And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. - Isaiah 30:21
What!? It's going to be 64 degrees later - on November 29th?! Yahoooo!
If you have the time and space to choose one thing to do outside today, consider walking an outdoor Labyrinth... there are three less than two miles from church - amazing fortune for us! (see locations below)
Have you been on an outdoor spirit walk before? Maybe you have turned and returned in a Labyrinth or strolled along the beach, hiked in the mountains, sauntered senses wide open at the Botanical Garden, wandered through Laumeier Sculpture Park or stepped slowly through the St Louis Zoo. There is no end to the number of places you could go and have an experience of the Spirit.
"A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.
A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It is a metaphor for life's journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to "that which is within".
Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. When most people hear of a labyrinth they think of a maze. A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, and blind alleys. It is a left brain task that requires logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out.
A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out. There are no blind alleys. The path leads you on a circuitous path to the center and out again.
A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the center. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. A more passive, receptive mindset is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are."
Why not walk an outdoor labyrinth today?
[If you aren't able to do it today, jot yourself a note to try it in the spring and/or on another unseasonably warm day this winter!]
LOCAL OUTDOOR LABYRINTHS LESS THAN 2 MILES from PUCC:
Congregation Shaare Emeth
(our Reformed Jewish neighbors that we partner with for worship and outreach) - less than 2 miles north of church at Ladue and Ballas Roads. Enter the property from Ballas. The labyrinth is on the left.
Mercy Conference and Retreat Center
(our friends the Sisters of Mercy have been down the street for over 40 years) - less than 1.5 miles from church heading east on Clayton Road and turning right on Geyer to #
2039. The labyrinth is up the hill on the right.
Missouri-Baptist Hospital
this one was built recently right next door to church... it's literally feet away from us! You just go downstairs toward Miriam Academy and out the northside door. Come back in using the same code that gets you in the front doors 17024. Please let us know you are coming so we can alert Miriam.
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He who hurries cannot walk with dignity. -
Chinese Proverb
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Prayer: Holy One, what a pleasant day to enjoy here at the end of November. Thank you for this and other welcomed surprises this season. Amen.
[Can you see PUCC steeple in the background of the photo above!?]
