Labyrinthine wondering

Yes I know the title might look as if it should be "wandering" but -see what I'm doing here?- it's a near pun because I'm trying to collect together a bunch of what seem to be useful links about this. Y'see, I'm currently in discussions with our counselling service to put on a couple of days events on 'mindfulness' and the labyrinth has been accepted as something we should do as part of that. The thinking is that mindfulness meditation has developed a body of research-based affirmation as something that can help mental health. It was mentioned that Edinburgh University has a permanent labyrinth which I must go to see, it raises intriguing possibilities, of course ...

So, one of my resulting tasks (self-offered) was to research some resources that we could put into the hands of students and staff of the university. This in turn means that I need to be able to select a good set of websites which have something for (nearly) everyone as our equality and diversity approach means that such resources need to be accessible as widely as possible and reasonable.

So, what have I been finding?

One page "The Labyrinth" takes a more general view, perhaps with a New Agey feel where there is something of a personal development focus and edge though some of the pages seem more Christian. It's part of a bigger site called 'Lessons4living' which is something of a clue about that. It has a number of links to further pages giving succinct information in each case. One helpful page -for the purposes of my research here- is on building a labyrinth. One of the things it mentions is having people work together to build one as the culmination of a labyrinth workshop. There is a further link to constructing a labyrinth here if you can put aside the 'mantic'/shamanic approach informing the general site (for me the main thing to take away was the need for 8 or 9 metres of space). For the context I'm thinking of using it, it was intriguing to find a page on using it with youth, "As a part of their training they were to walk a seven-circuit labyrinth and to reflect on the meaning of the labyrinth as a symbol for life's journey. In small discussion groups they listed their insights and then shared them with the larger group. " and it lists some of the things that came out of those discussion groups, for example:

Life is a journey in which every day doesn't necessarily bring you closer--sometimes you're closer to your goal than others, sometimes you're further away, but ultimately you'll get to where you want to go if you stay focused.

Beginning, middle (center) and end are connected with the same thing (God or whatever it means to you).

Sometimes it seemed like you were in the same place you had been, but you weren't. (Life doesn't end once you reach the focus or center.)

On the path, you pass people who have been where you are, other times you have been where others have been, but you're never at the exact same place at the same time.

Many twists and turns around rocky journey of life.

There seems to be some validity in keeping in mind a certain cross-cultural and spiritual poly-valency of the symbol/practice; "from Northern Europe to India a common pattern appears: the labyrinth is a symbol of a distant, more or less mythological, city, destroyed in the past. Although the identity of the city symbolized by the labyrinth varies, it is never a nearby or contemporary city" (from here). This would fit with the medieval Christian usage as a kind of substitute for actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

In terms of some Christians (normally EPCs) there can be mistrust of the use of labyrinths. This is well and succinctly articulated on this CANA site. The articulation is to be commended because it is reasonable and simple and boils the problem down to basics. Nevertheless, I think that there are responses that could be made and I hope to do so in due course (if I don't find another site that does so -and this one hyperlinked, is quite nice in terms of a theological reflection and even comes up with a very intriguing take on the Garden of Eden story in the light of Ouroboros myths). The tenor of this article contrasts somewhat with this one which  from a Christian PoV questions the craze for labyrinths but does so by the dubious tactic of choosing a position which doesn't necessarily seek to engage with the concerns the writer's audience are supposed to have and to dismiss the whole thing by disposing of those positions. This, of course, misses the possibility that there may be legitimate reasons for using the 'tool' in terms that might be acceptable to at least some EPC Christians. The tactic is like dismissing Christianity because of unbecoming behaviour of a few people in a prayer meeting (cf the Toronto Blessing). Admittedly it doesn't help that some of the protagonists of labyrinth walking within the church are a bit 'eccentric' theologically, but the solution to misuse is not abuse ... Perhaps part of the response to these detractors is to read a good attempt to appropriate the practice in a reasonably orthodox Christian way, like here.

It's intriguing to find that Islam doesn't have much on Labyrinths, but there is something -though latent, as the article says.

Here is one example of a Jewish use of labyrinth which seems to illustrate the idea that this is a tool whose metaphors are usable by a number of religious (and indeed non-religious) traditions. I found intriguing the idea that the Jewish history with labyrinths is more verbal than actual; more info here.

As for Sanatarma dharma, well, there's some intriguing info here and there is some evidence for links with Buddhism too.

There's a fairly well-known thoroughly Christianised version produced originally by Jonny Baker and friends. The site has a diagram of how to make it (it is useful if you want stations and a separate exit and entrance, the only downside is that it is so square and blocky. a curvier alternative would be good).

There is also an online labyrinth, as in a virtual walk, on the re:jesus site. This uses the YFC format and so the main content is essentially a version of the prayer stations that feature in that site. Pretty much the same thing on the Labyrinth site by Jonny Baker and friends.