FAITH MATTEIIS IV llll l'lVll'lllI Ilfltllll lISlll Faith Matters and Walking Matters In a column in January, 1998, I shared the history of how I became a daily walker. Having been told that walking ‘ ‘ daily for the rest of my life would probably help me avoid back surgery, I became a con- vert on the spot. That was in December, 1995, and I’ve been walking regularly ever since. Walking has proven to be ben- eficial to me in ways that have far exceeded my chiropractor’s original assertion. Not only has walking kept my back and leg pain to a min- imum, but I am healthier in ' many other respects as well. For instance, needing to walk gave me the opportunity to have dogs again, which has greatly added to the quality of my life. Walking has also helped me to get into the best physical shape I have ever been in. This allows me to be physically active with a vigor I didn’t have when I was younger. For instance, I hadn’t water-skied in 30 years when I did at my family’s lake home in Maryland in the summer--,of’ 1999. My brother David tion/prayer paths that date as amazed that I got up the first time and stayed up for a good 15 minutes. He kept saying, “I don’t know many women almost 50 who can water ski!t”’-_,l, labyrinth that’s been found in I really enjoyed hearing that!‘ My love for walking was deepened and strengthened that same summer when Martha and I went to Ghost Ranch, a Presbyterian Conference Center in the high desert northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where we had the opportunity to walk a labyrinth for the first time. It i was a deeply meaningful and amazin l sacred ex erience P that tuned my heart, body, mind, and soul to The Holy One in ways I had never expe- rienced. Prior to walking the labyrinth in New Mexico, I had only read about the labyrinth revival going on in the world. I Anderson states, “All labyrinths lead the walker along a prescribed, meandering path to ‘the center’ — the center as metaphor as well as physical spot. Labyrinths are often con- fused with mazes. Mazes, unlike labyrinths, contain right and wrong turns and dead- ends. Labyrinths are a single October 2000 1 Outin the Mountains |15 = health & welIbeing-= possible for me to reflecton my life struggles and relation- ship with The Holy One. in a manner that wasn’t possible until I began walking. Many forms of praying and meditat- ing ask us to sit still and be quiet in ways that are distract- ing rather_than focusing. For the more active types among us, walking affords us the opportunity to honor our whole beings in the process of going beyond “normal waking con- The iourney through the labyrinth offers Cl multidi- mensioncil, fu||—sensorywciy to explore who we are. had even talked to people at UV M about putting a labyrinth on the UVM campus, but until I had actually walked a labyrinth, I had no idea what I had been missing. “What is a labyrinth?” you might be asking. Based on information that Richard Feather Anderson has put together in A Little Book of Labyrinth Essentials, labyrinths are ancient medita- far back as 3000 BCE. This means they have been around for at least 5000 years. The gmost ancient of the labyrinth patterns is the seven-circuit many places around the world and appears across Northern Europe, India, Peru and many other countries. In fact, the seven-circuit labyrinth is also‘ the symbol for the Earth Mother among the Hopi people of the North American south- west. priataiztgate Carol Thayer, MD Georgia qlea/lb Cenler 4178 Highbridge Road - Fairfax, VT 05454 PHONE: 802/524-9595 FAX: 802/524-2867 ‘: .». vit:)rrnr’t Lr_;-'me:tic.tr\. Open Mon-Sot l0~-6 Vitamin Connection Offers the Best selections on the Net. 1.e00.7e0.3 ‘§"%) Vltamlnconnectionaoom fax 302.862.2459 4 ‘ path that inevitably lead the walker into the center.” The labyrinth is much more than an image or symbol; it provides a pattern of move- . ment which catalyzes transfor- mation. The journey through the labyrinth offers a multidi- mensional, full-sensory way to explore who we are-individu- ally and collectivel...labyrinths [can] restore wholeness and integrate mind and spirit, because they stimulate all three aspects of o'u'rselves and recon- nect us with who we truly are. Labyrinths-_ open a portal beyond ---normal waking consciousness, into an expand- ed awareness, in which new insights are revealed.” Combining walking and meditating/praying on or off a labyrinth has made a signifi- cant difference in my spiritual health. For folks like me, who need to pray and meditate in a way’ that involves all of the senses, walking has made it sciousness, into an expanded awareness, in which new insights are revealed.” Goodness knows there are not enough ways for people to honor their whole beings in world today. Dr. Lauren Artress, author of Walking A Sacred Path." Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, also points out that “Walking the labyrinth clears the mind and gives insight into-the spiritual jour- ney. It urges actions...It helps [us] see [our] lives in the con- text of path, a pilgrimage. [We] realize that [we] are not human beings on a spiritual path by spiritual beings on a human path.” Being reminded that I am a “spiritual being on a human path” helps me to be more closely connected to the Loving Creator of my spirit and to have all the more rever- ence, respect and gratitude for . the gift of being alive in a tem- porarily-abled body with spiri-_ South Burlington Individuals and Couples BOB GREEN M.A. LICENSED CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR (802) 658-2390 (300) 330-5025 Practice limited to male clientele THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE William Coil, NCMT 802-658-2390 800-830-5025 tual, emotional,‘ and mental intelligence on a planet that is just as alive as I am if not more so. V The first labyrinth in the Burlington, VT, area sits behind All Saints Episcopal Church at the comer of Dorset and Spear streets. It is avail- able for anyone’s use day or night and is an 11-circut labyrinth modeled after the one found in the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France. If walking matters to you and your spiritual journey matters to you, I highly recommend putting the two together by walking a labyrinth and a dis- covering for yourself the reve- lations awaiting you. Rev. Christine Leslie, Protestant Campus Minister at the University of VT and spiri- tual director/pastoral coun- selor in private practice in Williston, can be reached at 860-7106 or revcsI@a0l.com. V To learn more about: 0 HIV testing 0 Benefits of knowing your HIV status 0 Treatment, support and counseling options HIV/AIDS PROGRAM infg Call Vennont Al_DS Hotline I-800-882-AIDS __._..........................._.......——.—....——.._.~ Nox'mwes'rr-an MEDICAL CENTER Dr. Mara Vijups Dr. Erin Rhoades NMC RURAL HEALTH SERVICES Specializingin Family Practice Caring for patients of all ages s W A N to N 868-2454 A L B U R G 797-4414 EN 0 S B UR G 933-5831