Passing through downtown Santa Fe, I walked my first labyrinth at St. Francis Cathedral Basilica. The tradition of walking labyrinths dates back farther than 20,000 years, and I've always been curious about the experience.
As I made my way through the repetitious twists and turns, I lost all sense of time and was consumed by an overwhelming sense of presence. It was all I could do to focus on each step. Looking forward or behind made me dizzy. And with every intention being on my next step, there was no room for my mind to wander in thought.
The walkers were of all ages. We kept time and step with each other, all walking one path, to the heart of the labyrinth and back out again.
Looking from the outside, it seems a bit daunting--the circles encircled by circles connected by passageways. I had mistakenly thought it was like a "maze." But that is not true. There is one lone path. And on it, you are never lost--for it all leads to the same place and back out again.
Very symbolic of life. It is no wonder people have walked labyrinths for centuries both in grief and celebration...a communal portal to "being." I would've thought that in the last 20,000 years, we would have some how evolved to have that "being" down by now...but in our multi-tasking, cyber-searching and cell phone talking, it's so easy to walk along dazed in the buzzing and beeping and ringing and clicking. It seems we still need a tool to help transport us into the moment.
And thus, the medicine of the labyrinth...walking the twists and turns, passing through the ebb and flow, a sense of togetherness, each step in presence...a sacred ritual and human-made passageway, mimicking the patterns of nature, leading us "home."
