Walking the Labyrinth: Suggestions for Your Walk

General Information and Instructions

The Labyrinth has only one path so there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives. It touches our sorrows and releases our joys. Walk it with an open mind and an open heart.

Our outdoor Labyrinth was an Eagle Scout project by Noel Collings who is with Troop 261. We thank him and all the members of Troop 261 and other volunteers for all their hard work.

For more information about both our cloth Labyrinth during Holy Week and our outdoor Labyrinth available year round, please visit our Labyrinth page here!

The Three Stages of the Walk

Purgation (Releasing) — A releasing, a letting go of the details of your life. This is the act of shedding thoughts and distractions. A time to open the heart and quiet the mind.

Illumination (Receiving) — When you reach the center, stay there as long as you like. It is a place of meditation and prayer. Receive what is there for you to receive.

Union (Returning) — As you leave, following the same path out of the center as you came in, you enter the third stage, which is joining God, your Higher Power, or the healing forces at work in the world. Each time you walk the Labyrinth you become more empowered to find and do the work you feel your soul reaching for.

Suggestions for Your Walk

Quiet your mind and become aware of your breath. Allow yourself to find the pace your body wants to go. The path is two ways. Those going in will meet those coming out. You may “pass” people or let others step around you. The path is in full view, which allows a person to be quiet and focus internally. There is no right way or wrong way to walk a Labyrinth. Do what feels natural.

Labyrinths are currently being used world-wide as a way to quiet the mind, find balance, and encourage meditation, insight and celebration. They are open to all people as a non-denominational, cross-cultural tool of well-being. They can be found in medical centers, parks, churches, schools, prisons, memorial parks and retreat centers, as well as in people’s backyards. In the Christian faith it is a wonderful spiritual walk as we center on Christ and open ourselves to God’s call to us.

There are many ways to describe a Labyrinth. It is a path of prayer, a walking meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit, a mirror of the soul, and a centering walk as we center our soul and mind on Christ. May you be nourished.

Thank you for visiting the Labyrinth at Christ’s Episcopal Church. We invite you to enjoy this spiritual land, respect this quite area, and also invite you to come and worship with us on Sundays and Wednesdays!