There’s an outdoor replica of the Chartres Labyrinth near the town where I live, and I visit every chance I get. It’s a place of great clarity and power, and I have always been grateful for the messages I have received there. Labyrinths have been used for centuries to make pilgrimages, meditate, commune with divine beings, or contemplate difficult questions. A labyrinth consists of a single, winding, concentric circular path that leads from one entrance to the center. Unlike mazes, where there can be multiple exits and many dead-ends, a labyrinth has only one way in to the center and one way back out. You cannot get lost in a labyrinth.
The center of the labyrinth can mean different things, depending on your intent: the Holy Land, Jesus’s presence, oneness. The labyrinth’s winding path symbolizes our lives, or spiritual paths, with all the apparent successes and failures, ups and downs. When the path is moving away from the center, it symbolizes the places in our lives where we feel we have gone astray. When we are apparently moving toward the center, it symbolizes the times in our lives when things are going well. But regardless of where we think we are in relation to the center, we know that the path leads us there unerringly. All we have to do is keep going.
When I have the opportunity to walk the labyrinth, I often begin by asking, “Please show me.” Then I slowly place one foot in front of the other and open to any experience that comes into awareness, trusting the labyrinth to show me what is needed at that moment. It’s a beautiful, powerful practice. If you’re interested exploring this meditation and need to find a labyrinth near you, the Labyrinth Locator may be of some use.