New Edition of Labyrinth Pathways now available

We are happy to announce the publication of the 9th edition of Labyrinth Pathways, an annual journal focusing on the labyrinth in the fields of spirituality, health and the arts. The journal is published annually by Labyrinthos, and is provided electronically to all TLS members as a member benefit.

This edition includes offerings from authors and artists far and wide, connected by a common thread of labyrinth interest. We hope that you will find something in these pages to inspire you as you make your way along your own path! We trust that you will also find new thoughts

from familiar friends, as well as introductions to new voices emerging within the field. One of the true marvels of the labyrinth community is the continual flow of the people who love the meandering pathways and all that they represent!

Jeff and Kimberly Saward
Pathway Editors

Gathering Reflection: Why Do We Gather?

Reflecting on the Waycross "Branching Out" Gathering, Tom Vetter asked: 

WHY DO WE GATHER? 

We Gather Together
to Meet, to Talk, to Dance,
to Walk, to Plan, to Play,
to Create, to Pray, to Relax, to Reflect,
to Sell, to Buy, to Donate, to Bid,
to Teach, to Learn, to Laugh,
to Love, to Help,to Heal,
 to Celebrate, to Meditate,
to Share Meals, 
to Share the Path.  

A Gathering is like walking a Labyrinth together. We are welcome as we are, and our involvement with the Labyrinth and the Labyrinth community does not homogenize us or erase our individuality. Rather, it encourages, supports, and celebrates our unique expressions of  ourselves! It welcomes our diversity and reveals our shared Center. This is why the Labyrinth is a tool for peace, for healing, and for unity. To support this mission is why we gather.

Photo: Lars Howlett

The 2015 TLS Gathering, with the theme “Branching Out,” took place at Waycross Conference Center amidst the peace and solitude of the meadows and the forests south of Indianapolis, Indiana.  It began before it began with a meeting of TLS Board members, who arrived two days early to conduct organizational business and to engage in strategic planning.  On Friday morning before the Gathering, Lisa Moriarty conducted a workshop on “Creating Personal Prayer Labyrinths.”  In the afternoon, Carol Maurer offered a “Soul Collage” workshop. The creative efforts of many resulted in multiple painted, raked, and chalk-drawn labyrinths appearing on the grounds, while the windows of the Conference Center were graced with Hallie Sawyers’ colorful and stunning translucent labyrinth art.  A beautifully meaningful Opening Ceremony was hosted by the Energy Keepers, which encouraged reflection and included a group labyrinth walk of John Ridder’s newly-created “Branches Labyrinth.”

The Gathering featured insightful and inspiring presentations by our three keynote speakers.  On Friday evening, Maia Scott opened our eyes with her multifaceted presentation, “Seeing the Journey Ahead with New Eyes: Living Through the Lens of the Labyrinth.”  She playfully incited us to Insight as she invited our participation in several experiments, giving us the opportunity to see the labyrinth from multiple perspectives with the fresh eyes and imagination of a visionary.  She even showed us how to translate the rhythms of the labyrinth into poetry!  

Following Maia's instructions to trace
the labyrinth path with a body part. Photo: Lars Howlett

On Saturday morning, Ellen Bintz-Meuch called us to action with her message, “Transformative Uses of the Labyrinth: Where the Branches Grow.” Ellen shared how she successfully incorporated the labyrinth into her quest for social justice, helping to heal the trauma of the incarcerated and to lead them toward wholeness.  She showed how her passionate work with “Global Healing Response,” which she founded in 2005, has promoted healing, comfort, and peace throughout the world when disaster strikes by mobilizing a unified response from the labyrinth community, reminding us to “never underestimate the power of unified healing energy and the labyrinth.”  

On Sunday morning, Robert Ferre took us on his lesson-filled and often humorous life journey with his presentation, “Two Decades on the Path: Where Labyrinths Have Led Me.”  Robert’s twenty year career as a labyrinth artist began when Lauren Artress, founder of Veriditas, decided that painting one canvas labyrinth was enough for her, but she needed more of them to supply the growing demand.  Robert saw this as an opportunity and accepted the challenge of taking this on as his mission.  He learned what he needed to learn and did what he needed to do, experimenting with techniques and inventing tools  as he attained mastery of his craft. He shared his labyrinth/life path with many others, experiencing fun and friendship, love and loss, healing and renewal; his assimilated life-lessons have given him perspective and made him wise.  We were all blessed to experience Robert’s Wisdom, Ellen’s Compassion, and Maia’s Vision! [Robert Ferré shows an image of early days with Jeff Saward. Photo: Lars Howlett]

The Gathering also gave the attendees the opportunity to choose from and experience a wonderful assortment of workshops, poster presentations, mini -sessions, a panel discussion offering perspectives on using the labyrinth to manage transitions, and many other life-affirming and creative activities, including an active marketplace and our annual TLS silent auction (which funds Gathering scholarships).  We concluded with a beautifully inspiring Closing Ceremony lead by Ellen Bintz-Meuch, including a group Global Healing Response labyrinth walk.  After the official ending of the Gathering, David Nickel hosted a local Art Studio tour on Sunday afternoon, and John Ridder and Dhyana Raynor led an all-day Labyrinth Tour Monday morning. 

We are grateful to everyone who worked tirelessly to organize the amazing Waycross Gathering, including local Gathering host, John Ridder, TLS Gathering Liaison, Stephen Shibley, and the numerous TLS volunteers who graciously contributed their time and energy. May the positive energy of the 2015 Gathering  live on and flow to our next highly-anticipated 2016 TLS Gathering in Houston, Texas, with the theme “Diverse Journeys on a Common Path.”  See you there!

Photo: Hallie Sawyers

More great photos of the Gathering:

Facebook album by Lars Howlett

Facebook Album by Myra Rheinheart Corcorran

Facebook Album by Sadelle Wiltshire

Flickr album by Warren Lynn

YouTube Video by Lars Howlett

Gathering 2016: Houston, TX. Diverse Journeys on a Common Path: Building Community Through the Labyrinth 

Please join us in the heart of Houston's Museum District as we explore the cause and effect relationships of bringing labyrinths into diverse communities, November 10-12, 2016. 

Presenters will include Debi & Marty Kermeen, master stone artistic team and builders of the St. Paul's Labyrinth, and Houston's own Reginald Adams, renowned public artist, social entrepreneur, and community developer, whose work with youth was showcased in a recent eNews report on his trip to Lyon in France with a group of young people to build a labyrinth. 

You will not want to miss this uniquely urban experience with over 20 labyrinths in the Houston metropolitan area! Pencil in the dates and look for registration to open in Spring of 2016! Follow developments on the TLS Houston Gathering Facebook page!

Special Award Given to Jeff Saward by The Labyrinth Society’s Board of Directors

The TLS Board of Directors was delighted to announce at the Annual General meeting at this year’s Gathering at Waycross Conference Center the unanimous decision to award Jeff Saward an honorary Lifetime Membership for his many years of dedicated service to both TLS and to the worldwide labyrinth community.

Jeff served faithfully on the TLS BoD for three years from 2003 when he became caretaker, originator, and force behind the World Wide Labyrinth Locator (WWLL). He publishes both Labyrinth Pathways and Caerdroia and is featured on the TLS DVD in the History segment.  He is known worldwide as a master labyrinth historian who has traveled to the farthest reaches of the globe on the trail of labyrinths and mazes of all types, designs and origins. Without his extensive knowledge and unceasing dedication, the worldwide labyrinth community would be a much duller group and TLS is proud to honor Jeff in this way this year.

Jeff Saward, Lucerne 2015.
Photo: Labyrinthos

Profile of Christiana Brinton, Prison Labyrinth Ministry Volunteer and TLS VP for Communications, in Her Own Words

From January of 2011 through August of 2013, I volunteered, along with a team of eight other women, in the labyrinth ministry program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) in Wilsonville, Oregon. The program was originally started in 2005 by Anita Trudeau who died in 2010, and was revived when the current prison chaplain, Emily Brault, contacted Kay Kinneavy at Labyrinth Network Northwest (LNN), and asked for new labyrinth volunteers. Kay immediately put out a call to all LNN members and Paula Hills Starr agreed to be the new volunteer coordinator. This was one of two labyrinth prison programs that LNN sponsored, the other being one for young women and girls at Oak Creek Youth Facility in Albany, OR. [Christiana Brinton at Waycross, 2015. Photo: Lars Howlett]

In writing this article, I scanned LNN’s archives looking for the articles about this experience and was struck by several things. Over the course of the three years, we volunteers wrote three LNN newsletter articles and two LNN Reflection articles, while Kay wrote almost a dozen paragraphs in her labyrinth events and announcement emails. Plus, the local Portland paper, the Oregonian, wrote a piece about our CCCF labyrinth ministry in September, 2011. You’d think, with all that press, there would have been more volunteers joining this worthwhile cause, but this was not the case. There are a few good reasons for this, but the other thing that I noticed was the overwhelmingly positive reporting of those who did volunteer and were willing to write about their experiences.

Volunteering in a prison environment, even when it is labyrinth related, is not an opportunity that most people jump at. For one thing, the process of obtaining security clearance and then undergoing the effects of its implementation, whenever one must enter the facility, is extremely daunting for most people. Our first meeting with the prison chaplain, Emily Brault took place at Coffee Creek where we went through metal detectors after our keys, coats, scarves and excess jewelry were placed in lockers in the main waiting room and our drivers licenses were retained by the prison guards. Then we followed Emily through seemingly endless double steel doors to another guard station leading to the inner courtyard, where we had our clearances checked again. We finally entered the medium/maximum security building where the chapel is located and three more doors to be buzzed through before arriving at our destination. By the time we had obtained our security badges months later and were able to walk in with our volunteer partner without Emily accompanying us, much of the initial trepidation we all felt during that first walk had vanished, but the sense of being constantly on alert never leaves. From talking with Helen Curry and her experiences in the Danbury Federal Women’s Prison, the security protocols intended to protect volunteers as well as the guards, administrators, and inmates are very similar and, for the most part, work well.

While it would have been nice to have an open volunteer policy so that anyone with a desire to work with labyrinths in a prison setting could join our group, the reality was a bit different. This was an issue our group constantly debated and it centered upon the degree of previous labyrinth experience a volunteer needed to have under their belt. We always stressed that being a certified facilitator was not necessary to join, but that it was very helpful to have enough personal walking experience to be able to hold space for the women inmates, walk with them, and yet not be dealing with one’s own issues at the same time. We rarely had three volunteers go in at the same time, usually only two, and they needed to have their full attention on the women and the process for that hour. I must admit, being a certified labyrinth facilitator was very helpful in dealing with a few stressful incidents that presented themselves during those three years.

After a year of volunteering, Paula resigned as volunteer coordinator and I took her place. By then, our volunteer group was well established with the women inmates who attended these walks even though, in the beginning, they had tested our commitment to this ministry in both subtle and obvious ways. They wanted to know if we were willing to take the bad with the good and so there was some acting out, excessive talking, attempts to bend the rules and such. At first some of us were upset and worried by this, but we persevered, kept showing up and the word spread that we were in there for them, with the result that there was and, I believe, still is a long waiting list to attend these weekly walks. There was always a good mix of 12-20 inmates, both seasoned walkers and newbies of Hispanic, African-American, White and Native American origins. Some were lifers who had committed murder and many had multiple issues with addiction, often in combination with emotional and physiological imbalances as well.

For the most part, our volunteers were all women too and this created a bond that most of us did not expect to experience. The format was a simple one; the seven circuit, canvas classical labyrinth was already set out when we arrived with chairs arranged in a semicircle on the raised stage and with the box of labyrinth paraphernalia in the center on a small bench. We always had at least two volunteers per walk for security purposes and we’d take turns arranging meditation cards, flowers, a reading, recorded music, and a candle with matches to open the circle, before the women entered. We had managed to obtain permission to use a real candle with matches, but this could change at the whim of the prison staff. Often we placed the cards in the center of the labyrinth and then, after everyone had walked, we’d spend about fifteen minutes debriefing. [Prison Ministry. Photo: K. Kinneavy]

The cards invariably helped to break the ice and often an inmate would share a very personal story or an insight that had occurred to her. I found that the more honest we were in sharing out own issues, the more the incarcerated women were willing to share, and it brought us closer. We were all worried about our children, our parents, our partners and friends. As the group got used to one another, they became less anxious, more trusting and more willing to take time walking rather than hurrying through in a conga line. They loved it when we wore bright clothing or funky shoes. The dreary uniformity of their everyday lives was broken for a brief hour once a week and, for this, the women were so appreciative and grateful.

I cherish the memories of these years and hope to return someday when I go back to the Pacific Northwest. I will never forget the intimate exchanges we shared, the smiles and laughter, the relief on their faces and in their body language because these women inmates had been given one hour of quiet and peace. My problems seemed very small in comparison after walking with these women and yet so much was the same – only varying in the degrees of consequence. It was a powerful experience where my preconceptions and comfort zone were constantly tested and pushed. Maybe this form of labyrinth work is not for everyone, but the gift of this ministry was a two way street with, I believe, long term, beneficial effects. It would be interesting to do a case study of inmates who have been released and participated in a labyrinth program while they were incarcerated.

For more information about other prison ministries, you can access Labyrinth Network Northwest’s Resources page and also an article in the Hampton Gazette.

Changes in the Board of Directors

The 2015 slate of candidates, comprising Debi Kermeen, Janice Lewis  and renewing board members, Vanessa Compton and Kay Sandor, passed unanimously during the TLS Annual Meeting at the Gathering this fall. Debi is now the Energy Keepers Chair, Janice chairs the Membership Committee, Vanessa continues as Publications Chair and Kay as Secretary for the next three years. The TLS Board of Directors welcomes the new members and looks forward to a productive and exciting year ahead. 

From left to right: Katja Marquand, David Gallagher, Diane Rudebock, Stephen Shibley, Kay Whipple, Christiana Brinton, Hallie Sawyers, Beth Langley, Jodi Lorimer, Lars Howlett, Kay Sandor, Janice Lewis. Missing: Vanessa Compton, Debi Kermeen, John Rhodes. 

Christiana Brinton’s Reflections

I had the pleasure of taking both pre-Gathering workshops at this year’s Gathering in Indiana. I am not a fine artist and usually avoid art workshops, even at labyrinth events, but taking Lisa Moriarty’s and Carol Maurer’s classes was too good an opportunity to pass up. Both are creative and dedicated labyrinth artists, with years of experience, so I knew I was in good hands. They are also both excellent teachers, encouraging and guiding participants every step of the way.

Lisa’s workshop, Creating Personal Prayer Labyrinths, was a lesson in patience for me. Lisa supplied pre-cut, blank canvases that allowed enough room for a 3- circuit design, as well as a selection of patterns to choose from, and all 18 of us hunkered down to help each other pencil in the pattern on the canvases. Working as a team, we swiftly got the canvas patterns done which left plenty of time to add our own unique touches with paints, brushes, stamps and stencils.

Lisa supplied all the materials and, while a few seasoned artists painted free-style on their canvases, many, like myself, used the stamps and stencils. The results were uniformly an interesting mix and a delight to behold. Despite often using too much paint with the stamps and dragging my shirt through the paint on the edges (this is where the patience came in), I was still pleased with my celestial labyrinth and enjoyed the class very much.

Carol Maurer’s workshop, SoulCollage with Carol Maurer, was similar to Lisa’s in that the participants were invited to create their own SoulCollage card from materials that Carol supplied. Though I’d heard about SoulCollage many years ago, I was drawn to Carol’s workshop which combined the traditional SoulCollage steps with walking a labyrinth. Carol placed small tables over the labryses on and next to the corners of the Petite Chartres style labyrinth in one area of the room. On the tables were torn out magazine pictures of various subjects that we could use to create our cards.

Carol encouraged us to meditate on one thing in our lives that had meaning for us, enter the labyrinth and then stop and pick up a picture or two then move on. If we had extra materials we could keep them and make more cards on our own. It was a wonderfully clarifying exercise for me. I had no idea what I was going to do and yet what occurred was a picture, with many overlapping pictures, of what was important to me in my life and what I needed to empower. And again, when we laid all the cards out on the labyrinth for everyone to see, the wide variety and creativity of the cards was lovely and so fun to share.  

Another workshop that I attended, Discovering the Genesis Point, with the Rev. Dr. Calen Rayne and Laura Esculcas was one of the most enlightening workshops I’ve taken anywhere at any event in the past twenty years or so. Dr. Rayne is a true mystic healer and is probably so used to operating multi-dimensionally that he comes across as a bit taciturn and distracted in this one. Laura, with her gracious, grounded delivery style, is a perfect foil for Dr. Rayne’s personality and often brought the workshop discussion back to the practical how, what, where and why’s of the Genesis Point process.

I am a dowser and know dowsing basics, but Dr. Rayne took dowsing to a whole new level as he showed us how to establish the Genesis Point; where earth energy comes into a room, then where the entrance point for this energy is on the labyrinth in the room, and what, if any, obstacles or negative blocks exist on the labyrinth that need clearing. WOW!  Dr. Rayne used a single dowsing rod to find these and showed us how to do it too. His method of clearing the stuck energy was simply to ring Tibetan chimes or a singing bowl or sweep a sacred object or picture of a sacred place or object, over the area and the stuck energy dispersed.

Then, using John Michael Greer’s Sacred Geometry Oracle deck, Dr. Rayne asked the labyrinth what it wanted to do that day for this particular group. He dowsed and counted the number of times the rod swung completely around in a circle. He then counted to that card number in the deck and laid the chosen card face down on the labyrinth. He did this procedure six times. Then he went around turning over the cards and reading the divinations aloud. The results were insightful, creating a cohesive plan of action for the group to follow, which was amazing to many of us. This process can be done outside as well as inside and Dr. Rayne has used it to re-awaken dormant energy points, vortices and leys around the world.

I’ve touched on just the surface of the information conveyed during this workshop and I believe it deserves to be a full keynote address at a TLS Gathering in the future. Everyone who works with labyrinths should know about this method because increasing the transformative potential of labyrinths is one powerful way we can all help to heal our precious planet. Laura and Dr. Rayne make this rather esoteric process easy to understand and use for neophytes as well as seasoned energy workers.

The Panel Discussion, The Circle of Life: Using Labyrinths to Navigate Transitions.  In my experience, panel discussions work best when the panelists come from a variety of backgrounds so that a lively discussion ensues, bringing out the best of both or many viewpoints. This panel all shared similar, positive philosophies on the beneficial results from using labyrinths in all types of transitional situations. Everyone was very enthusiastic and agreed with each other, but nothing new or controversial was discussed or uncovered so, for me, it could have been more engaging.  But perhaps, for those just coming to the labyrinth world, the material might have been reassuring and informative.  Certainly all the panelists knew the material and were well spoken.  I think the panel idea is a good one and, perhaps in a different context, might work well for future Gatherings.

Jodi Lorimer’s Reflections

Zentangle presented by Sadelle Wiltshire

This was a wonderful workshop that was very satisfying and esteem-boosting for all participants, myself included, who do not consider ourselves artists. Using some very simple ideas, Sadelle broke down our ‘fear of drawing’ and made us quite proud of the results. The formula is just that, a structure, using the same repeating patterns contained within a framework. Drawing on heavy coaster-like paper tiles, despite our use of the same individual patterns of lines, curves (‘auras’) and circles, we each came up with totally unique images. The process is quite captivating and creative and allows for a focused, meditative space to open up. She uses this process herself as a way to relax and tune in before or between more intense projects. Similar to the labyrinth, it is a mindful meditation that opens us up to possibilities we didn’t know we possessed. We were all quite delighted with the results and the realization of just how artistic we were after all! She is online at www.tanglevermont.com and www.pumpkinspun.com

Kay Whipple’s Reflections

Post Gathering Brown County Art Tour

The post Gathering Art Tour was a scenic trip through beautiful Brown County to the T.C. Steele studio, gallery, and home. Steele was an impressionist artist who was well known nationally for his Indiana landscapes. We had a tour with a docent through the spacious studio/gallery, which was filled with light, and learned about the lives of this man and his family. Afterward, we were treated to a tour of his rambling home, with a wraparound porch, which offered scenic views of the gardens and valley below. The home has been preserved in its original condition, including the furniture and a large stuffed peacock, which fascinated the neighbors in his day.

The next stop was Nashville, which is a charming Southern Indiana shopping mecca and artist haven. We had a couple of hours to browse the galleries and shops, which had products ranging from the most sophisticated art and whimsical crafts to typical tourist bait. We had a great time and came back with everything from pumpkin fudge to pottery.

Kay Sandor’s Reflections

Introduction to Celestial Labyrinths by Beth Langley

Beth shared background information about the origins of Celestial Labyrinths (http://www.celestial-labyrinths.org/) and the originator, Adrian P. Kezele (Patrick Adrian) and his book Labyrinths and their Secrets. In this session, Beth also shared the seed patterns of the celestial labyrinths, their symbolism, and how to draw/build them. Beth also discussed her experience of the visiting the City of Celestial Labyrinths in Croatia where the nine celestial labyrinths have been newly constructed in a park.  I think her personal experience with the labyrinths in Croatia enhanced the session as she clearly explained the various labyrinths and their celestial meanings. Session attendees had the opportunity to draw the various seed patterns and then were encouraged to go out and create them on the Waycross grounds. I was personally drawn to the Labyrinth of the Moon.

Give Yourself

Give yourself to the path,

to each step, each word, each moment,

each small mercy, each held hand,

each meeting of the eyes.

Give yourself and the way will find you

and guide you.

You may do your planning,

your careful calculations, balance the checkbook,

pay the bills, park between the lines.

But when the time comes for dancing

listen to the wind,

turn and turn as the music beckons,

as the path lures you.

Sink to your knees in the center

of your calling, your wounds and all

your wild longings.

Speak the question at the center

of your wisdom, breathe in the betrayals and the chains.

Forgive yourself again.

Take the sword from your heart

and lay it on the path to be trampled

by all the pilgrims,

refined by the furnace of their hopes.

Then stand in the center,

all the bold tree of you

stand at the center of the world.

Be anointed, be chosen again

for the only work

large enough for your heart,

for your wonder and your wandering.

Be chosen again to live

in that fierce question

that sets your heart on fire.

Gary Boelhower at The Labyrinth Society Gathering 2015

Those who are acquainted with Tom Vetter know that behind the constant geyser of ingenuity, invention, and geo-topological morphery lurks an imp of Daedalian proportions, a punster sans-pareil, a Trickster of the first order. Earlier this year, your fearless editor invited Tom to instigate and host an informal Gathering Campfire Limerick and S'Mores session, and capture what he could (remember...). 

[Tom "Daedalus" Vetter and the righteous string.
Photo: Lars Howlett]

We may never know what actually transpired (what happens round the campfire, stays round the campfire), but we do know (1) Tom has a theory of labyrinthine humor, to be explored over the coming year, and (2) limericks (and verse) were produced round that bonfire. Here is a printable one, submitted by Anne Gordon. 

There once was a labyrinth at Chartres,

Whose image went straight to the heart.

She brought us all back,

When we strayed from the track,

Saying “I’m not just a nice work of art.”

Holiday Shopping That Supports TLS

This issue of TLS eNews continues to explore the impact labyrinths have in modern life, highlighting "Labyrinths in Prisons," (Spanish sub-titled version here) from The Labyrinth Society’s DVD, Labyrinths For Our Time.

Prison labyrinth ministries serve all populations: women, men and youths. In most cases they are an integral part of inmate therapy programs. It takes a certain kind of labyrinth enthusiast to go through the sometimes arduous process of becoming a prison labyrinth facilitator, especially in state and federal facilities, but the benefits to both the inmates and the volunteers are numerous. 

The full video is available for purchase in English now, and in Spanish translation shortly. The TLS website has resources for labyrinths in prisons, and our impact has been considerable. Lives are changed, as shown in this related Chicago Tribune article and this in-depth look at a prison garden labyrinth ministry. Help spread the good news of this peace-making tool to populations who really need some.