34
Enlightenment Journal | 35
th
Anniversary Issue | Fall/Winter 2016–2017
Elena Kanti Fritchle
Guidance for healthy living shines continuously from the wisdom of
the soul, yet sense attachments and their friends, self-will and habit,
may overshadow it. Pause for a moment and seek the soul’s wisdom
before taking action.
—Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian
A
t times, we all become stressed, scared, angry, or confused. We have too
many inputs into our life; our thoughts and emotions seem to run away
with us, and we can’t find that place of inner calm, peace and wisdom, or
our next right step. This even happens for our children! Taking a pause, allowing
our thoughts and emotions to calm down can be helpful. A labyrinth walk can
provide exactly the pause we need.
As we walk the labyrinth back and forth, turning to the left and to the right,
focused on the path in front of us, our mind and emotions naturally calm down.
We can enhance the effect by gently focusing our mind on a specific inner quality,
such as peace, joy, love, courage, creativity, connection, strength or wisdom,
softly repeating the quality over and over again in our mind, or just allowing our
bodies to experience it as we walk. Arriving at the center, we can rest, absorbing
the present moment. Walking out of the labyrinth can feel like we are carrying a
gift to the world, even though we may not know what it is!
FINDING OUR CENTER WITH THE
Labyrinth
LIGHTING THE PATH FOR CHILDREN