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Union Congregational
Church United
Church of Christ |
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Our building is handicap accessible. Permit parking is found on the west side of the building in our parking lot. Our sanctuary, fellowship hall, library and many other rooms are all on the main level or accessible by interior ramp |
Come Walk the Labyrinth The first Thursday of every month in the Basement Commons at Union Congregational United Church of Christ 3700 Alabama Avenue South St. Louis Park
3:00 – 8:00 p.m.
All are welcome! Walking the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual practice. Introductory information will be available for those for whom this is a new experience.
Labyrinth Walking A labyrinth is a patterned path, often circular in form, used as a walking meditation or spiritual practice. A labyrinth's walkway is arranged in such a way that the participant moves back and forth across the circular form through a series of curves, ending at the labyrinths's heart or center. It is unicursal, which means that it has only one entrance and leads in only one direction. Although the word maze is often used as a synonym for labyrinth, mazes are multicursal in design; the user has to make choices at many points along the path. Mazes often have more than one entrance, and usually contain many wrong turns and dead ends. The English word labyrinth is derived from the Greek word labyrinthos, which in turn may come from labrys, the word for the double-headed axe associated with the Minoan culture on the island of Crete that was at its height around 1650 B.C. According to the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 450 B.C.), King Minos of Crete asked an Athenian architect and inventor named Daedalus to build a house with winding passages for the Minotaur, a monster that his queen had borne after having intercourse with a bull. This mythical Cretan labyrinth was actually a maze rather than a true labyrinth, as it was intended to prevent those who entered it as human sacrifices to the Minotaur from escaping. Origins The unicursal designs associated with labyrinths are thought to predate constructed labyrinths. Pottery estimated to be 15,000 years old painted with labyrinthine patterns has been discovered in the Ukraine. The oldest known constructed labyrinths were built in ancient Egypt and Etruria (central Italy) around 4500 B.C., perhaps to prevent evil spirits from entering tombs. It was thought that the evil spirits were repelled by the planned order of the labyrinth's design. Other labyrinths were made by the Romans as mosaic patterns on the floors of large houses or public buildings. These mosaic labyrinths were usually square or rectangular in shape. The Romans also constructed turf labyrinths in fields or other open areas as a test of skill for horseback riders. Traces of Roman turf labyrinths have been found all over Europe. Labyrinths have been found in many cultures around the world, including ancient India, Spain, Peru, and China. Members of the Tohono O'odham and Pima tribes in southern Arizona have made baskets for centuries decorated with the so-called "man in the maze" design. The labyrinth pattern woven into the basket represents the path to the top of a local sacred mountain known as Baboquivari. More than five hundred ancient stone labyrinths have been identified in Scandinavia. Most are located near the coast, and are thought to have been used for rituals intended to guarantee good fishing or protection from storms.
The best-known labyrinths in the West, however, are those dating from the Middle Ages. They were built as substitutes for going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a journey that was physically or economically impossible for most Christians in Western Europe during this period. Cathedrals were designated as pilgrimage shrines, and labyrinths were embedded in the stone floors of the cathedrals as part of the shrine's design. The labyrinth on the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France was installed around A.D. 1200, and a similar labyrinth in Amiens Cathedral was made around the same time. Tracing the path through the labyrinth, often on the knees, was for many pilgrims the final act of devotion on the pilgrimage. The circuitous journey to the center of the labyrinth represented the many turnings in the journey of life, a journey that required the Church's guidance and support. Medieval labyrinths were circular in shape, the circle being a universal symbol of wholeness, completion, and unity. By the seventeenth century, however, many cathedral labyrinths were removed or destroyed. There is some disagreement among scholars regarding the reasons for their removal. Some experts think that the labyrinths were removed because the cathedral clergy had forgotten their history and original purpose, while others speculate that they were destroyed to prevent children from playing on them during Mass and disturbing worship. Another factor was the growth of rationalism in the seventeenth century and the hostility toward religion that emerged during the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century. The labyrinths were regarded as remnants of "superstition" and therefore offensive to "enlightened" people. The contemporary revival of interest in labyrinth walking began in the early 1990s, when Dr. Lauren Artress, a psychotherapist who was on the Special Ministries staff of Grace Cathedral (Episcopal) in San Francisco, attended a Mystery Seminar led by Jean Houston, who describes herself as "a scholar and researcher in human capacities," and directs the Foundation for Mind Research in Pomona, New York. Dr. Houston presented the labyrinth as a tool for spiritual growth that would lead the seminar participants to their spiritual center. She had taped the forty-foot-wide pattern of the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth on the floor of the meeting room. Dr. Artress felt drawn to return to the labyrinth later that night and found walking through it a powerful experience. She then made a pilgrimage to Chartres itself in 1991, followed by further research into the history and significance of labyrinths. After returning to the United States, Dr. Artress made a canvas version of the Chartres labyrinth for use in the San Francisco cathedral. It was introduced to the public on December 30, 1991, and was used twice a month until 1995, when a permanent outdoor labyrinth made of terrazzo stone was laid down in the cathedral's outdoor garden. Benefits In general, labyrinth walking is said to benefit participants by allowing a temporary suspension of so called left-brain activity—logical thought, analysis, and fact-based planning—and encourage the emergence of the intuition and imaginative creativity associated with the right brain. Lauren Artress has said, "The labyrinth does not engage our thinking minds. It invites our intuitive, pattern-seeking, symbolic mind to come forth. It presents us with only one, but profound, choice. To enter a labyrinth is to choose to walk a spiritual path."
In addition to helping people open themselves to the nonrational parts of the psyche, labyrinth walking puts them in touch with simple body rhythms. Because labyrinth walking involves physical movement, participants may find themselves becoming more mindful of their breathing patterns, the repetition of their footfalls, and the reorientation of the entire body that occurs as they move through the circular turns within the labyrinth. More particularly, the overall pattern of movement in labyrinth walking—first inward toward the center of the labyrinth and then outward on the return path—holds deep symbolic meaning for many people. Specific benefits that some people have experienced as a result of labyrinth walking include:
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3700 Alabama Ave South St. Louis Park, MN 55416 952.929.8566 www.unionslp.com |
