The user-friendly, interfaith guide to
making and using labyrinths—
for meditation, prayer
and celebration.
A labyrinth is a circuitous path that
people have used as a form of prayer and meditation for
thousands of years—a path that is being rediscovered as a
spiritual tool in our own day. There are now more than
five hundred labyrinths in North America, made of stone,
cement, sunflowers, grass, or canvas; indoors and outdoors; in
Christian, Pagan, and even non-religious settings; and
adaptable for use by people of all spiritual backgrounds.
This guide explains how the labyrinth is a symbol that
transcends traditions, and how walking its path brings us
together.
Here is your entry to the fascinating
history and philosophy of the labyrinth walk, with directions
for making a labyrinth of your own, or finding one in your
area, and guidance on ways to use labyrinths creatively for:
* Prayer * Stress reduction * Faith
rituals * Commemorating personal or family milestones *
Meditation * Celebrations of all kinds
Labyrinths is a twenty-first century
method of approaching the sacred—are a spiritual practice
more ancient than Stonehenge or the ruins of Troy. This
practical and inspiring guide will help you to explore them.
"People often confuse labyrinths with
mazes. In some ways, labyrinths are like mazes; but a labyrinth
has become more than a maze, because in a labyrinth you are
never lost, you are always on the path leading into or back out
of the center. You find the center if you walk the path. A
labyrinth is like a maze with a certain answer. It is
maze-plus—once you know the labyrinth, you know
there is a way into the center. Mazes remain puzzles: they can
perplex permanently. Labyrinths are designed with the eventual
solution fully on display. If we but walk the path, we get
home."
—from the Introduction
"Both elegant and openhearted, both
practical and mystical, this slender lovely book walks us home
to the heart."
—Julia
Cameron, author, The Artist’s Way and God is No Laughing
Matter
"Labyrinths, labyrinths, labyrinths!
They are popping up all over. If you are not sure what they
are, or want to learn more after one intriguing labyrinth walk,
this is a great place to start!"
—Lauren
Artress, author, Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the
Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool;
Canon of Grace Cathedral
in San Francisco
"This book is at once philosophical
and practical, informational and instructional, traditional and
contemporary...a warehouse of treasures for labyrinth walkers
of all experience levels."
—Robert
Ferre, Director, The St. Louis Labyrinth Project
Carole Ann Camp, the founder of an ecumenical spiritual community called Seekers and Sojourners, is a retired United Church of Christ pastor and has written and published on a variety of topics, including Praying at Every Turn: Meditations for Walking the Labyrinth.
