The labyrinth can be a mindfulness centering pathway for one to find ease in connecting more deeply to oneself, nature and others. The pathway is designed to guide one on a journey to a center point and back out again. The labyrinth is a wonderful feature to have in a garden. It engages and balances ones mental, emotional and believes using guided physical movement.
Some advise if you are considering a Labyrinth – create it as a companion feature and not use it as the design for planting your garden. While you can achieve connection with either of these exercises, gardening and walking a labyrinth, each has a different focus of attention. One is to use movement to transport you into a mindful inner-connection with yourself without distraction while the other can be a distraction by being focus on something outside oneself.
Creating a Labyrinth as a garden design could hijack the walker as one’s focus shifts to noticing the garden’s and its needs Shifting to creating a to do list. A tricky decision and one that would need some consideration.
Many Labyrinth enthusiasts who built Labyrinths in their yards, before relocating to Victoria, have shared that they do not plan to create one in their new space. They do however say they will enjoy local public labyrinths!
Why is this? It could be the size, style and materials that they used in their labyrinth design. Creating a personal or community labyrinth is a powerful experience and could be one to enjoy as a part of ones contemplative journey. It supports one through grief, depression, addiction, health issues and making decisions. It helps connections with self, others and communities.
Garden Labyrinth – click to visit Greater Victoria Labyrinths
If you are considering a Labyrinth in your Garden some suggestions would be:
- Size of space and size of planned labyrinth
- The space around the labyrinth is as important as the labyrinth itself. Leave enough space around the design to breathe as you look at the labyrinth from any angle. If there is no space left around the labyrinth whenever you look at at it, it will dominate your experience. If you have not walked it or cannot walk it in the moment, what message will you be telling yourself?
- Create separation from shared area
- If your space is large and has a multi purpose use, create a separate entrance to the labyrinth with a pathway leading up to it. This will be the transition from how you otherwise enjoy that area.
- Placement
9 Life Areas
- Backyard:
- Center space represents health
- Nine equal squares: Middle Row far right square is zen space
- Property:
- Center space represents health
- Nine equal squares: Middle Row far right square is zen space
- Entrance to the Labyrinth
- In Medieval times the entrance was from the West on the Sacred Geometric Designs
- In Modern Times it can be from any direction using the Classical Design
- Backyard:
- Focus on the Pathway
- It is the definition of the pathway that is important
- Use materials to define your pathway clearly and that are visually beautiful and calming
- Consider that how you prepare the space to lay a Labyrinth is as important as the Labyrinth itself.
- A story was shared with me by someone who had a pattern for outdoor labyrinth’s. They would lay down this pattern and in the cut out space separating the pathways they would put down killex. After a few days they would come back and plant in that dead space. That is a horrible intention from which to start from, don’t you think? What’s your intention? If it is health, wellness or connection, start there!
In 1999 the Labyrinth Design was introduced into a Geomancy event in 100 Mile House (Central B.C.) Renee Lindstrom was attending by another participant. This event included Scientists who themselves had practiced the Art of Geomancy and open to discussing how they married this practice with their scientific study and research. This event also included another popular exercise of the time and that was walking through fire over hot coals! Two old exercises emerging as a new cultural experience.
In 2007 the Labyrinth design was created as part of a Feldenkrais Graduation celebration. It was a wonderful personal experience that expanded to include the community in a centered and grounded way.
In 2012 an International Labyrinth Gathering was being planned on Vancouver Island the following year that did not include any organized events in Victoria. This was the beginning of creating awareness of Greater Victoria’s Labyrinths in a more formalized way for drawing attention to local offerings. The World’s first Labyrinth Friendship was created with local Victoria Mayors proclamations to that effect in 2013 to 2015!
Geomancy – Earth divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand.
Living in Natures Love 