...continued from previous page

Conversations With The Soul…
The Living Labyrinth

By Sandra Nelson

This summer I started working with tree limbs making walking sticks, staffs, prayer sticks and other ceremonial items. Often I would sit for hours removing the bark to discover the beautiful wood hidden inside. Raw, unprocessed wood carries healing energies like crystals and other stones. After working with limbs from several different trees, I was given a pile of branches of Rose of Sharon, a deciduous bush with rose-like blossoms. Removing the bark revealed wood that is stunningly white. In addition to its beauty, each piece felt bigger, fuller than its physical size. Rose of Sharon carries a feeling of wholeness. When describing this wood to a friend, I told her it felt “holy,” a word I normally wouldn’t use to describe anything. But it is true; Rose of Sharon carries the energy of wholeness and holiness. 

The center of the eleven-circuit labyrinth is often referred to as the “rosette.” The rose is often a symbol of Mother Mary. According to Artress, during the High Middle Ages, “The Cistercians, through Saint Bernard of Clairvaux… instituted the practice of the intercessionary prayers to her (Mary) frequently referring to her as the Rose of Sharon.” Using the word “holy” to describe the Rose of Sharon wood was quite appropriate after all. 

Driving to the campus the day of class, I was filled with anticipation to be reunited with a place that helped fill a void in my life nearly ten years before. Once there I wondered why I had stayed away for so long. Marylhurst University carries an energy of warmth and comfort; the mother’s arms that uplift a weary child. For that day, I was home again.

Following introductions, a tap on a small singing bowl cleared the room and announced a time for meditation. The ring of the bowl had lifted the veil between dimensions, and for a brief moment I heard whisperings from an ancient time. With the whisperings came a vision off to my left of a group of women clothed in veils. I knew then that the Unseen were there to guide and to walk with us.

We walked two labyrinths that day, a seven circuit in the morning and an eleven circuit in the afternoon. In preparation for our first walk, our instructor Eunice briefed us on the recommended manner of entering the labyrinth and asked us to journal our experience afterwards. A prayer rug was placed over the entrance with burning candles on each side. Then she stood, holding the space and honoring each of us with a welcoming nod when it was our turn to enter. 

As Eunice spoke, I noticed fear raising up from somewhere deep inside. I tried to ignore the fear and focus on the instructions but the more I did, the louder it became. That is when I realized how important and powerful this day was to me. I was going to release something near and dear to my ego: my unworthiness to receive. The little voice inside started shouting at me: “This is going to change absolutely everything. Are you sure that you want this? What will life be without it?”