When Carol Maurer has a lot on her plate, she finds it useful to visit the labyrinth made of river rocks at the Delaware Art Museum, in Wilmington. "It quiets my mind," said Maurer, who lives in Hockessin, Del. "It sets the path for me so I can spiral inward."
Labyrinths, which have been constructed for thousands of years, have become a popular addition to hospitals, gardens and public institutions. With a single path in and out, labyrinths are designed to encourage reflection. They differ from mazes, which are designed as puzzles. Labyrinths have been associated with religions and cultures throughout the world. The number of labyrinths in the United States has been steadily increasing for about 15 years, said Robert Ferre, a labyrinth builder who founded Labyrinth Enterprises.
"Nowadays they're so widespread, it's more about how to best utilize them than what they are," he said from San Antonio, Texas.
When he started the business in 1995, churches were his primary customers. Labyrinths were an important feature of European Roman Catholic churches in the Middle Ages; walking one was a devotional activity and represented a spiritual journey.
Today, labyrinths are widely used in secular spaces too, said Maurer, who serves on the board of The Labyrinth Society, an organization dedicated to using and promoting the paths. She helped get the labyrinth built near the sculpture garden at the Delaware Art Museum. "People are looking for ways to travel inward," she said. "They're trying to find a deeper connection with themselves that may be spiritual but not necessarily religious."
Patricia Cadle, the oncology chaplain at N.C. Cancer Hospital in Chapel Hill, N.C., encourages patients, family members and hospital employees to walk a labyrinth. "It's a great tool for meditation and relaxation," Cadle said. "Labyrinths can help connect the mind, the body and the spirit. I think we can use that when we're dealing with disease."
"A lot of times people think it's a religious cult," she said. But once area residents understood the labyrinth's history, they began to visit. Cancer support groups, church groups and organizations that serve the developmentally disabled have all used the labyrinth, Snyder said. "It's just been a wonderful tool to introduce people to walking meditation, walking prayer and communing with nature," she said.
