I can’t express how happy I am to know that Sydney will finally have its own public labyrinth… Information about it is here. It is currently drawn on the grass in a beautiful corner of Centennial Park, but over 80% of the funds needed have been raised to build the labyrinth in stone.
Every time I’ve done it so far I’ve been alone (except when I’ve brought people to show them) and it really is in a beautiful setting. Here, see for yourself!
A labyrinth is a tool for contemplation and meditation. It’s not a maze as there is only one path to follow in, and one to get out! When I first discovered it, at St. Paul’s Church in Vancouver where it is drawn onto the floor of a gymnasium/dance place/event hall, I was struggling with sitting meditations. Walking meditation allowed me more easily to get out of my head and to find a tool that would guide me to do so was a great gift. I did the labyrinth on numerous trips home to Vancouver, and it allowed me peace, insight, space and solace, particularly when my father died.
Since I discovered the one in Vancouver, I’ve also walked the one in the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and then with great joy, on my birthday, the original in Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France, where they only clear the chairs from over top of it on particular Fridays. While there are other labyrinth designs, the Chartres one is the one I love the best. It is complex with 34 turns and an amazing symmetry and design.
I always daydreamed of how to get one in Sydney. I’d contacted someone here many years ago who had a portable one; I kept my eyes open for news, but I never considered how I might set the creation of it in motion myself. Then out of the blue, I find that Emily Simpson was inspired in 2010 to facilitate its creation. She had the right idea and knew how to follow it up, and I suspect some pretty good organisational skills and contacts for the project to be moving along so successfully. I can’t be more grateful.
I’ll likely post more on the labyrinth in the future… but if anyone is in Sydney and would like to walk it with me, drop me a line!
