Kearns invites you to experience the beauty of its permanent outdoor labyrinth. Designed and constructed in 2003, the labyrinth is available 24 hours a day all year for the enjoyment of visitors.

Labyrinth
The labyrinth is an ancient, sacred symbol found in many religious traditions throughout the world. During the Middle Ages, labyrinths were prominent in numerous cathedrals in Europe, where Christians walked floor labyrinths or traced their fingers along the carved ridges of wall labyrinths.

Photos on this page by Dan Siemasko

Our outdoor labyrinth is a powerful spiritual tool whose path leads one to one's own center. It offers one path; there are no false turns or dead ends. The seeker can use the labyrinth to quiet the mind and find peace. It is a tool for meditation that serves as a metaphor for one's spiritual journey.

The labyrinth is located behind Kearns Spirituality Center and can be reached by walking past the front of the building, then walking toward the right. Anyone is welcome to walk the labyrinth anytime. Brochures about the labyrinth are located at the beginning of the walk.

The Labyrinth: Path to Discover Sacred Beginnings
Labyrinths can be found in sacred traditions across the world, from ancient burial sites in Egypt, to Greek mythology and Native American cultures. Recently the labyrinth has re-emerged as a way to enhance spirituality. The labyrinth combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering path, representing a journey to our own center and then back again into the world.

Thinking is not required to walk a labyrinth. But the walker must remain alert to stay on the path. The combination of reduced mental activity and heightened awareness makes the labyrinth ideal for walking meditation or prayer.

Though labyrinths and mazes are often confused, they are not the same. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It is a left brain task that requires logic and analysis to find the correct path into the maze and out. The labyrinth is a right brain task involving intuition, creativity, and imagery. There is only one choice to make – to enter or not. The way in is the way out.

Symbolism
The labyrinth represents the journey of life, with its changes, transitions, rites of passage, and the cycles of nature. Walking the labyrinth illustrates that if we stay the course, every step, however roundabout, takes us closer to our goal. Reaching the center is a sure thing, so walking the labyrinth is more about the journey than the destination. It is about being rather than doing.

Form
The following three stages are represented in a labyrinth walk:
• Releasing (Purgation). From the entrance to the center is the path of “letting go.” There is a release and an emptying of worries and concerns.
• Receiving (Illumination). At the center there is illumination, insight, clarity and focus. It is there that you are in a receptive, prayerful, meditative state.
• Integrating (Union). The path out is that of becoming grounded and integrating the insight, of being energized, and making what was received visible in the world.

Walking Guidelines
There is no right way to walk a labyrinth. Enter and follow the path. Your attitude may be happy or somber. It could be thoughtful or prayerful. You may walk for meditation. You choose the attitude. Make it serious, prayerful, or playful. Walk alone or with a group. Listen to nature’s sounds. Most of all, pay attention to your experience.

General guidelines for walking a labyrinth:
• Pause and wait at the entrance. Become quiet.
   Acknowledge the experience through a bow, nod, or gesture,
    and then enter.
• Walk purposefully, observing the process.
   Upon reaching the center, stay and focus for several moments.    Leave when it feels appropriate.
• At the end, turn and face the entrance. Make an
   acknowledgement    such as a nod, or say “amen.”
• When the walk is over, reflect on the experience.

These stages of walking the labyrinth can be symbolized with a “palms down, palms up” approach. Palms down symbolizes letting go, while palms up indicates receiving. Enter the labyrinth and walk to the center with palms down and focus on releasing conflicts and concerns. At the center, turn palms up to be receptive to insight. Walking out of the labyrinth, keep palms up to receive strength and guidance. Leaving the labyrinth, turn to face the center, bringing palms together for a prayerful end to the walk.

Walk Often
To build a labyrinth is to create a sacred space. To walk a labyrinth is to imbue it with power and meaning. The more a labyrinth is used, the more powerful it becomes as a symbol of transformation. Kearns Spirituality Center invites you to begin a journey to discovery, insight, peacefulness, and well being. Walk the labyrinth.

Call Kearns Spirituality Center at 412-366-1124 for information about the labyrinth.