Pittsburgh labyrinth

A Labyrinth trip

The Sunnyhill Friends embarked on another field trip, this time to the Presbyterian Church in East Liberty, to walk the labyrinth there.

A labyrinth is different than a maze, although the two are sometimes confused. A maze, with its blind alleys, has high walls and is meant to confound and confuse. A labyrinth is usually a pattern on the floor and has only one way in and then out again, and is meant to calm and soothe.
This Labyrinth is a copy of one in Chatres Cathedral, but is painted on canvas and rolled out two days a week -- Monday and Wednesday -- when the public may come to walk it.

The route to the labyrinth itself was, er, labyrinthine, through hallways and passageways, and down stairs, first this way and then that, and finally descending a wide staircase into the basement room in which the labyrinth was placed.

Banners draped across the high ceiling, candles,in colored glass, lined the stage and encircled the labyrinth. The atmosphere was dark and quiet.
We removed our shoes and entered the labyrinth, one by one.

The silence was almost palpable as we passed each other, concentrating on the spiraling path. "Meditation in Motion" - not really, but it was peaceful, quieting.

Sometimes, when I do tai chi, it is as though my mind is no longer in control, but that my arms and hands are moving along invisible rails. That is "Meditation in Motion" and is extremely satisfying when it happens.

I had taken the map of the Chatres labyrinth with me to Hilton Head, and attempted to draw it in the sand. Unsuccessfully, as the many turns and looping backs left me confused.

Carl, who had made a labyrinth in his back yard, showed us a simpler pattern to follow. Once the pattern is laid out it is simply a matter of "connecting the dots" -- F to G, E to H, D to I, and so on.

click here to go to the web site of someone who successfully scribed a labyrinth in sand.

A children's labyrinth , created one fall evening on a back lawn in eastern PA.