labyrinths - Center for Spirituality and Healing

LABYRINTHS:
HISTORY & HEALING
Holistic Health and Healing Summer Institute
Woodwinds Hospital – June 19, 2009
Labyrinths have a mysterious origin
They are 4000 years old or older
The earliest are most difficult to date
The same design appears around the world in societies that
did not interact
The design crosses cultures and spiritual traditions
The labyrinth is an archetypal image
LABYRINTH OR MAZE?
The terms are often used interchangeably.
MAZES are games created to confuse and puzzle the
mind…
 Tricks and choices and dead ends
 Multiple entrances and paths
 Must use logic to solve the puzzle or find the solution
 May cause you to become lost or fail to reach the goal
 Are made to make you lose your way
Labyrinths are unicursal,
with a single path to the center
Labyrinths are intended to …
 Calm the mind and soothe the spirit.
 Encourage introspection, contemplation and prayer.
 Guarantee success - there is no wrong way.
 Simplify -reach the center by simply staying on the path.
 Demonstrate that the journey is as important as the goal.
 Help you find your way
Earliest
Known
Labyrinths
Left:
Galicia, NW Spain
c. 2000 BCE
Right:
Luzzanas, Sardinia
age unknown
Left:
Pansaimol, Goa, India
Age uncertain
possibly 2500 BCE?
Right:
Rocky Valley, England
Bronze Age or
18th Century?
Artic Russia – Saami
Iron Age or Medieval?
Baltic Sea Archipelago
Swedish-speaking
fishing communities
Ritual
Blessing
Ceremony
Dance
Games
American Southwest
Right:
Man in the Maze basket
Tohono O’odham and
Pima tribes
Left: Petroglyph,
Arroya Hondo near Taos, New Mexico
Navajo or Apache tribe
HOPI IMAGES
Sun Father
Giver of Life
Earth Mother
Tapu’at Mother and Child
7-Circuit Classical Labyrinth
Manuscript Labyrinths
Abruzzi, Italy,
c.820 CE
Abingdon, England, c.1000 CE
St.Germain-des-Pres
France, 10th century
Otfrid
Regensburg, Germany
12th century
Hereford, England
c.1280 CE
Pavement
Labyrinth
Chartres
Cathedral
France
c.1205 CE
English Turf Labyrinths
Breamore, Hampshire
Saffron Waldon, Essex
Wing, Rutland
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA
Dr./Rev. Lauren Artress
Canvas portable labyrinths
How to Walk a Labyrinth
While there are no set rules, a typical walk involves three parts – walking in,
spending time in the center, and walking back out.
Release - the walk in, where the details of everyday life are shed, and the
mind is made open;
Receive/Reflect - the time spent in the center of the labyrinth, in quietly
contemplation, receiving whatever wisdom is forthcoming;
Return/Renewal - the path is re-walked, preparing to reenter the world and
actualize the new sense of self, or knowledge gained in the labyrinth.
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•
•
•
Step aside to meet or pass others
Walk with an open heart and open mind
Find and follow your own individual pace
Do what feels natural
There are as many ways to use the labyrinth as there are people to walk it.
Each time you walk with be a new experience.
A Labyrinth Walk
The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool that involves
walking a path as it winds in a circular pattern toward
the middle of the circle and then out again.
In many ways the walk is a walking meditation, a
symbolic pilgrimage, the journey being as important
as the destination.
Walking a labyrinth may be done for several reasons,
including:
• spiritual enrichment
• anxiety reduction
• discernment regarding a major decision
• being open to something unexpected.
Churches with
Meditation/Memorial
Gardens
People’s Congregational, Bayport, MN
Zion Lutheran, Cottage Grove, MN
Churches with
Meditation/Memorial
Gardens
Centennial United Methodist, Roseville, MN
Augustana Lutheran, West St Paul, MN
Pax Christi Catholic, Eden Prairie, MN
Retreat Centers
Loyola Center, St. Paul, MN
Carondelet Center, St. Paul, MN
Villa Maria Retreat Center, Frontenac
Public
Parks
Como, St. Paul, MN
Kirkbaum Sculpture Park, Richfield, MN
Millennium Park, Plymouth. MN
Phoenix Park, Eau Claire, WI
Community/Social Issues
Above: Food Shelf Labyrinth
Above: Farm in the City, St. Paul, MN
Left:
Conflict
Resolution
and
Problem
Solving
Above: Iraq war awareness project
Cancer Awareness/Grief/Support
LABYRINTHS IN
HOSPITALS AND
HEALTHCARE CENTERS
California Pacific Medical Center in San
Francisco was the first U.S. hospital to install a
labyrinth as part of its healing mission.
“Walking the labyrinth can be a spiritual and healing
journey, which quiets the mind and brings inner peace.“
The labyrinth at California Pacific Medical Center is just
outside the waiting room.
Inside, there is a sign and brochures describing how to
walk the labyrinth.
Surgeons sometimes walk the labyrinth before
performing an operation, to calm themselves.
Nurses send anxious patients and family members to
walk the labyrinth, reporting that they return more
relaxed and focused.
The American Cancer Society states that labyrinth
walking may be helpful as a complementary method to
decrease stress and create a state of relaxation.
Seton Northwest, Austin, TX
“The labyrinth is a wonderful alternative to pacing the hallways
and drinking coffee. With a labyrinth, you can walk, get centered,
and learn to face many of life's challenges."
“The labyrinth
experience may be
seen as a metaphor
for an individual's
personal patterns or
spiritual journey. It
may help you
discover where you
are, where you are
going and the
process that winds
and unwinds as you
walk on the path of
life. The labyrinth is
a place for you to
open your mind,
listen to your heart
and heal your spirit.”
John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Baltimore, MA
Harvard Research on Walking Meditation
Research conducted by Dr. Herbert Benson at Harvard
Medical School's Mind/Body Medical Institute has found
focused walking meditations are highly efficient at reducing
anxiety and eliciting what Dr. Benson calls the 'relaxation
response'. This effect has significant long term health
benefits, including lower blood pressure and breathing
rates, reduced incidents of chronic pain, reduction of
insomnia, improved fertility, and many other benefits.
Regular meditative practice leads to greater powers of
concentration and a sense of control and efficiency in one's
life. Labyrinth walking is among the simplest forms of
focused walking meditation, and the demonstrated health
benefits have led hundreds of hospitals, health care
facilities, and spas to install labyrinths in recent years.
Benefits of Labyrinth Walking
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Lower blood pressure
Lower breathing rates
Decreased incidents of chronic pain
Help with conflict resolution
Help with grief
Help with depression
Decreased stress
A sense of peace
Aid in clarification and introspection
Physical exercise
Sense of balance
Improved focus and clarity
The labyrinth is being used as a tool in complementary
or integrative medicine to help promote healing.
Hospital labyrinths are used by staff as well as
patients and visitors.
Walking a labyrinth can quiet a caregiver’s mind and
bring solace to patients and family members.
Being in the healing environment of a labyrinth can
be as beneficial as walking the labyrinth.
Though labyrinths have a spiritual connection, they
appeal to people of all faiths. Each person brings to
it his or her personal beliefs.
STUDIES AND RESEARCH
South Seminole Hospital, Longwood, FL conducted a study
with 75 patients and found that walking the labyrinth
• Increased patients’ hope
• Decreased stress
• Equalized blood pressure
• Patients with bi-polar disorder showed the most
improvement
The Oklahoma Mercy Health Center conducted study on
the effect walking the labyrinth had on the nurses’ stress
levels. It randomized 18 new graduates into two groups.
Both groups learned about the labyrinth during
orientation.
The intervention group was asked to walk the labyrinth at
least twice per month. Stress levels were measured at
baseline and 90 days.
After three months nurses in the intervention group
showed less stress while nurses in the control group
exhibited a marked increase in stress.
Nurses in the intervention group also reported higher job
satisfaction.
Chris Weigel, RN, BSN, MBA, chief
nursing officer of Oklahoma Mercy
Health Center, says of labyrinth use:
“It clears your mind so when you get back into the
process of doing things, you can make quick, clear and,
I think, very concise decisions… The labyrinth provides
a peaceful place for people to de-stress, have a few
moments of quiet, and to help make tough decisions
relative to patient care or personal care.”
The Mercy Labyrinth was completed in 2003 and is made up of 13,000
red sandstone and white limestone tiles that wind around in a pattern
leading to the center. The Mercy labyrinth gives co-workers, patients,
families and friends a path to walk, meditate and pray.
Walking the labyrinth, which is 40 feet in diameter, gives nurses time to
pause and reflect. The labyrinth serves as a mental and physical tool
to assist nurses in focusing on the elements of caring, which include
compassion, hope, respect, hospitality and empowerment.
Janine Mariscotti, MSW, LSW, assistant professor of social work
at LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA., says the labyrinth is a
compatible assessment and intervention tool for social work in
that it is:
• Strengths-based, offers clients opportunity to develop full potential ,
recognize strengths and explore resources to achieve goals and realize
dreams
• Holistic as it engages the physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions
of an individual; it is a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual intervention.
• Accessible to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
religion, age, or intellectual of physical ability.
• Empowering as it meets clients where they are, inviting them to go further if
they choose. It respects and honors individual uniqueness, capabilities and
current challenges.
• Symbolizes wholeness and inclusivity in its circular imagery.
Finger Labyrinths
Waiting rooms
Therapists’ offices
Clinic visits
Chaplains
Social workers
Resource centers
Hospice loaner
Hospital rooms
Gift shops
Gifts for board members, volunteers
• Tactile
• Portable
• Can be used with closed eyes - introspection
Plastic Laminate Finger Labyrinths
• Lightweight
• Easily cleaned
• Can be disinfected
Hudson Hospital
Hudson, WI
Linger
Longer
Labyrinth
University of MN
Center for Spirituality
and Healing
Mayo Building,
Minneapolis. MN
Trinity Campus
Alina Hospitals and
Clinics
Trinity Care Center
Farmington, MN
Stamped and
stained concrete
Franciscan Skemp
Healthcare
Center for Advanced
Medicine and Surgery
LaCrosse, WI
• Concrete paver kit
• Surrounding gardens
• Benches
• Private/secluded location
• Adjacent to waiting room
• Pavers are uneven for IV
poles, carts
Our Lady of Victory
Hospital
Stanley, WI
Merrick, Inc
Vadnais Heights, MN
A pathfinder
for seekers
Serving clients with
Developmental
Disabilities
A
therapeutic
horticulture
program
supporting
the Merrick
courtyard
labyrinth
includes
wheelchair
height
planting
beds and
greenhouse
Therapeutic
Riding Programs
ASAP Facility for Autistic Children
Carefree, Arizona
created by Taffy Lanser
“If you intend to be doctors of tomorrow, you will
need to know how to heal yourselves. It is no
longer simply about curing cancer or stitching
wounds, it is about healing souls. To do this well,
you must be on your own path of personal healing.
The labyrinth is a powerful tool for centering, focus
and personal transformation for healers and their
patients.”
Victor Sierpina, MD
University of Texas Medical Branch
Family Medicine, Galveston, TX
Paths of Peace Labyrinths
Lisa Gidlow Moriarty
Labyrinths & Resources
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Consultation
Design
Installation
Workshops
Retreats
Paths of Peace
P.O. Box 701
Stillwater, MN 55082
612-747-7446
www.pathsofpeace.com
pathsofpeace@gmail.com