The twisting path
May. 17th, 2006 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pjthompsonQuote(s) of the day:
"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger."
—Franklin P. Jones
"Children who tell adults everything are trying to make them as wise as they. Just as children who ask questions already know why the sky is blue and where the lost kitten has gone. What they need is the confirmation that the odd and frightening magic which has turned adults into giants has not completely addled their brains."
—Richard Bowes, "The Mask of the Rex"
Labyrinth of the day: Since labyrinths (not mazes) are a central metaphor in the next novel I hope to write, I've been wanting to walk one. Labyrinths are circular pathways with one way in, one way out; mazes are puzzles with twists and turns designed to confuse. Labyrinths are a way of getting away from left brain puzzle-solving, and bringing it in balance with the right brain; mazes are all about the left brain and trying to figure things out.
The "labyrinth movement" really took off after Dr. Lauren Artress, pastor of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, had one installed there (modeled after the one in Chartres Cathedral) and encouraged people to use it as a "body meditation."
Even if you're not Christian, walking a labyrinth can be an interesting tool. In fact, pagans of all sorts use labyrinths in ritual, too. It's helpful for getting in touch with archetypes and patterns, and with stripping down the incessant internal buzz so you can, maybe, after a time or two, figure out what you really feel about your life. Sometimes, for some people, a labyrinth is just a twisty walk to the center and a twisty walk back out again with no discernible goal. And what's the point of that? Guess you don't know until you try.
There's another common form of labyrinth, simpler than the Chartres model, and it's generally called the Cretan labyrinth. This is one of the oldest forms, going back at least a couple of millennia BC. I feel more drawn to this model, though I can't tell you why exactly. All labyrinths are potent symbols of death and rebirth, initiation, the spiritual journey.
So, here's the funny deal. There's a couple of places here in L.A. where they've got large permanent labyrinths that you can go walk. One of them is Forest Lawn Cemetary in Glendale. (I loves me some irony.) The other place has "Peace" in the name and I'm not telling you the rest. Because as my friend, Lynn, said, "Any place where I think there's even a remote chance I'll have to stand in a circle, hold somebody's hand, and tell the person on either side of me how much I appreciate them—is a place from which I run like hell."
Yeah, there's only so much hippy dippy I can take. We'll probably go walk the one at Forest Lawn.
"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger."
—Franklin P. Jones
"Children who tell adults everything are trying to make them as wise as they. Just as children who ask questions already know why the sky is blue and where the lost kitten has gone. What they need is the confirmation that the odd and frightening magic which has turned adults into giants has not completely addled their brains."
—Richard Bowes, "The Mask of the Rex"
Labyrinth of the day: Since labyrinths (not mazes) are a central metaphor in the next novel I hope to write, I've been wanting to walk one. Labyrinths are circular pathways with one way in, one way out; mazes are puzzles with twists and turns designed to confuse. Labyrinths are a way of getting away from left brain puzzle-solving, and bringing it in balance with the right brain; mazes are all about the left brain and trying to figure things out.
The "labyrinth movement" really took off after Dr. Lauren Artress, pastor of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, had one installed there (modeled after the one in Chartres Cathedral) and encouraged people to use it as a "body meditation."
Even if you're not Christian, walking a labyrinth can be an interesting tool. In fact, pagans of all sorts use labyrinths in ritual, too. It's helpful for getting in touch with archetypes and patterns, and with stripping down the incessant internal buzz so you can, maybe, after a time or two, figure out what you really feel about your life. Sometimes, for some people, a labyrinth is just a twisty walk to the center and a twisty walk back out again with no discernible goal. And what's the point of that? Guess you don't know until you try.
There's another common form of labyrinth, simpler than the Chartres model, and it's generally called the Cretan labyrinth. This is one of the oldest forms, going back at least a couple of millennia BC. I feel more drawn to this model, though I can't tell you why exactly. All labyrinths are potent symbols of death and rebirth, initiation, the spiritual journey.
So, here's the funny deal. There's a couple of places here in L.A. where they've got large permanent labyrinths that you can go walk. One of them is Forest Lawn Cemetary in Glendale. (I loves me some irony.) The other place has "Peace" in the name and I'm not telling you the rest. Because as my friend, Lynn, said, "Any place where I think there's even a remote chance I'll have to stand in a circle, hold somebody's hand, and tell the person on either side of me how much I appreciate them—is a place from which I run like hell."
Yeah, there's only so much hippy dippy I can take. We'll probably go walk the one at Forest Lawn.
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Date: 2006-05-17 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-05-17 11:07 pm (UTC)Interesting thoughts on labyrinths. And what's wrong with hippy dippy, eh? ;-)
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Date: 2006-05-18 10:07 am (UTC)And what's wrong with hippy dippy, eh? ;-)
"What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?"
Nothing, just as long as I don't have to hold hands in a circle and tell people how much I appreciate them.
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Date: 2006-05-18 11:11 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-05-18 10:39 pm (UTC)Well you're no fun. LOL.... C'mon now, take my hand and let's sing Kumbaya...
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Date: 2006-05-19 11:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-19 10:25 pm (UTC)