The Messiah labyrinth is designed to be a tool to aid in one’s spiritual practices. Such is the history of labyrinths in the church and even pre-dating it. The labyrinth is for use along with other spiritual practices – prayer, meditation, the use of the scriptures, and corporate worship.
The labyrinth offers a one-way path to follow moving to the center of the circle. While many find spiritual benefit simply in the walking, we suggest that the journey be one of prayer, meditation, and restfulness.
Allow the path to lead you and trust where it is going. Move at a leisurely pace, pausing from time to time if you wish. If there are others on the path be respectful of them, allow others to pass by or feel free to pass them if you need to. The labyrinth is a place of quiet but not necessarily of silence. Be aware of your own body rhythms and what you are sensing. One may walk back from the center to the outer edge again. We suggest beginning and ending with a quiet pause or a prayer. You may wish to take some time when you reach the center. Take note of what you experience.
May this be a place of peace and of spiritual sensitivity for you. “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
WHAT IS A LABYRINTH?
In Greek mythology, the labyrinth (Greek: λαβύρινθος labyrinthos) was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur eventually killed by the hero Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it.
In English, the term labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze. As a result of the long history of unicursal representation of the mythological Labyrinth, however, many contemporary scholars and enthusiasts observe a distinction between the two. In this specialized usage maze refers to a complex branching multicursal puzzle with choices of path and direction, while a unicursal labyrinth has only a single path to the center. A labyrinth in this sense has an unambiguous route to the center and back and is not difficult to navigate.
Unicursal labyrinths appeared as designs on pottery or basketry, as body art, and in etchings on walls of caves or churches. The Romans created many primarily decorative unicursal designs on walls and floors in tile or mosaic. Many labyrinths set in floors or on the ground are large enough that the path can be walked. Unicursal patterns have been used historically both in group ritual and for private meditation, and are increasingly found for therapeutic use in hospitals and hospices. (Wikipedia)
A STROLL WITH YOUR SOUL
People all over the world are joining together to bring peace to our hearts and our planet through prayer, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” This prayer for world peace carries a message of great hope and healing. It transcends barriers of nationality, race, and religion to unite humanity in a call for the common good of all life on Earth. There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles in over 180 countries around the world.
The project began in Japan shortly after the end of World War II. It symbolizes peace that is needed between cultures and countries. It encompasses all kinds of peace, including peaceful families free from domestic abuse, peaceful neighborhoods free from threats of war or terror. The languages on our Peace Pole are: Spanish, German, Arabic, Navaho, Swahili, Swedish, Braille, Korean, Japanese, Slovak, French and English.