How do you prefer to pray?
For most of my adult life I tended toward methods that engaged my mind, especially lectio divina—using the daily scripture readings to ponder a word or phrase that stood out to me from the sacred texts. The problem was—my analytical mind (the product of a good seminary education) tended to take over the process. As I neared the 50+ mark I grew restless for something that engaged more than just my mind.
The solution for me lay in discovering a more embodied form of prayer—walking a labyrinth. (If you’ve never seen one, see accompanying picture). Unlike a maze which challenges your mind to solve its puzzle, a labyrinth always will lead you to its center—eventually. However, the path will not be direct but wind around, bringing you close to the labyrinth center one moment then away to the outer rim the next. How utterly impractical and useless! But that is the point. The labyrinth slowly invites us to unwind as we make a non-direct spiral journey to its center.
The walk for me mirrors the unfolding of my own life story. It has not always been pretty; nor has it always made sense. But as I near 70 I increasingly am aware that both my moments of joy and challenge equally have been grace-filled. Each has had its role in gently nudging me toward the final goal—arriving at the Center of Everything. In the process I have always had freedom to wander, at times choosing the farthest rim from Love but never falling completely out of its orbit.
Which brings us back to the labyrinth as a form of embodied prayer. It works for me because it moves me away from that rational/critical part of myself which so successfully kept my ego in control for many years, safe from the vulnerability that true openness to God and others requires. Walking a labyrinth helps me ‘fess up to and shed my protective layers as I walk.
Shedding those protective layers obviously was the hidden part of the invitation I didn’t notice when I discerned that it was time to retire and relocate back to the midwest a few years back. Imagine my surprise when I discovered two years later that this beautiful labyrinth is located amid farmland only 15 minutes from my home. Now I delight in walking its path at least once a month (until winter arrives). It has become an important spiritual practice for me.
If this is a practice that interests you, I invite you to begin by locating a labyrinth near you: https://labyrinthlocator.com/locate-a-labyrinth. For information on how to walk a labyrinth, explore: https://www.verywellfit.com/walking-the-labyrinth-3435825.
Blessings on your journey!
12 Circuit Labyrinth Elgin IL Unitarian Universalist Church