A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates
to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but
purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out
into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.
A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can
have a direct experience. We can walk it. It is a metaphor for life's journey. It is a
symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to "That
Which Is Within." link
|
Labyrinth walks at Marble Collegiate Church are open to all:
• First Sunday of each month - 1:00-3:00pm
• Wednesdays - 5:00-6:00pm and 7:30-8:30pm
Our Labyrinth Facilitators will be available to help guide you
and answer any questions you may have, while allowing you the space to
walk in your own way, at your own pace.
Please scroll down to read more about our Labyrinth.
Enter at 1 West 29th Street.
For more information contact Judy Tulin (212) 686-2770 ext. 709.
At
Marble Collegiate Church we have one of the only indoor, permanent,
walkable labyrinths in New York City available to the public on a
regular basis. Ours is based on the design of the labyrinth inlaid in
the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France dating from the thirteenth
century. It is the first such labyrinth to be built in the city in over
80 years, and the first built in the 21st century.
|
- There is no “right” way to walk a labyrinth. You only have to enter and follow the path.
- Clear your mind and become aware of your breath.
- Simply be present in the moment.
- Allow yourself to find the pace your body wants to go.
- As you walk you may pass people or you may let others step around you.
- The path flows in a circuitous route in and out. Those going in will meet those going out along the same path.
- As you pass another person, you may choose to greet each other or just continue on your way silently. Do what feels natural.
- As you walk, repeat a word, mantra, phrase or an affirmation over and over. For example: Be Still and Know.
- Focus on a passage of Scripture that has particular meaning for you.
- Meditate on a question that you have been asking yourself.
- Have a conversation with God.
|
Releasing: Each step taken along the pathway into the
center represents a releasing, a letting go of the busy day-to-day
details in your life, shedding thoughts and emotions, quieting and
emptying the mind.
Receiving: When you reach the center, stay as long as
you like. It is a place of meditation and prayer. Be open to receive
what is there for you to receive.
Returning: Leaving the center, follow the same path
out, taking back with you into your daily life whatever you have learned
on your walk.
Solvitur ambulando - It is solved by walking. – St. Augustine
|
A Labyrinth is a personal walking meditation, a body prayer
traversed on a single path for personal, psychological and spiritual
transformation. The winding path becomes a mirror for where we are in
our lives; it touches our sorrows, releases our joys, and guides us into
the experience of the presence of God.
Labyrinths have been used as a spiritual tool in cultures around the
world for thousands of years. They began to appear on church walls and
floors around 1000 C.E., an archetype of a divine imprint. There are
even examples from churches in the Roman Empire and are found in various
forms in many religions and cultural traditions around the world.
A labyrinth is not a maze, as a maze has many paths and dead ends; in a
labyrinth there is only one path leading to a central point. One follows
the same path in as you do on the way out. In a maze you lose yourself;
in a labyrinth you find yourself.
This is what the Lord says, “Stand at the crossroads and
look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in
it, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Jeremiah 6:16
|
|
|
