The Wake-up Call


My first significant experience of the Labyrinth occurred during a deep sleep. As clichéd as it sounds, at the end of a convoluted dream sequence I literally saw the symbol of the mediaeval Chartres labyrinth and awoke with a strong desire to learn more.



There had been no prior interest in this image, though I knew it existed. Once realized, I experienced a surge of motivation and quickly jumped on internet. By lunchtime I had registered as a member of The Labyrinth Society. By evening I had memorized the classic seed design and was busy practicing it in chalk in my courtyard.

The very process of drawing and then walking the Labyrinth soothed me. I turned left, then right, over and again as it disarmed my brain and afforded me a sense of letting go. When I thought I was closest to the middle, in fact I was only part of the way. This mirrored perfectly my spiritual aspirations. I always felt as though I was coming close to some conviction about a personal philosophy, then a life circumstance would interrupt the process and I’d feel like I still had so far to go…






Amelie Walks the Labyrinth

Sitting on the back steps, I stared at the Labyrinth or walked it in my mind. Sometimes I would slowly and with careful awareness traverse its curves by foot. Each time a circuit was complete, something lifted. I became more patient, and more trusting. On this path I could not become lost, on this path there was nothing else to do but let go. How many others I wondered, had reported similar experiences?

This led to an exploration of Labyrinths, more recently in Australia. I’ve since written emails, made phone calls and simply turned up to meet the people who have integrated the Labyrinth into their daily lives. Every one has greeted me as a fellow seeker, generously imparting their experience and self-found wisdom. As the stories of many Labyrinth facilitators reached me, there was no doubt that this elegant, enigmatic and ancient symbol had decided to make its reappearance just at the right time. Labyrinths create and facilitate our personal mythology when we are stuck for a story to call our own. It is where we remember and process our experiences and imagine that of a God’s dream for ourselves. It is without pretence, an opportunity to find our centre and become acquainted with the guide within. This is no easy task when we are typically trying to achieve several goals at once, but it is beautifully simple once the practice is put into place.

In the last few years I have participated in the design and construction of several labyrinths (temporary and permanent) and visited a great many more. Always, it is the people who I meet that make the Labyrinth experience so powerful. The Labyrinth is a phenomenon that opens us to a deeper level of awareness, of ourselves and our place ‘on the path.’ We inherently love stories, and the Labyrinth is perhaps the most adaptable metaphor we can exercise.