The Sacred Labyrinth Walk - 'Illuminating the Inner Self'

The Sacred Walk ^

[hardhead]

You are invited to open yourself to a new spiritual experience - the ancient practice of "Circling to the Center" by walking the labyrinth. The rediscovery of this self alignment tool to put our lives in perspective is one of the most important spiritual movements of our day. Labyrinths have been in use for over 4000 years. Their basic design is fundamental to nature and many cultures and religious traditions. Whatever one's religion...walking the labyrinth clears the mind and gives insight. It calms people in the throes of life's transitions.

We extend an invitation to people from all faiths, especially those who are in transition and/or are struggling to find a means of prayer or meditation. Join us as you learn about this ancient meditation tool of prayer, as we become "spiritual beings on a human path, not simply human beings on a spiritual path."

[hardhead]

Before you start throwing rocks at me, I am not espousing this - not at all. Yesterday while attending a service we were informed by one of the church officials that a plan was being forumlated to build a labyrinth on church grounds that formerly held a building that has been demolished. This is a main-line Christian denomination (you'll have to guess which one) and there just seems to be something that doesn't smell right to me. The person who presented the plan said 'oh, this is something that Christianity has been using for thousands of years to gain spiritual direction and centering'. To me it has the odor of new-ageism to it and in all my musings in Christianity through the years I have never heard of it being used directly in any Christian denomination.

I found this site that sort of affirms my thoughts, that this is a practice that pre-dates Christianity from pagan days. Do any of you have any ideas or knowledge on this subject?

More important, is that an alarm bell I'm hearing or a red flag or should I just shut the hell up?

[Aquinasfan]

The person who presented the plan said 'oh, this is something that Christianity has been using for thousands of years to gain spiritual direction and centering'.

The person is a liar or a useful idiot. Some medieval churches had tile labyrinths laid in the s which symbolized the Christian's earthly journey. That's it. The rest is New Age mumbo jumbo.

[farmer18th]

More important, is that an alarm bell I'm hearing or a red flag or should I just shut the hell up?

Keep howling. Use the money for a crisis pregnancy center.

[tioga]

At first glance this looks to finding our own spirit, ie human, not the Holy Spirit, ie God. As a Catholic, we often walk the "Stations of the Cross" in meditations, to bring us firmly into Jesus' path and life, while praying.

I never heard of this either, but too many are lead astray during prayer, or at the least distracted.

[Aquinasfan]

Found this entry on Labyrinths in the Catholic Encyclopedia:

The finest remaining example is in the centre of the nave of Notre Dame, Chartres, and a person following the various windings and turns of the figure would walk nearly 800 feet before he arrived at the centre, although the circumference does not exceed thirteen yards. Similar labyrinths formerly existed at Notre Dame, Paris, at the cathedral of Reims, and at Amiens. This latter was only taken up in the latter part of the last century, and the centre stone (which is octangular and was formerly inlaid with brass imagery) is still preserved in the museum of that city. These labyrinths were supposed to have originated in a symbolical allusion to the Holy City, and certain prayers and devotions doubtless accompanied the perambulation of their intricate mazes.

[DonQ]

These meditation mazes are becoming popular. An Episcopal church in Rockville, Maryland, very prominently promotes its maze to attract visitors. It even found a quotation from Saint Augustine (I think "It is solved by walking it"), which indicates these mazes were part of ancient monastic life. The supposition is that walking through the maze enables one's mind to focus.

[egarvue]

...this is something that Christianity has been using for thousands of years to gain spiritual direction and centering'.

Damned heresy. And when I used the word "damned", I mean it in the fullest, hell-bound sense of the word. Through prayer and the sacrements does a Christian gain spiritual direction. Nowhere in the New Testament or Old does God's Word tell us to "walk the labyrinth to center yourselves". Pure New Age heresy. Liberalism strikes again in the heart of our churches.

Fight this with all of your resources, shout it to all of your congregation brothers and sisters. Is God's Word to be subject to cheap watered-down New Age so-called "spirituality"? One would hope not.

[cookcounty]

"These labyrinths were supposed to have originated in a symbolical allusion to the Holy City,......"

If these people are at all consistent, they'll be calling El Al this afternoon. Still time to get to Jerusalem before the pilgrim feast of Sukkot!

[tbpiper]

Trust your nose. 'Centering' is a dead give-away for newage or neopagan pracitcies. I'm not shocked at anything the Methodists do anymore.

[mattdono]

I will have to respond later. I am currently aligning my chakras.

[Young Rhino]

I'm not shocked at anything the Methodists do anymore.

When I attended SMU years ago, it recognized and funded a gay students club. This wasn't too much of a surprise given that the majority of the theology students were out-of-the-closet. The school is about as Methodist as Georgetown is Catholic.

[BenLurkin]

Here's a schematic of the modern Church "Circling to the Center":

[Soliton]

http://www.glastonburytor.org.uk/torgoddess.html

Here is a good site for new age labyrinth BS. There is even a lovely drawing of some goddess with a labyrinth for a vagina.

If you go to the bottom, you will see that they use the same language as the original post.

[bboop]

I agree, it's heresy. If it looks like a skunk and smells like a skunk.... I always am offended at the labyrinth churches, and they are usually the lib-leftie-New-Age churches. At the best it is useless mumbo-jumbo, but I think it is worse than that. The Lord never talks about 'clearing your mind,' as in 'be sure to clear your mind before you help widows and orphans.' Your fellow parishioners can clear their minds by working at Pro-Life Clinics, 'helping orphans and widows,'getting OUT of themselves and doing the Lord's work here on earth. I'd fight it too.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You have a good nose.

It is very new age.

While being outdoors in the quiet surrounded by plants is very good good place to talk to God this labyrinth produces nothing of value.

Tell them if they want to clear their minds and get centered that they should plant a garden and give the produce to the local food bank if the church doesn't have one.

At least that would produce something of use.

[Revelation 911]

Its anything but - It has medieval origins and one of the original uses was by Christians in Church as a contemplative prayer tool for those that couldnt make the trek to Jerusalem

The only problem is that the new agers and celtic crowd have co-opted it, much like the gays have co-opted the rainbow

dont make the pious mistake of assuming these things are new though