First Congregational United Church of Christ Appleton, Wisconsin Labyrinth

Walking the Labyrinth

First Congregational's labyrinth is located on the east side of our church in a secluded setting. The labyrinth is an archetype, a divine imprint, found in all religious traditions in various forms around the world. By walking a replica of the Chartres Labyrinth, laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral around 1220, we are rediscovering a long‑forgotten mystical tradition that is insisting to be reborn.

Our labyrinth has only one path, so there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives; it touches our sorrows and releases our joys. Walk it with an open mind and an open heart.

There are three (3) stages of the walk

Purgation ‑ a releasing, letting go of the details of your life. This is an act of shedding thoughts and emotions. It quiets and empties the mind.

Illumination ‑ is when you reach the center. Stay there as long as you like. It is a place of meditation and prayer. Receive what is there for you to receive.

Union ‑ which is joining God, your Higher Power or the healing forces in the world. Each time you walk the labyrinth you become more empowered to find and do the work you feel your soul reaching for.

Guidelines for Walking Our Labyrinth

Clear your mind and become aware of your breath. Allow yourself to find the pace your body wants to go, You may "pass". people or let others step around you, whichever is easiest at the turns. The path is two ways. Those going in will meet those coming out. Do what feels natural. Try not to have pre‑conceived expectations about the walk. Allow the awareness to find you. Again, receive what is there for you to receive.

There is no right way or wrong way to walk a labyrinth as long as the desire to walk it is consciously chosen. Labyrinth walking is not a perfectionist act; it is often necessary to step outside the lines. Whatever happens during the spiritual exercise of labyrinth walking can be used as a metaphor for our spiritual lives.

The labyrinth is not a maze. There is only one path into the center and that same path is then taken out again. In a maze you lose yourself, in a labyrinth you find yourself.

The labyrinth is a two‑way street. When one person is going into the center, another person can be exiting from the center. They will meet somewhere on the winding path. If not aware of this, it can be disconcerting to people who think that they may have made a mistake. When people meet on the path, as they meet in life, they may want to do whatever comes naturally to them. They may want to greet the person or if they are very inwardly focused, that person may choose to keep their eyes lowered and continue on their way. This is entirely up to the individual.

It is important to find and honor your own pace on the path, which will often change throughout the three stages of the walk. Follow the pace your body wants to go, not the pace the mind may think you should go. In order to honor your pace, give yourself permission to move around others during the labyrinth walk. Some people are drawn to a very slow pace. Others glide around the turns as if they had wings. Moving around one another is the key to discovering and staying with one's own flow.