Labyrinths have been around for over 4,000 years and are found in just about every major religious tradition in the world. The most famous is in Chartres, France, and was used to symbolically represent the pilgramige to the Holy Land during the Middle Ages. They have been an integral part of many cultures such as Native American, Greek, Celtic and Mayan. The Hopi considered the labyrinth the symbol for Mother Earth.

Today, they're being used for reflection, meditation, prayer and comfort. Like Stonehenge and the pyramids, they are magical geometric forms that define sacred space. When you walk a labyrinth, you meander back and forth, turning 180 degrees each time you enter a different circuit. As you shift your direction you also shift your awareness from right brain to left brain. This is one of the reasons the labyrinth can induce receptive states of consciousness and help to balance the chakras.

Each person's walk is a personal experience - a healing and sometimes very profound experience or just a pleasant walk. How you walk and what you receive differs each time. Some people use the walk for clearing the mind and centering, others enter with a question or concern. The time in the labyrinth's center can be used for receiving, reflecting, meditating, or praying, and what you receive can be integrated on the walk out.

Circles in the Sand
If you love the idea of walking a labyrinth by the ocean's edge, visit Circles in the Sand. They create walkable art that meanders across hard-pack sand after the tide has gone out. They typically do these in Bandon, half an hour north. Check their schedule to see if they're doing one during your visit. They're beautiful.

Guests have created a small altar
in the center of the labyrinth over the years,
occasionally adding something pretty.