For five weeks I’ve been living in a labyrinth of single story condominiums in southern Arizona, about 30 miles from the border of Mexico. This community isn’t identified as a puzzle, per se, but it remains one none the less. The roads run north and south within the community between city streets that flow east and west. The maze of units between the streets are joined by miles and miles of paved sidewalks, many including “roundabouts” of connection, all landscaped to perfection. Along the northern and eastern borders of this private sanctuary are dirt paths that lead into desert trails which connect and weave for countless miles in and around the surrounding neighborhoods.

I walk these pathways nearly every day finding myself in deep contemplation. Upon arrival back to my Airbnb apartment I’m refreshed and peacefully at rest within my mind. Realizing early on how beneficial these trails were I began to utilize them for a pointed, spiritual practice. I’d pose a question into the cosmos (so to speak) prior to my departure to see if I’d return with any sort of response. I was resolute. What I discovered was that without fail an answer would find me. Then I remembered Shirley MacLaine.

Shirley MacLaine lives on a self-sustaining compound she owns in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just north of Santa Fe, NM. More than twenty years ago in a location she refers to as Crystal Mountain, Shirley built an elaborate, circular, stone labyrinth for meditation and spiritual healing. I so relished the idea of walking along what, like her, feels like sacred ground, utilizing a tool of the ancients to explore the possibilities joining with that which is unseen for the purpose of higher understanding and awareness. Yet here I was, in a sense, an explorer of that other worldly who found myself in a man made version of MacLaine’s Crystal Mountain maze, drawn by architects blind to the spiritual value and benefit of such a design.

It’s time, I decided a few weeks into my three month stay, to do something with this gift.

Since, I’ve either walked into the openness willing to allow those communications and connections that present, or I put forward a specific question without judgement or expectation in allowance of what came. I walked the labyrinth that awaits just beyond my front and rear doorways and am yet to be disappointed by what tenders.

I’d detail the one and many experiences had from my own purposed walks but this forum is not ripe for such ongoings. However, I leave you with the video shared above (and/or to the right); a short clip captured yesterday, as an example of the power of such practice. Instead, I offer the tools to achieve the same for yourself, if so desired.

Below are the three stages of walking any labyrinth for, as Shirley MacLaine reflects, meditation and spiritual healing. Your will is free to identify the process as you wish.

• 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 for which you feel your soul is reaching. 

What a lift the walk of a labyrinth offers! Here’s to you and your personal soulful findings. With that… I think it’s time for me to head out and connect. Wonder where my mind is inclined to wander today?!

 

~~~~~~ — ~~~ — ~~~~~~
Note: Banner / Blog page placeholder image is of a rock labyrinth located at Lands End, San Francisco, CA. Though the photo is uncredited, you can find it in this article, along with a few more. To view the full-sized, uncropped version in a new window click here.