A metaphor for a journey of the soul
Henriette Lamprecht
An ancient symbol relating to wholeness, it combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path.
Presenting a journey to one's own centre and back into the world, labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.
Often labyrinths and mazes have been confused, but the differences seem to be vast. While a maze with its twists, turns and blind alleys are like a puzzle to be solved, a labyrinth has only one path and it is unicursal.
A maze is a left-brain task, requiring logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out. On the other hand, a labyrinth has only one path that leads you on a circuitous path to the centre and out again with no blind alleys. It is a right-brain task, involving intuition, creativity, and imagery.
With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the centre. With a labyrinth, there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not, whether or not to walk a spiritual path, a journey to the centre of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.
For some it is joyous walk, for others it could be more sombre, thoughtful, prayerful or a walking meditation. The difference is clear in the way adults approach it more seriously, while children most often run in and out as fast as they can in a playful manner.
Enter Rosi Rohr, who more than 20 years ago walked a labyrinth based on the Chartres design on a farm in Barrydale, South Africa.
Impressed with the interpretation of her experience, she decided to build the same design in 2001 on their farm, 110 km west of Windhoek on the way to the coast.
The Chartres design is an eleven-circuit design divided into four quadrants and was often found in Gothic cathedrals. The most famous of these remaining labyrinths is found at Chartres Cathedral near Paris, France and was built in around 1200, laid into the floor in a style sometimes referred to as a pavement maze.
In the past it could be walked as a pilgrimage or for repentance. As a pilgrimage it was a questing, searching journey with the hope of becoming closer to God. When used for repentance the pilgrims would walk on their knees. Sometimes this eleven-circuit labyrinth would serve as a substitute for an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem and as a result came to be called the “Chemin de Jerusalem” or Road of Jerusalem.
In walking the Chartres-style labyrinth, the walker meanders through each of the four quadrants several times before reaching the goal. An expectancy is created as to when the centre will be reached. At the centre is a rosette design which has a rich symbolic value including that of enlightenment. The four arms of the cross are readily visible and provide significant Christian symbolism.
According to Rosi it took about five weeks for the labyrinth a Weissenfels to take shape, drawing a scaled plan following the geometric mysteries, gathering tons of white quartz rock, placing it into strict position and finally completing the six petal rose in the middle.
Although various designs for labyrinths exists, it does not have all the releasing and other benefits of the Chartres, she explains
Each person walking the labyrinth at Weissenfels experiences something different, Rosi says, with no prescription of what may be experienced or not.
“It just happens. Metaphysics truly goes beyond what we normally perceive.”
Since 2001, more than 4 000 people have walked the labyrinth on the guest farm, including both local and foreign visitors from as far as Australia and Russia.
“People in general should welcome the opportunity to know more of their 'self'. You become more empowered to find and do the work you feel your soul is reaching for,” Rosi says.
The best advice is to have an open mind and “all will be revealed”.
“Some people find benefit from a once-off walk, others understand that their lives move into new challenges and they require more answers, so they walk again.”
Rosi says: “We are all on the same journey, regardless of our religious, spiritual or philosophical convictions. In the labyrinth one finds oneself.
“Feeling trapped by life's challenges, having lost life's purpose, stressed, answers are found in the labyrinth and through the confidential interpretation of the walkers' experiences.”
General guidelines for walking a labyrinth:
1. Focus: Pause and wait at the entrance. Become quiet and centred. Give acknowledgement through a bow, nod, or other gesture and then enter.
2. Experience: Walk purposefully. Observe the process. When you reach the middle, stay there and focus several moments. Leave when it seems appropriate. Be attentive on your way out.
3. Exit: Turn and face the entrance. Give an acknowledgement of ending, such as "amen".
4. Reflect: After walking the labyrinth reflect back on your experience. Use journaling or drawing to capture your experience.
5. Walk often.
• www.lessons4living.com
An ancient symbol relating to wholeness, it combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path.
Presenting a journey to one's own centre and back into the world, labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.
Often labyrinths and mazes have been confused, but the differences seem to be vast. While a maze with its twists, turns and blind alleys are like a puzzle to be solved, a labyrinth has only one path and it is unicursal.
A maze is a left-brain task, requiring logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out. On the other hand, a labyrinth has only one path that leads you on a circuitous path to the centre and out again with no blind alleys. It is a right-brain task, involving intuition, creativity, and imagery.
With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the centre. With a labyrinth, there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not, whether or not to walk a spiritual path, a journey to the centre of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are.
For some it is joyous walk, for others it could be more sombre, thoughtful, prayerful or a walking meditation. The difference is clear in the way adults approach it more seriously, while children most often run in and out as fast as they can in a playful manner.
Enter Rosi Rohr, who more than 20 years ago walked a labyrinth based on the Chartres design on a farm in Barrydale, South Africa.
Impressed with the interpretation of her experience, she decided to build the same design in 2001 on their farm, 110 km west of Windhoek on the way to the coast.
The Chartres design is an eleven-circuit design divided into four quadrants and was often found in Gothic cathedrals. The most famous of these remaining labyrinths is found at Chartres Cathedral near Paris, France and was built in around 1200, laid into the floor in a style sometimes referred to as a pavement maze.
In the past it could be walked as a pilgrimage or for repentance. As a pilgrimage it was a questing, searching journey with the hope of becoming closer to God. When used for repentance the pilgrims would walk on their knees. Sometimes this eleven-circuit labyrinth would serve as a substitute for an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem and as a result came to be called the “Chemin de Jerusalem” or Road of Jerusalem.
In walking the Chartres-style labyrinth, the walker meanders through each of the four quadrants several times before reaching the goal. An expectancy is created as to when the centre will be reached. At the centre is a rosette design which has a rich symbolic value including that of enlightenment. The four arms of the cross are readily visible and provide significant Christian symbolism.
According to Rosi it took about five weeks for the labyrinth a Weissenfels to take shape, drawing a scaled plan following the geometric mysteries, gathering tons of white quartz rock, placing it into strict position and finally completing the six petal rose in the middle.
Although various designs for labyrinths exists, it does not have all the releasing and other benefits of the Chartres, she explains
Each person walking the labyrinth at Weissenfels experiences something different, Rosi says, with no prescription of what may be experienced or not.
“It just happens. Metaphysics truly goes beyond what we normally perceive.”
Since 2001, more than 4 000 people have walked the labyrinth on the guest farm, including both local and foreign visitors from as far as Australia and Russia.
“People in general should welcome the opportunity to know more of their 'self'. You become more empowered to find and do the work you feel your soul is reaching for,” Rosi says.
The best advice is to have an open mind and “all will be revealed”.
“Some people find benefit from a once-off walk, others understand that their lives move into new challenges and they require more answers, so they walk again.”
Rosi says: “We are all on the same journey, regardless of our religious, spiritual or philosophical convictions. In the labyrinth one finds oneself.
“Feeling trapped by life's challenges, having lost life's purpose, stressed, answers are found in the labyrinth and through the confidential interpretation of the walkers' experiences.”
General guidelines for walking a labyrinth:
1. Focus: Pause and wait at the entrance. Become quiet and centred. Give acknowledgement through a bow, nod, or other gesture and then enter.
2. Experience: Walk purposefully. Observe the process. When you reach the middle, stay there and focus several moments. Leave when it seems appropriate. Be attentive on your way out.
3. Exit: Turn and face the entrance. Give an acknowledgement of ending, such as "amen".
4. Reflect: After walking the labyrinth reflect back on your experience. Use journaling or drawing to capture your experience.
5. Walk often.
• www.lessons4living.com
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