LABYRINTH

Lake Travis United Methodist Church has one of four public outdoor labyrinths in the Austin area. Our labyrinth is a replica of the eleven circuit labyrinth inlaid in the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France around the year 1200 AD. Ours overlooks the beautiful hill country and Lake Travis. It is located behind the church sanctuary and is open to the public during daylight hours.

The labyrinth is an archetypal pattern, a "divine imprint," found in religious traditions in various forms around the world. It is believed that the labyrinths in the European cathedrals were walked by thousands of the faithful as a symbolic way of making a pilgrimage to the Holy City, Jerusalem.

The labyrinth is not a maze - there is only one path and there are no tricks and no dead ends. It is designed to quiet the mind and lead the walker by a winding route to the center, and then, by the same route, to return to the exit.

In recent years, walking the Labyrinth has been rediscovered as a meditation tool connecting and integrating body, mind and spirit. It is used for prayer and meditation and as a metaphor for the spiritual journey, the labyrinth suggests insights and analogies for each person's place on the spiritual path. People of all ages are using the Labyrinth. Many churches use portable canvas labyrinths or integrate them into courtyards and meditation gardens. Several medical centers have placed a labyrinth on their grounds for use by staff, patients, and their families.

The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress, Canon of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California, is credited with introducing labyrinths in the U.S. in the 1980's. Her book, Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, (Riverhead Books) is considered the best resource book on the Labyrinth.

Information is also available locally through New Life Institute and their website:www.newlifetexas.org