The classical labyrinth is a single entwined line, leading to the shape's centre. Unlike the maze, there are no forking paths, no dead-ends or crossroads. On our way through a labyrinth we sometimes walk on the outer and sometimes on the inner track. At times it seems as if we were turning back. Sometimes we feel very close to the centre, sometimes far from it. This constant alteration helps us find inner clarity; it helps us find ourselves. Applied to the process of decision-making, the centre of the labyrinth is the goal or the satisfactory solution, which has to be suitable for the person and appropriate to the situation.
In Greek mythology the Minotaur, a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull, was held captive in the centre of a labyrinth. With Ariadne's help Theseus managed to find his way through the labyrinth and could thus kill the Minotaur.
Based on Greek mythology, the labyrinth can also be found in Christian churches from the early middle ages on. Christianity sees the labyrinth as a symbol for redemption. The centre is interpreted as standing for the church, heaven or resurrection. The journey through the labyrinth is interpreted as the sinner's penitential walk, the pilgrim's journey to Jerusalem or the overcoming of the devil. One of the most famous labyrinths of Christianity is the labyrinth in the Cathedral of Chartres. It is 294 metres long and pilgrims used to follow its path on their knees.
Meditation is not only relaxation. Meditations help us to be in the here and now; to be open to accept things as they are; to become aware of the feelings fellow humans, things and events trigger within us. The labyrinth might help us concentrate and find our very core. The path is already given - from the outside to the centre. The turning points will help us to change our point of view. We cannot loose ourselves in a labyrinth, the path is always right in front of us.
I have written down instructions for two simple and practical meditations with and within a classical labyrinth. [read here, available in German only]. Those of you who cannot go to Chartres - why not try the Gärten der Welt, a beautiful recreational park in Berlin-Marzahn? The labyrinth of Chartres is rebuild here as a floor mosaic in original scale.
