22 June 2008

Labyrinthine

United Methodist Church Ventura

I pretty much spent the entire weekend researching labyrinths for one of Alicia's crazy projects. We drove all over the county when it was hot as hell, looking for labyrinths and taking photos - and we had a lot of fun.

The trip involved about 18 stops for iced coffee (my fault) and/or bathroom use (me, again) and 56 last-minute turns into church parking lots, frightening other drivers.

A labyrinth, BTW, is (at least in its modern form) a meditation device. You walk along the meandering path toward the center.

It is interesting, because the way the patterns are laid out, you lose track of where you are going and can't predict where the next turn will take you, so your mind does kind of disconnect.

Alicia wants to get her work (a gov't agency where tensions are often very high) to construct one at her workplace, out in the miles of green lawn that surrounds her building.

She admitted that she is lucky to have friends like me and Ish, who went along with her and hauled out the Very Dangerous Broken Ladder over and over to get good photos of the 8 various labyrinths we found.

At first I thought "If you have seen one labyrinth, haven't you seen them all?" Nope. Each labyrinth has its own unique personality. So going to see all 8 was an odd, different kind of cultural experience, one I am glad to have had.

St. Francis Episcopal, Simi Valley

I am beat. Check the photos out here.

In addition to the labyrinths, we also found a gorgeous sculpture, which I loved despite its overtly Christian theme. Give me something blue and glowy and I am so good.
Water in the Wilderness sculpture

12 comments:

Kizz said...

I have been flipping through the pics on Flickr wondering what the heck you were up to. I've never walked a labyrinth before and now I'm yearning to.

thailandchani said...

Beautiful! I am surprised you were able to get so many photos when it really was SO hot out!

Count Mockula said...

There's a labyrinth at my hippie hot springs, and I walk it every time. It's very calming.

LittlePea said...

I've heard of those and always wanted to try. I've never seen any here though.

SUEB0B said...

There is a labyrinth locator!

http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/locate-a-labyrinth

Suzanne Reisman said...

One of the sites in my book is a labyrinth in Staten Island. I do not have such awesome photos of it, though.

claire said...

oh yay! there are two near me on Long Island (NY) that i know of. One on the college campus that my cousin used to live on. I loved going there.
I spent a lot of late nights walking the labyrinth there after getting away from a rowdy party. Such a great way to clear your mind.

Susan C said...

Anyone who would go anywhere in this heat is a great friend.

I like what you said about each labyrinth having its own personality.

Karen Bodkin said...

Very cool! Great pics!

Amber Star said...

The labyrinth thing has really come back recently, and from the way you described your quest for different ones over the weekend that was like a larger labyrinth...hmmm...maybe so.

Enjoyed your post. The few labyrinths I looked at on flickr seemed small for losing track and letting the mind wander.

Crazy Charlene said...

beautiful pics~~ so calming

Sister Wolf said...

Has anyone told you lately how much you rule?

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