The Making of a Labyrinth

my rock labyrinth after mowing around it

If you have followed my blogpost for any length of time, then you might know that walking/praying a labyrinth is part of my spiritual practice.

My very first post about labyrinths was in 2010-- "Handmade rock labyrinths, listening, and a rule of life" There are 56 posts that mention labyrinths or are fully dedicated to labyrinths. There are posts about different labyrinths I have found in GA, NC, TN, FL. There are posts about World Labyrinth Day from several different years. You can search "labyrinth" on the blog and find them all. "Walking the path... my labyrinth experiences" is a post from 2014 about experiences up to that point. That was 12 years ago. I have had many more labyrinth experiences since then.

This post is entitled "The Making of a Labyrinth" as I share about a labyrinth I made recently for World Labyrinth Day. I have wanted to create a labyrinth for a long time. I have eyed my backyard and river stones for quite a while. Though I have helped build a labyrinth once with a garden hose for a retreat, I have not built one by myself. I take that back-- I have mowed partial labyrinths in my yard several times in both grass and leaves. :)

As the notion of creating a labyrinth grew inside me, I pulled up different models on my phone to get an idea of what to do. I knew I could only do a small one in the yard, so I planned to do a three circuit one. The Saturday prior to World Labyrinth Day I started. I placed rocks on the outside. Then I created the inside. I wasn't fully paying attention to what I was doing and noticed I had created a semi-heart shape. That was cool. It may not look like a heart to everyone, but it's close. (#SeeAHeartShareAHeart) Next steps were to keep going around and around. I didn't have enough rocks, so I used sticks to finish out the path. I don't know if you can tell by the pictures below where the sticks were. They were on the outside circuit.

On World Labyrinth Day, the following Saturday, I added more rocks. 

The path is narrow in places, but it is walkable. There is a dip in the ground at the very beginning. 

I recently mowed around it and weed-whacked the inside of the path. 

Having a labyrinth in the backyard means I can walk it in the mornings with my coffee or in the evenings (often with coffee). It has allowed me to walk and pray more often. That has been good. 

I don't see this labyrinth as a permanent feature, mainly because others share the back yard with me. They have been very gracious so far and haven't asked me to undo it. :)

Here are some photos of the labyrinth and the making of it. It's not perfect, but neither is the path of life. I am happy with the process and the result. 

I haven't yet counted the rocks. It was a labor of love and an adventure to create this rock labyrinth.

Thanks for reading about it. :)

Debra

Here are photos of the process:

my model (top one)

how it started

next steps

Cliff enjoying the path

morning coffee

a squirrel enjoying the rock path

LINKS:

 (There are MANY more links and resources out there from websites with articles and information, to videos, to books, etc.. These are just a few to get you started.)

• World Labyrinth Day
• Labyrinth Locator
• Many Ways to Pray: Walking a Labyrinth
• A Guided Path
• Labyrinth Resources

World Labyrinth Day 2024

A few months back I offered to lead and teach a session on prayer labyrinths at the church that sent me into ministry, Burks UMC in Hixson, TN. They began a monthly prayer focus on the first Saturday of each month, so it fit in well. My plan was to talk briefly, allow people to learn by experience, then debrief their experience.

photo taken in 2016 of labyrinth

I used this photo for "advertising"

The labyrinth at Burks UMC is outdoors. In the back of my mind, I did ask myself 'what about rain?'. Well, I intended to check into finding an indoor labyrinth to have on hand, but then there was a death in the family that took priority of brain, time, and energy. I prepared for it to be outdoors by gathering several labyrinth books, printing out some brochures from the church, a history of the Burks UMC labyrinth, and an article about the health benefits of walking a labyrinth.

Then the day came. It rained. Oops. I grabbed my hiking raincoat and some umbrellas and headed over there. I set up things in the back of my car, with the trunk open. Thankfully, the rain was more of a drizzle. People did show up! We had a total of 6 (including myself) for the World Labyrinth Day at Burks UMC.

Here is what I posted on social media and some of the pictures I took:

World Labyrinth Day 2024 at Burks UMC.

5 brave souls (+ me = 6) came out in the sprinkling rain to walk and pray the labyrinth at Burks UMC on this World Labyrinth Day. Some brought their own umbrellas and others used some I brought. The rain slacked off eventually. The smell of honeysuckle filled the air and birds chirped and sang. It was a beautiful time to learn, to experience, to practice, to pray. It was good to hear the reflections of those who attended. The second time I walked I saw a mushroom on the path and a bunny on the outside.

#WorldLabyrinthDay

#WorldLabyrinthDay2024

#labyrinth

#spiritualpractice

#BurksUMC

The Luna bar quote says:

"Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire."

I enjoy teaching others. I enjoy teaching, leading, and sharing the spiritual practices that are meaningful to me with others. I am a shepherd pastor. It is good for me to be able to live into my created being. And to do so on a day that commemorated the anniversary of the passing of the ordination for women in the United Methodist Church.... well, that added meaning. I was living into my leading and being, in spite of ongoing challenges in society that tell me I cannot be a pastor because of my gender. 

If you are interested in learning more about labyrinths, you don't need to wait until the first Saturday in May. 

There are links below to The Labyrinth Society and a labyrinth locator so you can find a labyrinth near you. 

If you are in the Chattanooga/N. Georgia area and you've never walked/prayed a labyrinth, I will be glad to accompany you. There are several in our area.

Peace on the journey, 

Deb

LINKS:

The Labyrinth Society

The Labyrinth Locator

OTHER BLOGPOSTS I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT LABYRINTHS:

(NOTE: I actually have written close to 30 blogposts about labyrinths. I am not going to post them all here. If you are interested in finding them, you can search the term "labyrinth" in my blog. I have written about most every labyrinth that I've walked, except the new one I recently walked in Sarasota, FL. I'll get around to it (a round "tuit") eventually.

World Labyrinth Day 2018

Walking the path... my labyrinth experiences 

World Labyrinth Day 2018

World Labyrinth Day 2018 was this past Saturday, May 5th.  Folks were encouraged to find a local labyrinth and join together across the world at 1pm.  It is always held on the first Saturday in May.  This year was the 10th celebration.  You can find out more about it at the Labyrinth Society's link to World Labyrinth Day here.

I attended a celebration of life service on Saturday, so I did my labyrinth walk yesterday.

I went to a labyrinth I often visit when I am in Fort Oglethorpe, GA. It is at the Church of the Nativity, an Episcopal church.  The church is located at 1201 Cross Street.

When I arrived yesterday, I noticed right away that there were stacked stones (cairns) throughout the labyrinth. This was the first time I have seen them stacked. I was curious if it had been part of the world labyrinth day celebration or some other occasion or if someone simply came along and made the stacks.

As I walked and prayed, I found a heart rock. I noticed the flowers, I stopped to fix some of the stacks that had toppled over.

Website for Church of the Nativity (from the website, you can read more about labyrinths in general and their labyrinth)

Want to know more about labyrinths? The labyrinth society is a great resource.  Check out their website below.  Not only can you learn about them, but you can also locate them locally to where you are. (Not all labyrinths are posted on their site, so ask around in your community.)

Website for the Labyrinth Society

After posting a picture yesterday that I had walked and prayed the labyrinth, a friend posted that St. Peter's Episcopal on Ashland Terrace in Chattanooga, TN is soon on creating/building a labyrinth.  With that one and the Church of the Nazarene in Flintstone, GA (there are in the process of building one too), that will be two new ones locally for me to visit.

I have written about my other labyrinth prayer walks and the other local labyrinths in my community that I have found thus far.  If you are interested in reading those blog posts, simply search for the label "labyrinth".

Blessings on your journey,

Debra