TRANSCRIPT OF PLENARY TALK TO THE NATIONAL GATHERING, AMERICAN PILGRIMS ON THE CAMINO FRIDAY MARCH 24 2017 THE CALVIN CENTER, HAMPTON GEORGIA LINDA FITTS - this material may be used with permission only Integrating the Labyrinth Into the Camino Life This morning we will be talking about Integrating the Labyrinth into the Camino Life. We will place the labyrinth in the greater context of pilgrimage, and examine the use of the labyrinth both to prepare for pilgrimage and to debrief or unpack the experience. We will talk briefly about the mechanics of walking the labyrinth. We will experience the labyrinth walk in the breakout session on the labyrinth, along with some suggested rituals for your labyrinth walk. Before we speak in detail about the labyrinth, lets talk about pilgrimage more generally. Why choose pilgrimage? All travel contains some kind of intention. Tourism seeks the destination, the cultural and historic sites, the novel food and surroundings. There is a tourism component of the Camino for many people. So how is pilgrimage different? Pilgrimage for many, involves a process of seeking. Although the destination is part of the journey, for pilgrims it is not necessarily the main focus. It is not uncommon for pilgrims to soon sense that the destination is irrelevant. Pilgrims may stop counting the distance or even the days involved their journey. Pilgrimage drifts into a sense of timelessness. And pilgrimage is inevitably transforming. I Why is labyrinth walking and pilgrimage reemerging in our modern world? We can drill down to many factors- the emergence of virtual communication over the more personal and tactile communication of time face to face, the feel of a letter or a photograph. Our world is bigger and more electronically connected, but we feel more lonely. We are more aware of political and social upheaval in a world that overloads us with information 24 hours a day. How do we sustain our balance in a world like this? Pilgrimage answers some of these questions. Sabbath time is a time of rest and repose. It was placed by sacred design into the scheme of our time on earth. We function best when we provide times of rest in our lives. The surrender of sabbath time may be at the heart of human maladies- exhaustion, burnout, depression, a sense of feeling empty and lost.
We are not talking about a day off where one sleeps in, sits around. We are talking about an active engagement in psychic rest. Pilgrimage walking is a sort of sabbatical, a pulling away from one s world, one s routine, to find rest in a form of active engagement. Preparing for the Camino, and re-entry after completing the pilgrimage walk, can stir many thoughts, emotions and dreams. These experiences can be explored through an approach of mindfulness, contemplation and meditation. The labyrinth offers a means to this exploration. THE HISTORY OF THE LABYRINTH AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE PILGRIMAGE WALK: Both pilgrimage walking and the labyrinth are ancient religious and cultural forms dating back thousands of years. Both practices cross geographical, cultural and religious boundaries and have a certain universality in the appeal to the human heart. The Classic or Baltic labyrinth is thought to date from prechristian times and is the design used here at The Calvin Center in its outdoor installation. Christianity appropriated the use of labyrinths early in its emergence in the western world. One of the most famous labyrinth designs lies in the floor of the world famous Gothic cathedral, Notre Dame de Chartres in the small village of Chartres 100 km southwest of Paris. Labyrinths were installed in the floors of many churches throughout Europe following the Crusades as an alternative pilgrimage destination against the hazards and expense of the journey to Rome, Jerusalem or Santiago, the three major pilgrimage destinations of the Medieval Christian world. The Chemin St Jaques, or the Way of St. James, passes in front of the Western Portal at Chartres. The labyrinth within the cathedral is intimately connected to the Way of St James and is itself, a pilgrimage destination. Lets talk about the design and structure of the labyrinth. Unlike a maze, with multiple pathways and dead ends, the labyrinth contains a single pathway that winds in spiraling fashion through the pattern toward the center. The pilgrim enters the pattern through the portal on the perimeter and follows the pathway through its turns and curves. The pathway ends at the center where the pilgrim
can pause for moments of contemplation, repose and illumination. The pattern may be exited by following the same pathway outward, eventually reaching the portal to exit the labyrinth. The labyrinth walk is rich in metaphor that directly speaks to us about pilgrimage. What does the labyrinth offer? 1) The labyrinth is sacred without being religious and provides for ritual that is free of the dogma of religion 2) The labyrinth offers the sanctuary of a politics-free zone 3) The labyrinth links us to an ancient past and connects us to ancient roots 4) The labyrinth is a unique instrument for experiencing community 5) The labyrinth is a portal through which we experience deeper levels of perception of ourselves and our capacity for healing 6) The labyrinth connects our body and physical sensations to the spiritual and contemplative state Lauren Artress, the founder of Veriditas, an international organization sponsoring labyrinth education and the use of the labyrinth, talks about intentionality in pilgrimage. She describes our outer intention; the one we tell ourself and others as the reason for our pilgrimage. Then there is the inner intention, the one that emerges in our awareness as we prepare for and travel the pilgrim path. Finally, there is the secret- the intention we may not become aware of for some time after the pilgrimage walk is through. It may not come until days, months, years later. All three will emerge. All three can be discerned through contemplative practices including the labyrinth walk. Carl Jung, psychoanalyst and protege of Sigmund Freud, speaks of the shadow. This is the unclaimed part of ourselves of which we may not be conscious, the part that may contradict what we believe about ourselves. The shadow also contains the gifts and talents we are afraid to use, as well as unfinished business that accumulates over time. The shadow may emerge in the process of identifying our intentions, and as part of the transformative power of the pilgrim walk. Hildegard of Bingen, 13th century Benedictine abess, writer, composer, and Christian mystic, describes The Threefold Path, the mystical path by which we experience the Divine. They are: Purgation, Illumination and Union or Transformation.
Purgation represents letting go, quieting the mind, shedding our thoughts and worries. We relinquish control and surrender our daily concerns. This can be difficult and anxiety provoking for some people. This may be the portion of the labyrinth walk from the portal toward the center. Illumination is the second stage of the Threefold Path. This may occur after the process of letting go and releasing burdens, leaving room now for the next stage. These are the moments of insight, clarity. This is the ahh-ha moment. The flash of inspiration and awareness. We may have a feeling of being centered in ourselves and our world. We love the serenity of the center. We have reached what feels like a destination but in reality is a moment of pause and reflection. Illumination may come at the center of the labyrinth, or on our arrival to Santiago. But illumination does not necessarily correspond to a particular place or destination. Illumination may occur on the road, at a small chapel or an albergue. Arriving at the destination may not be the same as arriving at the center. And arriving at the center may not answer all the questions. Sometimes we reach the destination feeling unfulfilled. Sometimes pilgrims arriving in Santiago, or at the center of the labyrinth, feel a sense of disappointment. Our expectation for our Camino walk, or our labyrinth walk, may not have been met. This can be a sign that we were over-scripting the experience and that the illumination is yet to be. Pilgrimage is not about getting to the destination. It is not about making it to Santiago. Pilgrimage is not about crossing a finish line. It is about experiencing the Center so we can return to our world transformed. Transformation begins as we emerge from a centered moment of illumination and realization. In this portion of the walk, we begin to sense our purpose in the world, what we bring out of our own center. In the geometry of the labyrinth, we leave the center and walk back toward the portal, following the same path that lead us in. This is when we may begin to feel grounded, insightful, energized. The Threefold Path is not a linear process but rather a circle. As we experience the transformative power of the Camino, or of the labyrinth, it brings us to new
levels of awareness, the need to examine and release, receive illumination and engage in the ongoing process of transformation. Lets take each component of the labyrinth and draw the parallel of the labyrinth walk to the pilgrimage walk. The labyrinth is like the Camino in that they are both considered pilgrimage walks. Doing a labyrinth walk can help you prepare for the Camino. By using the labyrinth on return, you can re-enter the pilgrimage experience. How Do We Walk the Labyrinth? One enters the labyrinth at the portal, walking between the lines that define the path. Follow the winding path through the pattern, toward the center, carrying an intention, a question or a problem and releasing extraneous thoughts and concerns. Receive and open yourself at the center to whatever might be there. As you turn and follow the same pathway out of the labyrinth, sense the transformation that has occurred. Set your own pace. Pass people as you wish- stepping aside or allowing others to cross or pass you. Start and stop where you need to. The canvas labyrinth is walked in socks to protect the paint and fabric. The walk occurs in silence to permit silent prayer and thought. After your walk, remain to watch other pilgrims in their walk. Witnessing can be a rich part of your labyrinth experience. Some people journal or draw before or after a walk. Write down any thoughts or dreams that come to you later. Lets talk now about how the labyrinth walk and the Camino Walk work together by examining the the components of the labyrinth and talk about their relationship to the Camino. THE PORTAL Think of the portal of the labyrinth as the start of your pilgrimage. Or, if you are using the labyrinth to unpack your experience, you may also use the portal as the entry to coming home. As we stand at the portal to the labyrinth, what do you feel? Do you feel anticipation? Fear? Is there eagerness to start or is there reluctance? Do you offer something at the portal? What are you carrying into the walk? What are you leaving behind? The portal has a strong power of metaphor. We face it both entering and exiting.
THE PATH Think of the spiraling path through the labyrinth as your journey on the Camino, village to village. Like the Camino, the labyrinth path is non linear. Notice how many other paths appear along side it. You may think of the people you meet on the labyrinth walk as the people you meet on the Way. Sometimes those on the path next to you travel in your direction. They remain with you for awhile then they change direction. Sometimes they go too slow or too fast, and you have to negotiate those different paces. How do you respond to the proximity of others on the labyrinth? How did you respond to that on the Camino? The feelings you have on the labyrinth may reflect some aspect of how you approach and feel about your Camino walk, and lead to deeper insight into yourself. THE TURNS There are 28 turns on the labyrinth, delineated by the dark labrys which is shaped like an ax or a chalice. You may think of the turns on the labyrinth path as your moments of pause and rest along the Camino. Or you may see the turns as changes and transitions you face on your Camino, or those you face when you get home to a changed world. How do you negotiate the turns? Do you step into the curve or do you short cut it? What does a change in direction mean to you? THE LONG ROAD There are sections of the labyrinth where the curved path is longer. There are similar paths on the Camino. Some people find these relaxing and an opportunity to clear one s thoughts. Others feel impatient or fearful or bored while walking the long roads. How do you feel as you walk these longer paths on the edges of the pattern? Do you feel a sense of impatience about when you will arrive at the center? How does that speak to you about your intention or your need for healing? THE CENTER Arrival at the center can sometimes be felt as a surprise- Its here already. This may remind you of your arrival at special locations on the Camino. What feelings or thoughts arise as you approach the center? Do you hesitate? Do you rush in? Were you disappointed when you reached your destination? Did you have moments of illumination at your destination? Were there other center places you encountered on the Camino? THE ROAD BACK After you have spent time at the center, you now travel out of the labyrinth via the same pathway. This may be reminiscent of the trip home. Or perhaps the moments of transformation you felt after moments of illumination along the Camino. How does the road look now? What has changed? Were
you ready to leave the center? Did the center give you what you expected? Are you eager to finish the walk? Or are you sad to be finishing? LEAVING THE LABYRINTH As you leave through the portal, imagine this as your departure from the pilgrimage walk. Now the pilgrimage is finished- but is it? What feelings or thoughts come to you? How do we prepare for a Camino experience? We worry about gear, physical preparation, how best to travel back and forth. We worry about how much it will cost, will we have enough time to complete the walk, will we go alone or with others? Which road will we take? Where will we start and end? The harder preparation is the inner work. What is my goal for this camino walk? What is my intention? I have the intention I am aware of, then there is the intention that lies beneath the surface of my awareness. What areas of my life need my attention? What part of my unconscious mind needs to come to the surface to be healed? Use the labyrinth prior to your pilgrimage walk to listen for your outer and your inner intention. Invite awareness of intentions that lie beneath the surface. Open yourself to the unexpected. Surrender your script. What are you carrying with you that constitutes an excess burden? What is making it hard to lay that burden down? What will happen if you do not take it with you? How you you feel about being alone? Use the labyrinth and write your thoughts in your journal. When thoughts do not come, draw or illustrate to let the imagination awaken. What dreams come to you as you prepare for pilgrimage? Record these. What images, what music is coming to you? Listen to what they are saying to you. The unconscious mind does not communicate in words but in imagery. Taking these dreams, emotions, plans and petitions into a labyrinth walk can be helpful in clarifying their meaning and opening your awareness. Journaling before your pilgrimage allows you to circle back into your pilgrimage experience after you get home, permitting new levels of awareness and healing. On a pilgrimage, there is an outer reason or intention, an inner reason, and a secret reason. The secret reason may not be revealed for some time after the pilgrimage journey. Make room especially for the secret reason. The labyrinth can help you become aware of it.
How do we use the labyrinth to unpack the Camino? When we get home, the mochila get unpacked, the clothing laundered, the boots brushed off and stored away. But how do we unpack what has happened inside? What do we do when we get home and we feel stirred up? Were we eager to get home? Did we dread our return home as we sat on the plane flying home? Why does home feel different when we get there? What changed? What about me changed? What about me did not change that I wanted to be different? How are my relationships with others changed? What do I see now that I did not see before? How does time feel now? How do possessions feel now? How have my priorities changed? How long can I hang on to the glow of the pilgrimage? How can I find someone to talk to who knows how I feel? The arrival home can be an opportunity to name and explore how our world now looks different. The lessons and healing from the labyrinth can be a part of that. Take your question, your dream, your disappointment, your surprise, your new view of the world, out onto a labyrinth walk. Use journaling and illustrating. Record and reflect on your dreams. Focus on the concepts of purgation, illumination, and transformation, as you travel the pathway. Feel the change of direction as you negotiate the turns on the labyrinth. Sense the difference between the portions of the pathway that switch rapidly near the center of the labyrinth, in contrast to the long slow curves at the outer edges of the pattern. Do you sense a metaphor in the way you move on the labyrinth? Attend to those patterns, and to the feeling of timelessness that you may experience. Experience the surprise at reaching the center. Pause in the center. Let yourself be back in the moments on the Camino when you paused and felt beauty, calm, pain, emptiness, achievement. As you turn from the center to return along the same path, notice how different the same path feels. What changed? Do you find yourself wanting to race to the end? Do you find yourself not ready to leave the labyrinth when you reach the portal? Let these impressions serve as a metaphor for your inner journey, even your secret.
The Classical latin term peregrinus refers to one who wanders with no particular destination The term peregrinatio also refers to spiritual exile Have we voluntarily exiled ourselves in our pilgrimage? We are homeless for a time- uncertain where or how far our path will lead us that day. We know where we are going but we do not know what the turns are ahead. The end cannot be seen from the beginning. We enter a community completely unique to each journey and in many cases, to each day. Our encounters with others inform and create our experience. This can disrupt old beliefs about people and community. Stepping outside our old world, we see things we cannot otherwise see. And in our Camino relationships, we can be people and find aspects of our own humanity that may be impossible or unimagined in our old world. This can leave us in a state of tension and unrest when we get home. We grieve not only the separation from the people we met but perhaps also the person of ourselves we saw. We may have found aspects of ourselves that do not please us. We may have encountered physical or emotional weakness, fear, loneliness, and broken expectations. We may ask ourselves, what failed? We may feel a new sense of strength and power in our accomplishment. How can I take my new sense of self into my world? The answer to all these questions lies in the road that remains always ahead of you. Look for a labyrinth near your home. If you cannot find a labyrinth to walk, consider purchasing a finger labyrinth. The Worldwide Labyrinth Locator can be helpful in finding a nearby labyrinth. I have web sites also for the Labyrinth Society and Veriditas for those interested in further labyrinth education, facilitator training and pilgrimage opportunities. The labyrinth can be a valuable tool for both preparing for your Camino journey, as well as unpacking your pilgrimage experience. Some people take the pilgrimage journey and find a sense of completion; the box is checked off. Others feel the stirring of something incomplete. They find satisfaction in the wandering. They need time to sort through new thoughts and perhaps even the life changes that the pilgrimage journey can bring. I bid you Buen Camino on your pilgrimage journey, both the outbound and inner journey.