THE LABYRINTH

A Walking Meditation

September 2002

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During the past year, Scarboro Missions has teamed up with the Encounter World Religions Centre in Guelph, Ontario, to sponsor labyrinth walks for people of many religions.

The labyrinth, an ancient symbol of life's journey, combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral. The walk involves a meandering but purposeful path that leads us to our own centre and back out into the world.

Labyrinths have been around for thousands of years. They were incorporated into the Christian religion as early as the fourth century and became a part of Catholic practice. Labyrinths were laid into the floors of the great Catholic cathedrals throughout Europe. In fact, the most famous labyrinth in the world is located in Chartres Cathedral in France.

Today, Catholics are rediscovering the labyrinth, as are people of many religions. Because all spiritual traditions speak of life as a journey, the labyrinth transcends all creeds and beliefs. It is a gift to all religions.

In our frantic and fragmented culture, people are searching for the sacred and for authentic spirituality. The labyrinth walk enables us to move beyond the external disorder of our society, which disconnects us from the riches of our interior life.

By turning our attention inward we get access to our wisdom, our intuition and our inner sources of guidance. These provide us with invaluable insight into vital questions about our work, health, relationships and spirituality.

The labyrinth walk is a simple, physical activity – a walking meditation, a form of body prayer. In the labyrinth, one experiences one's body as a vehicle of the sacred.

Scarboro Missions has co-sponsored labyrinth walks for multifaith audiences in a Hindu temple and at Scarboro Missions' annual interfaith retreat. The labyrinth walk has also become a vital component of Scarboro Missions' world religion retreat days for high school students.

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