Out of the Box - Walking a Labyrinth

http://www.burfordosb.org.uk/

So I was thinking about meditation, something I have tried recently... and I wanted to know more about the art. Essentially meditation is where a person finds a relaxing state of mind, away from troubles and stressors in his or her life. This is definitely a good way to find stress relief (especially for the college student). Essentially it is free, but for the more serious prospectors, walking a labyrinth may be the thing for you.

What does this mean? For thousands of year different religions have practiced the art of meditation and many have used labyrinths that "recreate archetypal patterns associated with numerous cultural and spiritual symbols" (Monroe, 2008, p. 95). I was fascinated in learning about such labyrinths, since they seem to be a part of such rich history. Their creation is one of many forms, as well. Such labyrinths can be constructed by rocks, a dirt path, or even something that was drawn or painted onto a canvas. The idea here today with labyrinths is using them for stress relief and relaxation for those people that may have a hard time sitting still. Instead of sitting and meditating without moving, people in the labyrinth may move freely and still come upon a sense of relief and calmness.

Does this labyrinth business sound pretty cool? So where can you go find one of this labyrinths, you ask? By searching on a handy dandy website (http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/), I found one at my local hospital that is open to the public.

You can also make your own labyrinth for little cost, depending on the type you want. This website has some interesting information about it: http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/
Check it out! It's actually pretty cool, and not as weird as it may seem (although this whole topic does remind me of the David Bowie movie a bit). ;P