The Labyrinth ? A Healing Experience
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A labyrinth is a single geometrical winding pathway, usually acorn shaped, varying in size and used for personal, psychological and spiritual renovation. It is a sacred space with healing powers that can assist in meditation, prayer, self-awareness and connection with the Divine. Labyrinths have existed for more than 4000 years and have been an integral part of many ancient cultures and religions. During the time of the Crusades, people created and used labyrinths to symbolize the physical pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They have also been depicted on pottery and in woven fabric patterns. Some labyrinths are carved out in gardens or simply made of stones or gravel. If you do not have room to create your own walking labyrinth, you can use a drawing and trace its path with your finger. (See drawing below.) You can achieve the same benefits as walking through one. You might also try tracing the path using your non-dominant hand for an additional challenge.
A labyrinth is a unicursal maze ? one path that begins at the entrance or mouth, which leads to its center and goes back out the same way. In contrast, a conventional maze is a left-brain exercise that requires the use of logic to find your way out. It is designed to stimulate the right brain, which unleashes creativity and intuition, and to give you the ability to enter a form of walking meditative state. There are no walls on the path to block site of the center goal or to block your way out.
Labyrinths represent a metaphor for your life path and the journey you are making. While walking the path of the labyrinth, either alone or with a group, focus on your feelings and emotions to allow you to connect with yourself. You may also want to choose a meditation that you are comfortable with in order to clear and quiet your mind. The uses of a labyrinth are many ? relief from stress and anxiety, healing, meditation, problem solving, enhancing intuition, expanding thought processes, communicating with the Divine, balancing mind, body and spirit, letting go of unwanted energies, obtaining goals, celebrating and remembering others, building trust in yourself or others, and coping with grief, sorrow and loss.
When walking a labyrinth, leave yourself open to the different emotions that may overcome you. You may experience feelings of euphoria or feelings of despair. Whatever feelings rise to the surface, accept them as a healing experience and an opportunity for growth on your path in life.?
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Click on the chalkboard picture below to enlarge image for use as a Finger Labyrinth.
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Chakra Alignment and Benefits
Use the interactive chart below to explore the different chakras and their meanings. Aligning the chakras is not only important for a healthy mind, body and spirit, but proper balance between them can open the doorway to psychic abilities and development. Once you understand the impact each chakra has, as well as its location within the body, you will be able to perform and visualize the following chakra alignment meditation.
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Find a place that is free of noise and distractions. Light a scented candle or a chakra energy candle. Select an image to focus on in your mind. Some people use a mandala, a beautiful set of geometric shapes layered on top of one another. It is essential to lie down flat on your back or sit in a comfortable chair with your feet touching the ground.
Close your eyes and begin to take a long, slow deep breath and inhale through your nose. Hold it in for one second and breathe out through your mouth. Imagine you are inhaling a ?plus? sign and exhaling a ?minus? sign.
You might want to play some soft background music or use a mantra to assist you in quieting your mind. A mantra is a word or short phrase that you repeat to yourself. This will help shut off unwanted mental chatter.
Continue breathing at this slow, deep pace. Inhale the plus signs. Exhale the minus signs. You are breathing in prana ? universal life-force energy.
Good. Keep breathing at this pace for a while. Do this until you feel a calmness throughout your entire body and mind.
Notice your arms and legs being supported by the bed or chair. Listen to the background music or even a ticking clock. Focus on your mantra. Take in the smell of the candle. Be aware of any good tastes in your mouth and keep it moist.
Start to imagine an escalator moving slowly upward into a multitude of colored mists. Step on the escalator.
As it moves upward, it slows down as it approaches a red colored mist. This red mist represents your root chakra and its energy flowing from the lower part of your body. Breathe it in deeply. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Tell yourself that you are physically grounded and that this energy can flow freely up throughout your whole body.
As the escalator continues to move, the red mist changes to a bright orange mist, which represents your sacral chakra. The mist is flowing from the area of your navel. Breathe it in deeply. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Tell yourself that you are virile and creative. Visualize the energy from the red mist flowing freely into the orange mist.
The next mist is a bright canary yellow, which represents your solar plexus chakra. It emanates from just above your navel. Breathe it in deeply. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Tell yourself that you are disciplined and intuitive. Your gut feelings are real. See the red and orange mists flowing into the yellow.
The escalator now moves toward a bright green mist, which flows from your heart and chest. Breathe it in deeply. Hold it. Let it out slowly. This is the area of your heart chakra. Communicate to yourself that you are loved and that you love unconditionally. Forgiveness allows this energy to move forward.
The mists of red, orange, yellow and green are now connecting to a vivid turquoise/aqua mist. This mist, which represents your throat chakra, is radiating from your throat. Breathe it in deeply. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Express to yourself that you are communicative and creative. Now see all these colors streaming into a mist of indigo.
This indigo colored mist emerges from the brow area above your eyes. Breathe it in deeply. Hold it. Let it out slowly. This is the energy from your third eye or brow chakra, through which you can see beyond the physical world. See it shoot out into the universe. Now reaffirm your wisdom and extrasensory abilities.
Look down the escalator at all the colors aligned together and connecting to a deep violet mist at the top of your head. This is your crown chakra. Deeply breathe in the Divine violet mist. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Tell yourself that you have a greater understanding of your inner and outer self. You are at this moment one with the universe.
You have just completed an alignment of your chakras. As you arise from your current position, reflect on the feelings that you have experienced. Repeat this exercise over and over. Eventually, you will start to get a stronger connection to your psychic self. If you encounter disarray on your life, this meditation will help you to achieve self-balance, which, in turn, smooths your journey of developing your psychic abilities.
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