the hall is a heavily used room and the labyrinth has been accessible on an inconsistent basis. But the church has set regular hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays so walkers can utilize it more frequently. Slikker said a small group at the church uses the labyrinth regularly but they want more people to use it, as well.

“We want to be open to everyone in the greater Little Rock area,” she said. “If anyone needs to come and have a little chat with God or let their mind be in peace, I think it’s a great opportunity.”

CONNECTING TO GOD

Slikker said walking the labyrinth is a way to quiet her mind.

“When you walk the labyrinth, you have to keep your eyes open and pay attention to where you are stepping,” she said. “Some people think it’s like a maze that’s three-dimensional, like a hedge. But it’s not like that. You have to follow the pattern to stay on it.”

Slikker said walking the labyrinth helps her focus.

“It’s been a wonderful tool for me and often when I go, I’m by myself and I’m able to actually speak out loud and it just feels like I’ve got God right there with me,” she said. “It’s meant a lot to me.”

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 224 N. East Ave., in Fayetteville will host a labyrinth walk 9 a.m.-noon today. The church has three labyrinths in the parish hall - two about 12 feet in diameter and one 50 feet in diameter, said Mary Miller.

Miller said the labyrinths were installed in the flooring in about 2002 when the hall was under construction. The large labyrinth replicates the pattern of the labyrinth at Amiens Cathedral. It’s an octagonal version of the Chartres pattern. The other two were designed by the Rev. Lowell Grisham, rector of the parish, while he was watching television and doodling on graph paper.

Miller said the church offers labyrinth walks 7-10 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. During those walks, the labyrinth is encircled with candles and music is playing. Miller said those evenings give her a sense of peace.

EMBODIED PRAYER

“To me that’s a beautiful space to be in,” she said. “For me, walking is sort of a clearing point. Sometimes I’d like to stay on the labyrinth all day long but life isn’t like that and you have to go back into the world, but I can remember and carry that in my head and have that experience again.”

Habito said labyrinths offer a unique way to pray.

“There a sense that it is really a way of praying with one’s whole being and with one’s whole bodily motion symbolizing an inner journey to God,” he said. “It’s a very embodied kind of prayer and right now that is what makes it very popular. People are looking for a holistic way of expressing their faith and the labyrinth provides a good opportunity to engage in prayer with one’s whole being.”

Habito said the circular journey to the center of the labyrinth is very much symbolic of the spirit’s or soul’s journey toward God.

“We go through twists and turns in life” just as in the labyrinth, he said.

Habito said some Christians have concerns about labyrinths and see them as a pagan tradition or as a link to New Age spirituality.

“But if they look up Christian history, even though it comes from an outside source from other people and cultures, it has been thoroughly Christianized,” he said, likening the labyrinth to the Christmas tree or other customs adopted and adapted by Christians through the ages.

“To allay their concerns, my suggestion is to try it and you will see how it is related to God,” he said.

Information about the labyrinth events is available online at stlukeepiscopal.org, phumc.com/labyrinth and stpaulsfay.com. Information on other labyrinths in Arkansas can be found at labyrinthsociety.org.