{"id":81317,"date":"2018-01-10T17:23:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T23:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/?p=81317"},"modified":"2018-01-10T17:23:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-10T23:23:00","slug":"gailand-macqueen-on-the-spirituality-of-mazes-and-labyrinths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/2018\/01\/10\/gailand-macqueen-on-the-spirituality-of-mazes-and-labyrinths\/","title":{"rendered":"Gailand MacQueen on the spirituality of mazes and labyrinths"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sbm.osb.org\/ministries\/spirituality_center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Spirituality Center at Saint Benedict\u2019s monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota<\/a>, has<a href=\"http:\/\/sbm.osb.org\/ministries\/spirituality_center\/the_labyrinth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> a labyrinth<\/a>, which I am preparing to walk soon for personal and professional reasons. I suppose I could just drive over there tomorrow and walk it, but that\u2019s not how I take journeys. I read up on the places I\u2019m going because it prepares me to experience them more openly, which is to say, more deeply. One of the books I\u2019m reading now is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/55468.The_Spirituality_of_Mazes_and_Labyrinths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gailand MacQueen\u2019s <i>The Spirituality of Mazes and Labyrinths <\/i>(2005)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Are you a labyrinth or maze kind of person?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Labyrinth People:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>are traditionalists;<\/li>\n<li>seek simplicity;<\/li>\n<li>want to bloom where they\u2019re planted;<\/li>\n<li>value community over individualism;<\/li>\n<li>follow an intuitive (soulful) course;<\/li>\n<li>appreciate unity;<\/li>\n<li>create meaning from sacred experiences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Maze People:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>are modernists;<\/li>\n<li>seek complexity;<\/li>\n<li>want to choose their own adventures;<\/li>\n<li>value individualism over community;<\/li>\n<li>follow a rational (scientific) course;<\/li>\n<li>appreciate diversity;<\/li>\n<li>create meaning from secular experiences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The differences between labyrinths and mazes<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Labyrinths are<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>more than 3500 years old;<\/li>\n<li>simple\u2014you can\u2019t get lost;<\/li>\n<li>a journey of trust in the path you\u2019re on;<\/li>\n<li>a tool for understanding the essence of community\u2014no matter how near or far we appear to be from the destination (the center), we\u2019re all on the same path;<\/li>\n<li>sacred spaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Mazes are:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>only 600 years old&#8211;a modern invention of landscape architects;<\/li>\n<li>complex and confusing;<\/li>\n<li>a series of decisions leading to success or failure;<\/li>\n<li>a competitive and multi-pathed puzzle to be solved by each individual alone;<\/li>\n<li>a form of secular entertainment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And yet, both labyrinths and mazes can be spiritual experiences.<\/p>\n<h3>Why we should walk both mazes<i> and <\/i>labyrinths<\/h3>\n<p>Gailand Macqueen argues that in this age, the third millennium, <strong>we would be wise to be open<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to all the wisdom of the ancient<i> and <\/i>modern worlds;<\/li>\n<li>to our experiences as perceived and processed by both the right<i> and <\/i>left hemisphere of the brain;<\/li>\n<li>to emotions <i>and <\/i>rationality;<\/li>\n<li>to soulful <em>and<\/em> scientific explanations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Reading<\/em> about mazes and labyrinths is mind work, but the full human experience integrates both mind and body. Mr. Macqueen suggests that in order to fully understand labyrinths and mazes we shouldn\u2019t merely read and think about them. We should involve our bodies\u2014we should get into mazes and labyrinths and <em>walk<\/em> them.<br \/>\n<strong>Labyrinths,<\/strong> Mr. Macqueen informs us, \u201chave been used outside of formal religion as a ritual object to express spiritual values for at least 3500 years in countries all over the world, including China, India, the Holy Land, Ireland, Southern Europe, Scandanavia, pre-Columbian North America, and England\u2026[the labyrinth] is a nearly universal form and comes as close as we can to an archetype\u2026a symbol that appeals to us at an unconscious level\u2026somehow ingrained in us, part of our very nature.\u201d<br \/>\nHe goes on the explain that the labyrinth can help us navigate through and find meaning in transitions which we share with our ancient ancestors\u2014birth, coming of age, marriage, sickness, death, and initiation into communities\u2014as well as \u201cnew transitions such as divorce and job loss.\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>Mazes,<\/strong> he tells us, are \u201ca pastime, unconnected with anything important such as religious ritual\u2026They are intended to provide entertainment, a challenge, a mental workout.&#8221;<br \/>\nThe secular nature of mazes, their insistence on constant personal choice and decision-making, the sense of being in competition with the maze designer\u2014trying to solve the puzzle, and the competitive nature of mazes, makes the maze not an archetype, but a symbol of the modern age.<br \/>\nWe live in a world which values the secular and even tries to erase the sacred. Our society presents us with myriad daily choices and decisions, tests in a way, which will determine our failure or success. No wonder our era is so marked by anxiety!<br \/>\nThe maze designer is like all of the political parties, institutions, and mass-marketed products that promise us a good life. Which one is right? \u201cWhether we are fooled,\u201d writes Mr. MacQueen, \u201cdepends on our choices. Our memory, reason, and astuteness all come into play in our attempt not to be fooled\u2026Solving a maze is an individual accomplishment.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cChoose right and succeed,\u201d the prevailing mindset of the 21st Century tells us.<br \/>\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about me!\u201d the maze affirms.<br \/>\nBut living exclusively for individual accomplishment leads to cynicism, isolation, and bitter unhappiness.<br \/>\nSo let\u2019s go back to the labyrinth?<br \/>\nNo, says, Mr. MacQueen. We can never undo what has been done. It would \u201cbe unwise to ignore the message that mazes give us. No one is untouched by the spirit of the modern world.\u201d<br \/>\nThe labyrinth and the maze are two \u201cdiffering spiritual symbols\u2026appropriate to [our various] life experiences.\u201d<br \/>\nI\u2019m just beginning to explore labyrinths and mazes, and, as I said at the beginning of this article, I am soon going to walk a labyrinth near my home (I\u2019m definitely more a labyrinth-y person). I am preparing for a personal, spiritual transition. My journey will also be research for a book I\u2019m working on. Both will be guided by Garland Macqueen&#8217;s fascinating, well written, chock-full-of-insights, book. I recommend it!<\/p>\n<h3>Are you more a labyrinth or maze kind of person? Have you walked, or do you intend to walk one? Please tell me where to find your favorite labyrinths and \/ or mazes!<\/h3>\n<p>Photo on <a href=\"https:\/\/visualhunt.com\/re\/23cf62\">Visual Hunt<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Spirituality Center at Saint Benedict\u2019s monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota, has a labyrinth, which I am preparing to walk soon for personal and professional reasons. I suppose I could just drive over there tomorrow and walk it, but that\u2019s not how I take journeys. I read up on the places I\u2019m going because it &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/2018\/01\/10\/gailand-macqueen-on-the-spirituality-of-mazes-and-labyrinths\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Gailand MacQueen on the spirituality of mazes and labyrinths<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[313,422,642,643,717,906,1010,1013,1100,1208,1209],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81317"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}