“A moment of glory. I stand on the edge of the beginning of life.”

Set beside a free flowing stream in the forest - only a short walk away from the lodge, the labyrinth offers quiet contemplation and secluded reflection. Based on the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France with a few subtle deviations to accommodate the trees, the labyrinth at Boondocks provides a path to answer Labyrinths have been around for millennia. The labyrinth is unicursal - the path you follow is a one-way to the centre, and a single route out. A labyrinth is not a maze. There are no choices to make,this is not a game it perfectly and startingly reflects your path through life.

In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth is first associated with Theseus and the Minotaur, where the Labyrinth was basically built to hold the Minotaur - a half-man, half-beast creature, away from civilisation and Theseus, a civilian meant to kill the Minotaur and escape the Labyrinth.

This far simpler (in design) version of the Labyrinth dates back to 2 500 - 2 000 BC found carved into the rock of a Neolithic chambered tomb in Kuzannaz, Sardinia. They also appered around the 12th century in the Hopi reservations in Northern Arizona. Believed to symbolise Mother Earth where the straight line at the entrance/exit represents both the umbilical cord and the birth canal.

It’s ironic that we actually find our way in the labyrinth, when it is commonly used as a literary metaphor for a place in which we get lost, amidst confusion and complexity.

Walking in a labyrinth is a gift we give to ourselves. During the walk, we can relax our mind but we still must remain alert, to follow the path. This state of relaxed alertness is the ideal form of meditation. With our sense of awareness, we are open to any messages or inspiration of creativity that may come to us.

The labyrinth takes us beyond our limited, conditioned personality and learning to a deeper place of awareness and revelation. In that state, we can practice being in the presence of God. We can sing, pray, or dance.

In our modern world, we have lost touch with our origins, our roots, even our true identity. The labyrinth is the bridge that connects us to these things. To a long-forgotten part of ourselves. That’s why it touches people very deeply, often in a way that they can’t verbalise, as the context itself is ancient.

The labyrinth provides the sacred space where the inner and outer worlds can commune, where the thinking mind and imaginative heart can flow together. It can provide a space to listen to our inner voice of wisdom and come to grips with our role in humankind’s next evvolutionary step.

One of the most noticeable effects of walking the labyrinth is stress reduction. We can see the difference in our physical bodies. Stress kills, and the reduction of stress heals. The same is true with balance. Our priorities get far out of kilter sometimes. When that happens, we experience dis-ease. The labyrinth brings us back to a state of equilibrium. It can contribute to bodily healing. Being physical, the labyrinth is anchored in time and space, just as we are.

The labyrinth has been shown to be very effective in addressing grief.

The labyrinth is feminine, embracing, nurturing - qualities that are in great demand. People often respond to the labyrinth without actually knowing why. They just like how they feel in its embrace. It gives people a chance to charge their batteries before going back into the fray.

Most of all, labyrinths have healing qualities on many levels, emotional, psychological, physical, spiritual. This comes at a time when we greatly need healing. Healing must be an inside job, which is exactly how labyrinths function. Labyrinths are undergoing a great revival, if for no other reason, because we need them.

Labyrinths have reappeared throughout history at times of spiritual crisis. One can certainly argue that our world and our society are out of control.

Saint Augisustine is often quoted as having said, “It is solved by walking.” Labyrinth walking has been called the laying on of feet.