Do you remember how walking in the woods made you feel when you were a child? I do. It was joyful. Walking on paths through the woods is one of my earliest memories of being contemplative, connected with something beautiful, something bigger than my everyday life. It was a spiritual awakening, different from anything I had been taught in parochial school. Spirituality that is experienced and not learned. Absorbed through the skin like warmth from an autumn sun. It was mindful before I knew what mindfulness was. A walking meditation. A way to be fully present in the moment.
On a sunny day in January, I took a walk in the woods at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick, Maine. Taking the Garden Trail for a short distance I came upon a clearing in the woods. In the center of the clearing was a labyrinth, a circular path marked with stones. A coating of fresh snow covered the ground, enough to leave tracks, but not enough to hide the granite paving stones marking a path leading to three stone benches in the center. This is Labyrinth in the Woods. A place where body, mind and soul come together. A place to meditate, to be mindful, to let stress melt away, and to experience life as a series of moments, the most important moment being the one you are in. Immersed in nature, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, and the cold breeze on my hands, I walked the path, slowly, deliberately.
Walking labyrinths is an ancient practice that promotes mental wellness, reflection, well-being and healing. Labyrinth in the Woods at Crystal Spring Farm is just such a place. Opened in 2016, Labyrinth in the Woods was conceived by the Reverend Mary Baard, Senior Pastor at the First Parish Church UCC of Brunswick (FPC) and facilitated by the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (BTLT). It was a way to extend the FPC’s labyrinth ministry to an outdoor venue, surrounded by the Arcadian sights and sounds that only nature can provide. BTLT’s Executive Director at the time, Angela Twitchell commented, “The Labyrinth provides a great way to connect people of all faiths with nature.”
Labyrinths have been around for more than 4,000 years. Found across a wide diversity of cultures in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, designs include Cretan labyrinths steeped in Greek mythology, the Chakra Vyuha (“Spinning Wheel Formation”) found in Indian temples, and the Tohono O’odham (“Man in the Maze”) pattern in North America.
During the Middle Ages walking labyrinths could be found in 25% of cathedrals. One such place is the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France. Completed in 1220, this walking labyrinth was a place for meditation and prayer. It was intended to be a pilgrimage, a way to quiet the mind, reduce anxiety, and allow the body and soul to come together. The Chartres pattern became very popular in other Middle Ages’ walking labyrinths.
“The Labyrinth provides a great way to connect people of all faiths with nature.”
What happens when you build a walking labyrinth in a natural setting, say the woods for example? You combine the transcendent benefits of a walking labyrinth with the sensorial stimulation that nature provides when you allow yourself to be immersed in it. Forest therapy, also known as shinrin-yoku or forest bathing, was developed in Japan in the 1980s. By immersing yourself in nature in a slow and mindful way, and using all your senses to take in the surrounding beauty, you reduce stress and anxiety. Studies have demonstrated that forest bathing can decrease the stress hormone cortisol. Reducing serum and salivary cortisol levels help to reduce stress.
"The Labyrinth is a spiritual tool that has many applications in various settings. It reduces stress, quiets the mind and opens the heart. It is a walking meditation, a path of prayer, and a blueprint where psyche meets Spirit.”
- Dr. Lauren Artress, Founder Veriditas
So, go and walk the Labyrinth in the Woods at Crystal Spring Farm. Clear your mind. Walk to the center and back slowly, deliberately, and without expectations. Take in the sights and sounds of the forest surrounding you. Pray, meditate and quiet your mind from what stresses you. Be in the moment. This is your time to do something that may make you healthier, happier, less stressed and more at peace. We could all use a little more “happy” in our lives.
"Patrick Sandefur" is a proud father, lucky husband, devoted runner, and the founder of Elevate Running, a division of Bass Harbor Group. My 40+ years of running changed my life in so many ways and at so many levels. It unchained me. It helped me to see the possibilities that a life well lived has to offer.
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