The students at IPS School #74 painted the lines of the labyrinth's paths. A BIG thank you to Bridget, the art teacher was instrumental in this endeavor!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Constructing the 7- Circuit Labyrinth
I was fortunate to work with John Ridder of PaxWorks in constructing a classic 7-circuit labyrinth. John donated the green canvas for the labyrinth. We began creating the labyrinth by determining the dimensions, drawing the top circles, and making the lower quadrants.
The basic technique for making a 7-circuit labyrinth is the same as for the Chartres labyrinth. We used a measuring guide to put down bits of tape, later connecting the lines traced with a silver Sharpie marker to produce the labyrinth.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
New Harmony, Indiana
New Harmony, Indiana has two labyrinths. The labyrinth symbolized for the Harmonists the difficult path of life to reach true harmony and perfection.
The Cathedral Labyrinth is outdoors and duplicates the original labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral. This labyrinth is constructed of polished granite. The rose in the middle of the labyrinth identifies its Chartres origin. The labyrinth builder and architects traveled to Chartres Cathedral to make an exact copy of the labyrinth.
The park in which the labyrinth is located was made specifically for the labyrinth, imitating the dimensions of the nave of the Chartres Cathedral. It was dedicated in October of 1998, by the then Rector of the Chartres Cathedral, Chanoine Francois Legaux. Janet Lawrence of Historic New Harmony cares for the labyrinth and hosts solstice walks. During the town's popular Heritage week labyrinth walks are held and specifically for children.
There is also a fountain added so that people can wash their feet before or after walking the labyrinth if they choose to walk it barefoot.
The park in which the Cathedral labyrinth is located was made specifically for the labyrinth, imitating the dimensions of the nave of Chartres Cathedral.
The other labyrinth, the Harmonist Labyrinth was originally built around 1815. It was then reconstructed in 1939 with hedges planted in a concentric circular pattern with one path which was established by the Harmony Society.
A small stone building called a grotto is placed at the centre, an authentic restoration of the Harmonist grotto.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
July 13, 2010
I went to Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in West Terre Haute, Indiana to meet with the Director Brother Barry Donaghue. Brother Barry is a trained and certified labyrinth facilitator who possesses and displays his love and dedication to the Catholic church, labyrinths, and poetry. I was fortunate enough to share and receive his knowledge, passion, and experience of labyrinths. With the assistance from the community he built an outdoor Chartres replica labyrinth on the grounds. He started with a canvas labyrinth that they still use indoors at Providence Center. He presented an incredible presentation of the history, meaning, and uses of labyrinths. I especially enjoyed his infusion of poetry throughout his presentation and discussion.
According to Brother Barry, walking the labyrinth, or otherwise a moving meditation allows one to present oneself, get rid of egos, and get in touch with humanity. The whole idea of journey is basic to humanity.
The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being. (Dag Hammarskjold)
Call the world if you Please "The Vale of Soul- making"by John Keats shows us that the soul takes onboard everything and creates psychic space in which we grow. A sacred space- a thin place in where we are drawn to place where the veil between this world and the other world is encountered. When one is in a 'Thin Place' one can feel the powerful energy and know that there is more than the world that our five senses knows. The labyrinth is a tool and a good place to do soul work.
Celtic saying, 'Heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller.'
The labyrinth walk overflows with metaphor and meaning. All over the world, people are searching for ways to express their deep desire to be on a journey to oneness with the holy of holies — to experience, if only for an instant, that transcendent moment. Walking labyrinths is a metaphor of going on a journey. It is to intentionally choose to be on a spiritual path. The call is to be on the move, trusting in the journey, open to seeing things in new ways. When one takes that first step in the labyrinth, one opens to the possibility of encountering the holy of holies on the path. The labyrinth walk is truly an inward journey and an outward sign of your willingness to be present to the holy. Expect to encounter the holy on this path with sure and certain knowledge, reaching and experiencing the center, home.
We humans quest for God and for self-knowledge. We, too, want to experience the holy moment, the presence of the holy. WE KNOW THIS: We cannot discover anything unless we look; we cannot move forward while standing still.
Adapted from “Labyrinths from the Outside In,” Schaper, Camp; Skylight Publishers, VT
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin was the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Born in 1798 in the village of Etables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin led an extraordinary life. She died on May 14, 1856, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 2006. shrine honoring Saint Mother Theodore Guerin is located at the front of the Church of the Immaculate Conception where Mother Theodore's remains reside.
I went to Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in West Terre Haute, Indiana to meet with the Director Brother Barry Donaghue. Brother Barry is a trained and certified labyrinth facilitator who possesses and displays his love and dedication to the Catholic church, labyrinths, and poetry. I was fortunate enough to share and receive his knowledge, passion, and experience of labyrinths. With the assistance from the community he built an outdoor Chartres replica labyrinth on the grounds. He started with a canvas labyrinth that they still use indoors at Providence Center. He presented an incredible presentation of the history, meaning, and uses of labyrinths. I especially enjoyed his infusion of poetry throughout his presentation and discussion.
According to Brother Barry, walking the labyrinth, or otherwise a moving meditation allows one to present oneself, get rid of egos, and get in touch with humanity. The whole idea of journey is basic to humanity.
The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being. (Dag Hammarskjold)
Call the world if you Please "The Vale of Soul- making"by John Keats shows us that the soul takes onboard everything and creates psychic space in which we grow. A sacred space- a thin place in where we are drawn to place where the veil between this world and the other world is encountered. When one is in a 'Thin Place' one can feel the powerful energy and know that there is more than the world that our five senses knows. The labyrinth is a tool and a good place to do soul work.
Celtic saying, 'Heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller.'
The labyrinth walk overflows with metaphor and meaning. All over the world, people are searching for ways to express their deep desire to be on a journey to oneness with the holy of holies — to experience, if only for an instant, that transcendent moment. Walking labyrinths is a metaphor of going on a journey. It is to intentionally choose to be on a spiritual path. The call is to be on the move, trusting in the journey, open to seeing things in new ways. When one takes that first step in the labyrinth, one opens to the possibility of encountering the holy of holies on the path. The labyrinth walk is truly an inward journey and an outward sign of your willingness to be present to the holy. Expect to encounter the holy on this path with sure and certain knowledge, reaching and experiencing the center, home.
We humans quest for God and for self-knowledge. We, too, want to experience the holy moment, the presence of the holy. WE KNOW THIS: We cannot discover anything unless we look; we cannot move forward while standing still.
Adapted from “Labyrinths from the Outside In,” Schaper, Camp; Skylight Publishers, VT
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin was the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Born in 1798 in the village of Etables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin led an extraordinary life. She died on May 14, 1856, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 2006. shrine honoring Saint Mother Theodore Guerin is located at the front of the Church of the Immaculate Conception where Mother Theodore's remains reside.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Saint-Quentin, France
June 2-3, 2010
The labyrinth in the parish church of the Basilica of Saint-Quentin consists of black and white stones that cover the entire pavement of the nave of the church. The center of the labyrinth is black. A seven pointed star invites pilgrims to enter the pavement stone labyrinth. This labyrinth like Amiens was copied from Chartres.
Le Basilique de St.-Quentin begun in 1195 and took 300 years to complete. The labyrinth was laid in 1495 and is also a medieval octagonal design. Flying buttress transepts were built to support the sagging towering glass walls.
Like the other medieval cathedrals, St.-Quentin was also once beautified by colorful paintings inside the cathedral.
Amiens, France
June 1- 2, 2010
Amiens Cathedral is generally considered to be the greatest example of High Gothic style as Amiens is the tallest Gothic church and largest cathedral in France. Just as Chartres cathedral was being finished, Amiens was being started.
Amiens became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe when the head of St. John the Baptist was brought back from Constantinople by Crusaders.
The Amiens labyrinth was installed in 1288 by the architect Renaud de Cormont (who signed his work) and bears an inscription naming the architects of the cathedral. Unfortunately, unlike the medieval labyrinth at Chartres, this one did not survive the Revolution intact; the present version is an exact copy made in the 19th century. Its path stretches 240 meters in length. The path turns are the same as the Chartres design, but they are organized in an octagon, and the path and lines are the same width. The path is the darker line. The central stone of the labyrinth has portraits in inlaid marble of the bishop who built the cathedral and the first three architects, with an inscription in copper naming the four figures and the year the foundation stone was laid (1220). You can see the original center stone in the Musée de Picardie.
Chartres, Amiens and Saint-Quentin cathedral labyrinths were all laid out in the same pattern. They were formed by 11 concentric circles that contained a single path which slowly leads to a center rosette. The path makes 28 loops, seven on the left side toward the center, then seven on the right side toward the center, followed by seven on the left side toward the outside, and finally seven on the right side toward the outside, ending in a short straight path to the rosette.
A school group of children also enjoyed walking the labyrinth!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Bayeux, France
The labyrinth is laid as a pavement in the Chapter House of Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy, France. This labyrinth is different in that it's not located in the nave of the cathedral but in the chapter house. Various dates are given from the thirteenth to sixteenth century.
After two days of fruitful attempts of phone calls, long walks and contact connections I was unable to see or walk the labyrinth. The labyrinth is kept locked and I could not find one person to unlock the chapter house.
I was very discouraged and so I used what time I had left to tour the medieval town.
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