WALK THE LINE
By LISA GUTIERREZ/The Kansas City Star Columnist
Date: 10/11/01
Before we start this discussion of labyrinths, a few words about what this
story is not.
This is not a story about mazes.
A labyrinth is not a maze.
Registered nurse Jacque Carpenter often corrects that misconception
when she
teaches people how to create labyrinths in their homes.
By LISA GUTIERREZ/The Kansas City Star Columnist
Date: 10/11/01
A labyrinth is not a maze. Registered nurse Jacque Carpenter often corrects that misconception
when she teaches people how to create labyrinths in their homes.
A labyrinth is a geometric form that defines a space that can be used for
meditation, prayer or simple quiet time.
It is a design and meditation tool
more than 3,000 years old.
Many labyrinths look like a series of concentric circles or spirals. But no
matter how intricate a labyrinth may appear, it is, in reality, a single, curving
path. Hence the person who follows the path need focus only on the journey
and not worry about what turns to take to reach the middle.
"It's not a maze, which creates choices," says Carpenter, who lives in
Cleveland in Cass County.
"In a labyrinth, there is no wrong way to go."
Labyrinths have gained popularity the last 10 years. They are popping up
across the country at public parks and gardens, churches, schools, hospitals
and even prisons, according to the Labyrinth Society, an international
organization that works to educate the public and lend support to labyrinth
designers.
In March 2000 the society sponsored a Labyrinths for Peace event in
Washington, D.C. Hundreds of people walked through labyrinths on the east
lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
In the wake of events unfolding since Sept 11th, Toby Evans has heard from people
around the world who are walking labyrinths. "Now is the time to be using
them," said Evans, a founding member of the Labyrinth Society who lives in
Sibley in eastern Jackson County.
"So many people are feeling helpless with what's going on. With a labyrinth
you can find a place to get balanced, with the intent to hold
peace inside yourself.
Not all labyrinths look alike. Internet Web sites offer labyrinth screen savers
that can be traced with a finger, and some people use the same finger-walking
technique on labyrinth designs printed on paper.
The labyrinths that Carpenter demonstrates in community education classes
at St. Joseph Health Center can be marked off on a floor using masking tape.
Labyrinths can be formed from nature, too, using berms and hedges or stones
laid on the ground as the "walls." A labyrinth at Unity Church of Overland
Park, for instance, is marked off with rocks placed on soil.
Evans created her labyrinth by mowing the pattern into prairie grass in her back
yard.
The labyrinth, on five acres where the artist and musician lives in Sibley
stands where soybeans used to grow. Readers of two magazines -- "Spirituality
and Health" and "Health" -- will see stories and photos about her labyrinth this
month.
"The labyrinth is my pause button," Evans said. "It's how I step out of the mind chatter,
the stress, the craziness. It's not like taking a bubble bath because it's more
focused."
The walls of Evans' labyrinth are tall now that the Big Bluestem, Indian grass
and Switch grass have reached their fall height. The 4-foot-wide path is mowed
short and leads to benches in the middle of the labyrinth where a traveler can
rest, meditate or just enjoy the murmur of the wind before retracing her steps
to the beginning.
Evans recently self-published a book called Keeper of the Circles that captures
her passion for this form of moving meditation.
"A maze gives you the chance to lose yourself," Evans said. "You walk a
labyrinth to find yourself."
For the last three years, retreat participants and other visitors to Unity Village
near Lee's Summit have walked a labyrinth painted on a parking lot there.
"Just about any time I look out, there's somebody walking on it," said Tom
Taylor, director of community relations.
Taylor has walked the labyrinth, which is almost a mile long from start to
finish. He found it a peaceful journey that he said others might find just as
helpful now.
"When you don't know which way the path is going next, you just kind of
focus on that and shut out the rest of the world and everything else going on
around you," Taylor said.
The labyrinth at Unity Village inspired Jacque Carpenter's interest when she
first walked it a few years ago. She co-owns a business, Connecting Journeys
to Health, that teaches holistic strategies for pain management.
She created a labyrinth leading to a water garden in her back yard by marking
a path with potted plants and flower beds, something anyone can do in their
yard. "It is a very quieting, peaceful place," she said.
There are those who walk a labyrinth expecting some big "thing" or revelation
to occur, Carpenter said, but that doesn't always happen.
Labyrinth walkers need to let go of expectations, she said. "It's OK to take a
problem in and think about it, but you may come out with knowledge of
something else."
For instance, "some people get very anxious on the path," Carpenter said.
"There are some labyrinths where you can't see where you're going and you
have to trust that you are going the right way.
Carpenter likes to think of the labyrinth journey as a metaphor for life: The
walk can reveal much about how people live their lives.
"You finally realize when you get to the center, `I do that in my own life. I
second-guess myself. I question myself.' "
Sometimes people who started behind you seem to be ahead of you, a trick of
the eye that raises the competitive juices in some people, defeating the purpose
of the trip.
"We are very product-oriented, but this honors the process," Carpenter said.
"Being able to honor the journey is very hard for people.
"Sometimes it's letting go of the need to be perfect and honoring our imperfect
selves."
Carpenter said that people who take her class often are searching for ways to
discover more about themselves. Evans sees the same thirst in people who visit
her labyrinth, which is open by appointment.
"The people who come to my labyrinth have an interest in their own
self-growth," Evans said. "It is a place to practice change."
There is no right or wrong way to walk through a labyrinth. Slow. Fast. It
doesn't matter. Carpenter tells students they can run or skip if they want.
But on this point she and Evans are of one mind: The most important step is
simply the first.
To reach Lisa Gutierrez, features reporter, call (816) 234-4987 or send e-mail
to lgutierrez@kcstar.com.