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Learning to do this in the labyrinth—to not push for a particular feeling, or process, or outcome—has yielded rich rewards in my “other” life as teacher, therapist, mother, partner as well. Walking in the labyrinth without holding on to the outcome reminds me to stay present in my life, showing up fully, and allowing Spirit to take care of the outcome. Letting go of “trying” in the labyrinth helps me to remember to let go of “trying hard” to control other people, the process, and the outcome of all the unfolding events of my life.

Walking with intention has taught me, time and time again, the power of purpose: not just in the labyrinth but in all of my life. Beginning a walk with a clear intention while at the same time keeping an open mind and soft heart for whatever unfolds on the walk teaches me to do the same in the larger walk of my own life.

CHAPTER NINE

Creativity and Intuition

Much of the work and play of this book has been done in the labyrinth, from envisioning the book and inviting spiritual help, to planning individual chapters, editing, dealing with creative blocks, and celebrating small victories.

I have walked the labyrinth specifically asking for help and guidance on the writing of each chapter. After finishing each chapter in rough draft I walk the labyrinth once more, asking “Is there anything else I should be thinking about or writing about in this chapter?” I bring a notebook with me on these walks, as ideas, images, and even important phrases or sentences come to me as I walk or meditate in the center. When I have hit blocks in writing, as you shall see later in this chapter, I have turned to the labyrinth for freeing up my creative juices.

I have also used the labyrinth to envision and plan new classes and workshops, to dream new dreams for my life and work with bringing them into reality, and to deal with internal blocks to inspiration. You also can use the labyrinth to allow more creativity to flow in your own life.

“Creativity? I’m not creative,” people tell me all the time. I don’t believe it, not for a second.

What I do know, though, is that from an early age we are trained to belittle our own creative efforts. When my friend Rodger was in kindergarten, he was given an “art test” and told that he flunked it! Perhaps we were more subtly discouraged, but almost all of us find ourselves creatively challenged from time to time, finding it hard to believe in our own God-given creative gifts.

We are all creative and intuitive. Our creativity and intuition are like a radio signal that is always transmitting from a source deep inside of us. However, early parental messages, school, and our culture overlay a thick band of white noise on that signal. We mistakenly believe we are neither creative nor intuitive, because all we perceive is the static. When we clear out the static we can hear that inner signal, clear and true.

The labyrinth is a powerful way to clear out the static and recover the signal. During walking, the attention is turned inward, the mind is stilled, and everyday concerns are released, creating the perfect setting for creative and intuitive juices to flow. In the labyrinth we have a chance to think radically new thoughts, dreams new dreams, explore uncharted creative territory. What sort of creativity can the labyrinth foster? Walking the labyrinth can be used to:

Ask for inspiration for a new poem, painting, hobby project

Plan a festive meal

Rehearse a presentation

Create a new project proposal for work

Practice brainstorming and creative problem solving

Dream new dreams for your life, personally, vocationally, and spiritually

Bring those dreams into reality

LABYRINTH AS GESTATOR

Everything is gestation and bringing forth,” wrote poet Rainer Maria Rilke. “To let each impression … come to completion wholly in itself, in the dark, in the inexpressible, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one’s own intelligence, and await with deep humility and patience the birth-hour of a new clarity: that