Second Place Essay - Judyth Crystal

Judyth Crystal's essay, What is a Labyrinth? reminds us that discovering the labyrinth can lead to many more discoveries in one's heart where "reality permanently alters in some way and our consciousness enhances."

What is a Labyrinth?
by Judyth Crystal

Seemingly lost, heading toward San Francisco, California, 3,000 miles from our home, my husband and I are frustrated that the volume of traffic prevents us from taking several exits into the city. When we finally are able to take an exit, we magically arrive at our destination, Grace Cathedral, where a labyrinth resides. It is as if we have been Divinely guided.

Actually, we have no idea what a labyrinth is. All we know is that we met a woman in Santa Barbara, a few days before, and she suggested that we stop and experience the labyrinth there. “What is a labyrinth?” I kept pressing her. “What is it for?” “You’ll find out,” was all she had to offer.

So, here we are, on a magical mystery mission. Approaching the church, we notice a woman walking on a circuitous pathway made from terrazzo. We watch her in silence and wait for her to finish. This must be the labyrinth. “What is it for?” I ask, feeling childlike this time. She excitedly responds, “It is to help you find your path in life. Then, she continues on her way. And the labyrinth is left for us.

Well, I think, maybe this labyrinth will help me to figure out what my true path in life is. I have been struggling with mid-life issues. My curiosity and willingness are high.

Entering together, my husband and I walk the labyrinth. The sun is shining brightly and the air is warm. The area around the labyrinth is expansive and across the street is a city park. Though neither of us have an epiphany, the walk is pleasant, active and interactive. Silently, we walk over to the entrance of Grace Cathedral.

After admiring the beautiful relief sculptures on the huge wooden doors, we enter the church. Interested in the architecture of Grace Cathedral, my husband goes off to explore the church. The labyrinth inside intrigues me. Its placement is within the darkness of the entrance to the sanctuary, in a womblike setting. Brightly colored banners hang above it and provide an occasional visual focus as I meander the switchbacks of the labyrinth. In contrast to the outer walk, this one is solemn, meditative and inner reflective.

My husband returns as “tour guide” for the church and shows me around where he has been exploring, including the wonderful and interesting bookstore, full of labyrinth memorabilia. I buy a card that is forest green with a gold labyrinth embossed on it and pick up some literature that tells about the labyrinths.

Then, off we go to explore San Francisco! For months we had been looking forward to the points of interest we had planned to visit. Yet, strangely, our plans change as we drive in heavy traffic and are unable to find parking spaces near any of the places where we want to stop. We feel agitated and dislike breathing in the bus fumes. It becomes evident that being in the hassle of the city traffic is not where we really want to be on our vacation, so we decide to continue to our next destination earlier than we had intended. We wonder if the labyrinth walk has effected this shift in our energy.

Where we are staying on Point Reyes is quiet and set in nature with gardens and birds. It has a large glassed-in common room overlooking the moors, which appears mystical in the fog. We are grateful to stay here for a few days. This location provides us with just the peace we need.

Our travels continue through the redwood forests and on to Weed. Our destination is the War and Peace Memorial. Although we are disappointed with it, something catches my eye toward the end of the site. As we walk there, I happily discover a labyrinth. What a pleasant surprise!

The scenery around the labyrinth is spectacular and consists of views of awesome Mount Shasta, volcanic rock and prairie. It still looks like the “wild West” and how we imagine it must have appeared to the pioneers who came through the area hundreds of years ago. We almost expect to see wagon trains off in the distance. It is 97 degrees Fahrenheit and the breeze is HOT, yet I feel compelled to walk this labyrinth 3 times, each time has a different quality and brings me to a deeper inner state. I, too, feel like I am a pioneer in my own uncharted inner territory.

As I walk the labyrinth, the glacial side of Mount Shasta makes a majestic backdrop. My husband appreciates it from the shaded picnic table. Seeing the glacier makes us feel cooler in the heat and in awe at the glory of Nature’s magnificence. We feel blessed to be staying near the sacred mountain. During our short stay, I “walk” the labyrinth card with a pen and we hike and meditate on Mount Shasta. Our wonderful vacation is quickly coming to an end.

On the flight home, I cannot wait to get onto the Internet to research “labyrinths” and see if there are any near our home. I want to know everything I can about labyrinths and what they are for as well as to further explore walking them.

I discover a local workshop, which I attend, and purchase right- and left-handed wooden labyrinths. My husband and I each finger-walk the two of them simultaneously and something seems to happen to our brains! Perhaps, it is the result of balancing the right and left hemispheres of our brains. Anyway, the effect is noticeable to us.

My curiosity is really peaked. What is this labyrinth? I keep asking that question and receiving different answers. A whole new world is opening up to me and I am intrigued by it.

Back at work, I realize that, in some ways, walking on the labyrinth reminds me of a colleague’s experience in a kayak in white water when he went spinning out of control as he was caught in an eddy. He learns much about himself, his capability for survival and his strengths, in that quick flash in time. When he finally jump-starts out of the eddy and back into the river, it becomes a metaphor for the major changes he makes in his life. My experience involves inner waters.

As did Tielhard de Chardin, I believe that we are “spiritual beings immersed in a human experience”. To me, lifestyles that promote wellness incorporate body, mind and SPIRIT. Being from a straight medical model of physicality, my boss tells me that spirituality is taboo in my corporate job as Wellness Coordinator. I feel my values and my very being are being invalidated. I feel like I am whirling inside a “cosmic eddy” with my life spinning out of control. What do I do? My physical health begins to suffer as my spirit gasps for breath and my soul begins to die. This dictate is a foreign concept threatening the core of my being. My SOUL is DYING!

Someone sends me a cartoon, called “The Climber”. I play it over and over again on my computer. It is about a mountain climber who starts out later than he had planned. His goal is to reach the summit of the mountain, but darkness is soon making visibility impossible. Still, he is determined to make it to the summit and pushes onward.

Suddenly, his foot slips and he falls into a crevice. Being an experienced climber, he was belayed, so now he hangs, dangling in the frigid air, by a rope. He calls out: “God, help me” and hears a voice respond: “Cut the rope”. Again, he calls out and again he receives the same message, which he cannot accept and thus ignores. The next morning, other climbers find him frozen to death, dangling one foot off the ground.

I, too, feel like I am dangling at the end of my own rope, over a dark abyss, frozen in time. On a labyrinth walk and again in a meditation, I get the message that it is finally time for me to “cut my rope”. I discuss this with my husband, who eventually supports my decision and I take a huge leap of faith.

A week after I leave my job, I go to a lecture at a women’s group at my former place of employment. A psychologist talks about a study, which had been done with rats. Rats are thrown into a pool of water and forced to swim until they nearly drowned. Then they are rescued. The researchers let their vital signs go back to normal before repeating the trauma many more times. Then they are left alone. The traumatic toll on them is so great that the rats die suddenly, anyway. It is a shocking wake-up call to hear this.

I make a greater effort to balance “do” with “be” and to heal from the toll of too many hours of work, especially in an environment that I feel is an antithesis of who I am. It took this stint of “cosmic boot camp” to jump-start me back into my authentic self. Now, on my true path, the labyrinth points the way, as does the yellow brick road in “The Wizard of Oz”.

What is a labyrinth? I theorize that the labyrinth opens a clear pathway to the Divine Source. Maybe the purpose of the labyrinth is to act as a “spiritual map” for us to follow so that we do not get lost as we travel to our deep inner place or to our Divine Source. I think of it as a Spiritual Geological Information System. The labyrinth defines the starting and ending points of our journey and leads us on a path which consists of twists, turns, straight-a-ways and switchbacks, while the center acts like a rotary, directing us back home.

Six months after my first labyrinth walk, my research brings me to Jean Houston and I attend her Mystery School. Many of her processes revolve around the ancient labyrinth, or Dromenon, as she calls it.

At Mystery School, about 130 people are “in the dance” on the canvas labyrinth. We walk together with our spiritual guides. The group energy is incredible and powerful! Being with so many like-minded people is comforting. Relating with people from all over the world enhances my sense of oneness with the larger global community. I feel at home and make new friends. Mystery School is a stark contrast to my harsh work environment so I am grateful to feel valued for my being. I appreciate the opportunity to grow and evolve spiritually as I continue my dual (inner and outer) journey.

More recently, at the 2005 Labyrinth Society Gathering, I walk many labyrinths. Yet the one I find the most powerful is the simplest and most natural one. It is tucked away in a quiet space in a pine grove. In fact a tall straight pine tree stands at its center.

Dried pine needles define its path. They are interspersed with green needles and pinecones. And there is a small area by the center, which has a stone heart on a piece of red fabric, surrounded by green needles and pinecones on the 4 sides, as if to define the 4 directions. The sweet scent of pine needles permeates the air.

As I walk the path, a sense of joy overtakes me. I smile the entire way into the center, feeling playful and happy. In the center, I cock my head as far back as I can to appreciate the old growth tree. Then I place my back against it and close my eyes to meditate. A wave of emotion arises in me. Tears well up in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. My heart is being deeply touched and opened to release melancholy childhood memories.

Pine groves are always endearing places for me to be. As a child, I run to them for comfort after being physically abused by my mother. I run, tears blurring my vision, through the woods behind our house to the sanctuary and womblike environment of the pine grove. Nature, my true mother, nurtures and heals my wounded body, mind and spirit. The sanctuary of this pine labyrinth releases the penetration of the past pain.

Another memory this pine labyrinth generates is one of my loving and understanding aunt, now deceased. Her love and advocacy is how I survived my youth. I remember her taking me to the Cathedral in the Pines when I was young. That memory is etched in my heart and releases when I smell pine needles and am under the protective canopy of pine trees.

After walking the pine-needle labyrinth, I re-enter the main conference building and am glad to synchronously cross paths with the man who created it and have the opportunity to thank him for his wondrous creation.

At the Labyrinth Society Gathering, I am struck by how people incorporate labyrinths into their life’s work. Each of the workshop presenters use the labyrinth in their own unique way as a tool, whether it is for healing on an individual or an environmental level, for self-realization, conflict management, problem-solving or spirituality.

My gratitude abounds for the rediscovery of the labyrinth, which leads me to rediscovering myself. Sometimes the lessons are painful, sometimes joyful, and sometimes profound. Yet they are always what I need at the time and what I can handle as I recover my authentic self, restore my health and well-being, re-energize my body, reactivate my creativity, regain my passion and revitalize my soul.

Occasionally, a hawk circles above or the clouds are dramatic while I walk a local labyrinth, usually 3 times, in deep walking meditation. Many of my questions are answered and I am finding inner peace and guidance.

Little did I know that the labyrinth would become such a powerful tool for me and a path that leads me to life-altering spiritual experiences, deepening my communion with God and my own Higher Inner Wisdom. What is a labyrinth? It has become my path and it feels so Divinely guided.

As I co-facilitate a women’s group walk on a labyrinth, the sky is aglow in crimson. The scent of fragrant flowers wafts on the breezes. We hear the lapping of the waves on the shore of the beach below. Our crunching sounds on the crushed stone does not disturb a little rabbit, which joins us, hopping across the pathway. We stop and smile. It reminds me that the journey of the labyrinth is like going down the rabbit-hole for Alice in Wonderland. It is the rabbit-hole! Our reality permanently alters in some way and our consciousness enhances.

Copyright 2006, Judyth Crystal

Biography

Judyth Crystal is a renaissance soul, having had careers as a graphic artist, weaver, massage therapist, registered nurse, communications specialist and corporate wellness coordinator. She has also volunteered as a parish nurse and is a peace activist. Judyth resides in Connecticut with her husband and their 2 dogs. Her authentic life’s journey has evolved, enhanced and deepened via walking meditations on the sacred labyrinth. Presently, she is in the process of writing and illustrating a book about labyrinths. (Judyth is also the third place poetry winner of this contest.)

• Back to Articles in This Category
• Back to Article Categories