How can the labyrinth help
me with forgiveness, you may ask. You also
may ask what is a labyrinth? I’ll answer
the second question first. A labyrinth is
an ancient, sacred, archetypal pattern that has
one path to and from the center.
Labyrinths have been found in every part of the
world and used in many cultures over the past
3,500 years. They are being used now
primarily for walking meditation and literally
to support people in becoming centered and
finding their center, among many other things.
A common interpretation of
the labyrinth journey is expressed in three
phases:
Surrender – the beginning
of your journey is a time to release, let go of
the daily struggles, worries, thoughts and
fears. This act of shedding what’s
blocking you or holding you back allows the mind
to become quieter, more open and begin emptying.
Illumination – being open
upon reaching the center of the labyrinth you
touch your center and receive the guidance and
light that God/Goddess, Spirit, Source has for
you.
Integration - as you
follow the path away from the center the
light/guidance received begins to integrate into
your life and service. You are now
bringing your light and talents out into the
world to do the service you are called to do –to
take action, to make a difference!
The path to forgiveness
follows a similar pattern with the first steps
being willingness and release. Nothing else
happens until you are willing to release
whatever you are holding onto. Before you
enter the labyrinth, the only choice needed is
whether to begin the journey or not. Once
you choose to begin, the journey unfolds one
step at a time - a wonderful metaphor for our
life’s journey! When the chakras, or
energy centers in the body, are superimposed on
the classical 7-path labyrinth, the path on
which you enter corresponds to the third chakra
or Solar Plexus. This is our power center
- the place of our will – which can be
interpreted as “being willing” to surrender to
the path.
In my experience,
willingness is frequently a large hurdle.
Being willing means I open myself to change and
boy, is that scary!! When my resistance is
great, I ask myself if I am willing to be
willing! My lack of willingness is
connected to my strong will and need to
tenaciously hold onto whatever belief or feeling
I’m clinging to. I have held onto a deep
need to be right which has definitely affected
my ability to let go and forgive others and
myself. I believe that need for rightness
is a mask for my fear of making mistakes, being
“wrong” or appearing to be a failure. I
have since come to believe that there is no
right or wrong, good or bad, success or failure.
Changing that belief has allowed me to shift
from judging others and myself to feeling
compassion towards others and myself.
As noted above, the first
part of the labyrinth journey is about
releasing. Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D. in
his book, “Teach Only Love”, lists seven
principles of Attitudinal Healing. The
seventh principle is “Forgiveness is the way to
true health and happiness. By not judging,
we release the past and let go of our fears of
the future. In so doing, we come to see
that everyone is our teacher and that every
circumstance is an opportunity for growth in
happiness, peace and love.” As I have
practiced seeing each person whom I encounter on
my path as a teacher and mirror, I am able to
release judgment and learn so much more about
myself. One of the great insights I gained
on the labyrinth was that we are all pilgrims on
the path with each of us having our distinct
path and yet sharing the same path with
everyone.
One of my most powerful
experiences with this concept of oneness was
when I had the privilege to take the labyrinth
to Russia in 1997 to present at a conference on
Exploring Creativity, Spirituality and the Arts
in the Helping Professions. Part of my
workshop was to have everyone walk the
labyrinth. So after some remarks about the
history and symbolism of the labyrinth, some 40
– 50 Russians and I began our walk. During
my walk, I was marveling at how I was across the
world walking the labyrinth in a country I had
learned to deeply fear during my childhood in
the 50’s. As I looked as those who were
walking with me, I realized that once we stepped
onto the labyrinth all the barriers of language,
customs, belief structures, and culture
disappeared. We were simply and
wonderfully just people sharing these moments of
our life paths together deeply connected at the
heart. Our sharing after the walk further
confirmed my realization. It was something
I will never forget.
During the early years of
my conscious growing process, my focus around
forgiveness was on forgiving others – especially
my parents for what they had done or not done to
me or with me. Once I detached from them
as my parents and saw them as people with
wounds, history, baggage, and fears who were
doing the best they could at the time, I let
them off the hook I had hung them on for years.
Later I learned the
importance of forgiving myself. What a
concept!! In many ways this has been much
harder because the harm I do to myself is
covered by my blind spots and much more subtle.
My inner critic or judge has always been quite
harsh – keeping my self-esteem low and my guilt
high. My perfectionist tendencies and my
belief that I’m not good enough, smart enough,
helpful enough, thoughtful enough, capable
enough etc, etc, etc. are products of the
frequent comments of my internal judge. So
in order for me to stop or at least slow down
the judging of others, I first needed to release
my need to put myself down.
Now all of this is a
process - a life process. Again, the
labyrinth is helpful here. As I walk the
circuitous path, experiencing the ebb and flow
of the pattern and my rhythms, I see that the
truth becomes clear as I open myself to the
process of life rather than focus on a
particular goal or outcome. One of the
truths about forgiveness is that whatever hurt
or anger I hold onto about another person or
event is only hurting me and keeping me from
achieving inner peace. Forgiveness brings
peace of mind which creates health according to
Gerald Jampolsky’s first principle of
Attitudinal Healing.
To me, the labyrinth
supports us in regaining our balance and finding
our center, which is connected to Source and
brings inner peace. Each time we walk and
are willing to release our fears, grudges, and
hurts, we open ourselves to receive more light
into our lives and ourselves thus allowing us to
shine that light in the world. And,
there is no greater joy than to serve others
from the heart with the talents and gifts only
you were given. Forgiving yourself and
others allows you to release into peace.
May joy and peace fill
your journey.
Spirit Matters
Judith Joyce
4507 Main Street
Waitsfield, VT 05673
802-496-9237; FAX:
802-496-9238
E-mail:
jmjoyce@spirit-matters.com
Website:
http://www.spirit-matters.com
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Spirit Matters, 2000
