How to Journey Through a Labyrinth

What Is a Labyrinth?

Labyrinths have been around for thousands of years. Prehistoric labyrinths were meant to trap evil spirits. In the Middle Ages, churches used them to symbolize a path to God. Today, labyrinths are seen and used as a pilgrimage toward one’s higher self. 

The Moon Labyrinth at Royal Way Spiritual Center is an outdoor meditation space created with the purpose of helping to quiet the mind and facilitate a profound connection with the divine, the God within you. The mind and all the noise of the world can be so loud and overwhelming. For people looking to quiet all of that and find clarity, the Moon Labyrinth can be an incredible experience. The Moon Labyrinth is a maze of white desert rocks, placed in a circular pattern, infused with the calming and receptive energy of the moon. 

Significance of the Moon’s Energy

Michael Gottlieb, master teacher and founder of Royal Way Spiritual Center, writes,  “Moonlight is feminine; soft, tender, receptive, and loving.” The outdoor meditation space of the Moon Labyrinth creates an opportunity for all who come with an open mind and receptive heart. Michael continues, “The night too is feminine. The day is masculine. And enlightenment happens only in a very receptive mood, in a very feminine mood. Whether one is a man or a woman does not matter. One has to be receptive. You cannot conquer God. You can only invite him and wait.”  

The Moon Labyrinth at Royal Way Spiritual Center creates the environment to invite God into your consciousness. 

Michael Gottlieb teaches about the specialness of the moon on many different levels. He writes, “It is not only the ocean that is affected by the moon. Our whole being is affected. In fact, 80 percent of our body is ocean water; that 80 percent is certainly affected. The moon is symbolically significant. It simply receives the sun’s rays and transforms them. Through the moon, a miracle happens. The hot energy of the sun, the masculine energy of the sun, becomes cool, becomes feminine. The whole process of the moon is magical.” 

The Moon Labyrinth is an opportunity for transformation—connecting with the energy of the moon to journey toward the deepest part of your being. 

Walking the Moon Labyrinth

The experience of the Moon Labyrinth really begins on the walk to the site. The trail leads through open desert surrounded by majestic mountains. This time can be used to drop layers or prepare yourself to be open to the experience. The noise and thoughts become softer or seem farther away as you make your way down the path toward the labyrinth. 

Walking the Moon Labyrinth with an open heart and mind creates an opening for the experience of God. As in a walking meditation, allow yourself to enter the labyrinth and walk with awareness and no expectations. In this spiritual environment, it is not simply following a rock path out in the desert. Allow the moment to unfold and discover what happens as you proceed down the path. 

Walking the Moon Labyrinth is an opportunity for witnessing—a kind of alertness that isn’t mental, but rather a state of heightened awareness and consciousness. In a discourse on witnessing, Michael Gottlieb spoke of the way Buddha would walk slowly and deliberately: “Buddha used to walk so slowly that many times he was asked why. And he said, “This is part of my meditation, always to walk as if you are walking in wintertime into a cold stream of water. You walk slowly, with alertness, because the stream is very cold. And you are aware, because the current is very strong—witnessing each of your steps because you can slip on the stones in the stream.”  

Walking the circular maze of the Moon Labyrinth invites a slow, deliberate pace where you are constantly witnessing. Hear the gravel and dirt crunch under your feet. Feel the desert air and wind brush past your body. Allow your mind complete freedom to not rush, to not attempt to guess where the path is headed or wonder how long it will take. It is a true practice in allowing the moment to be. There is nowhere to go. Nothing that needs to get done. 

As you wind around the maze, think of approaching the center of the labyrinth as the experience of approaching your own center. Allow this outdoor meditation space to be a representation of your journey inward, to that sacred space within you. 

The beauty of the Moon Labyrinth is the joy and clarity it can bring to your being. It is not uncommon to feel a sense of lightness and joy as outward identities and noises drop away. What is left is your pure connection to the divine, to God. 

Conclusion

The Moon Labyrinth is among many beautiful spaces offered at Royal Way Spiritual Center. Journeying to and through the Moon Labyrinth is a powerful and physical way to connect with your inner self, the deepest part of your being. Each experience can be a different exploration of your being. There is no end to the divine in you. Walking the Moon Labyrinth is a beautiful way to connect to that space.