Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida

The Labyrinth:

The Labyrinth is a tool of meditation that comes to us through the mists of time.

Veriditas , based at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco is a non-profit organization dedicated to introducing people to the healing, meditative powers of the labyrinth.

Walking a Sacred Path

Each of us, at some point in life, embarks on a journey. A quest for solace, for truth, for inner peace, for the real meaning of it all. A pilgrimage to find one's soul. Landmarks are hard to come by, and we can easily become disorientated. The labyrinth, a metaphor for one's life journey, can help show the way. The very act of walking the labyrinth encourages focus, assists in opening up the self, in creating a place deep inside where new insights and awareness can germinate, take root and grow. Each journey is unique.

A labyrinth is a path leading to a "center" or "goal." It is distinguishable from a maze because it has no tricks, no stumbling blocks, no wrong turns. But one cannot just glance at the pattern and see how it is one gets "from here to there." Labyrinth patterns of a variety of sorts have appeared in Christian worship spaces since about the 4th century.

The concept of walking a spiritual path seems to be buried deep in the human psyche, which is Greek for "soul." While we cannot perhaps explain a rationale for this, we can look at the experiences of thousands of faithful pilgrims who have walked these paths for centuries.

Christian churches used the labyrinth for prayer and meditation as early as 350. The oldest example is found in Algeria, North Africa, and is inscribed with "Santa Eclesa" (holy church) at the center, confirming its sacred use. Many European (both Continental and British Isles) cathedrals have labyrinths set in stone into their floors, dating back many, many centuries.

The labyrinth design pictured above is found on the inlaid floor of Chartres Cathedral in France, and dates from the early thirteenth century. Earlier designs have been found all over the world, from Classical Rome and Greece, to Western Europe, the Near East, Africa, New Zealand, North America, and Southeast Asia.

The labyrinth is a place to hear God, to experience the leading of the Holy Spirit, to seek answers to specific questions, to process deep emotions like fear, grief and anger, and/or simply to go apart to find one's self in God's presence.

There are four permanent labyrinths in the Diocese of Southeast Florida, two at the Duncan Conference Center in Delray Beach one at Good Shepherd, Tequesta , and one at St. Andrew’s School, Boca Raton.

Upcoming labyrinth event: Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 2006, the Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress, founder of Veriditas, will lead a Labyrinth Retreat and Facilitator Training at the Duncan Center.

Instructions for Walking the Labyrinth

Please remove your shoes.
Walk in silence.
Clear your mind and become aware of your breath.
Allow yourself to find the pace your body wants to go.
You may "pass" people or let others step around you at the turns.
At the center you can stand or sit quietly for a time, and then follow the same path out from the center.
Walking the labyrinth can be as a silent meditation walk, or asking a question and seeking guidance.
There are three stages of the walk:
- The first "Purgation" (until you reach the center of the labyrinth) is shedding...a releasing, a letting go of the details of your life. It quiets the mind.
- The second, "Illumination," is when you reach the center. Stay there as long as you like. It is a place of meditation and prayer. Receive what is there for you to receive. You leave following the same path out of the center as you came in upon.
- The third stage, "Union," leaving the center and rewalking the path is the joining with God, your Higher Power, or the healing forces at work in the world. Each time you walk the labyrinth, you become more empowered to find and do the work you feel your Soul reaching for.

Other Labyrinth Sites

Labyrinths in Southeast Florida

There is a canvass eleven-circuit labyrinth at St Luke's Episcopal Church, 5150 SE Railway Ave., Port Salerno, FL 34992. Email StLukes@gate.net or phone (561) 286-5455 for availability.
There is an Eleven-Circuit Labyrinth at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Tequesta, FL.
The Cenacle Eleven-Circuit Labyrinth in Lantana, FL, at 1400 S Dixie. Their Annual Labyrinth Retreat is planned for October , 2006.
There is an eleven-circuit outdoor brick labyrinth at the Duncan Conference Center, 15820 S. Military Trail in Delray Beach, FL, west of the Linton Blvd exit from I-95, and a second labyrinth of inlaid granite in the floor of the new Schofield Chapel.
There is an eleven-circuit outdoor brick labyrinth near the Middle School at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School, 3900 Jog Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33434, 561/210-2127. The labyrinth is located at the northwest end of the campus near NE 37 Street.
There is a seven-circuit labyrinth at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, inside the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing (NU-84.) Visit during 9-4 business hours. See http://nursing.fau.edu/newnursingsite/
There is a canvass eleven-circuit labyrinth at St Gregory's Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33432. Email stgreg@bellsouth.net or phone (561) 395-8285 for availability.
There is an eleven-circuit concrete labyrinth at the North Campus of Broward Community College, 1000 Coconut Creek Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33066. It's outdoors just west of OMNI Auditorium, Bldg. 60.
Outdoor Celtic Labyrinth at the UU Church of Fort Lauderdale
There is an outdoor seven-circuit labyrinth at Unity Church in Hollywood, FL.
There is an outdoor eleven-circuit labyrinth at the Miami Lakes Methodist Church, 14800 NW 67 Ave, Miami Lakes, FL 33014 (South down 67th Avenue inside the bend of the Palmetto Expressway), Phone 305/759-4451. (No website).
There is an eleven-circuit labyrinth at Unity by the Bay Church, 411 NE 21 St, Miami. See http://www.unityonthebay.org/
The Seven-Circuit Classic Labyrinth at the UU Society of Miami.
There is an outdoor eleven-circuit labyrinth at the Big Pine United Methodist Church, Key Deer Boulevard, Big Pine Key, FL 33043 (305) 872-4444.

Last updated: 07/07/06