Walking A Sacred Path
Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Path
by The Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress
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Discernment, pg. 166
She wanted to experience the labyrinth for herself. And she wanted me to know about her client. The boundaries or the labyrinth set limits. The structure or the path provides safety for a person who longs to touch deep inside himself.
Symbols received on the labyrinth are like the symbols in dreams; I would not encourage anyone to take them literally. That is rarely the intention of the subconscious. One woman walked the labyrinth and felt she had been told to sell everything she owned. Ironically, she had just spent the week packing all her belongings and putting them in storage for an extended trip to the East Coast. I spoke with her recently, three years after her labyrinth experience. The message she received had challenged her, but she now looks back on it as an intuitive understanding that she was going to relocate permanently in the East. Her belongings are still in storage, and it is going to be inconvenient to return to dispose of them.
If you feel that you have received a literal message, I would advise you to talk it over with a friend or counselor. And just as in other circumstances, someone who is under the impression that he or she has been selected to carry out a mission that hinders or hurts others is being controlled by a distorted ego. Any action you take should be guided by the insight that we are all spiritual beings, working our way toward wholeness and the mystery behind our calling. When we are in doubt about how to work with our inner life, we should reach out for help. This is true for all spiritual experiences, not just the ones you may have in the labyrinth.
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Excerpts from Walking A Sacred Path ©1995 by Dr. Lauren Artress used with permission from the author. To purchase a copy of Walking a Sacred Path, visit the non-profit bookstore Sacred Path Books & Art. This link is provided as a service to explorefaith.org visitors and registered users.
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