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The labyrinth is the perfect “gestator” for creativity. Truly creative ideas emerge from deep within our hearts and souls, not from our everyday minds. Gestating a creative idea—just like gestating a child—requires a great deal of waiting and receptivity. The labyrinth can be womb for our own creativity; the more time we spend walking it, the more ideas and creativity will be birthed.

Intuitions and creative ideas are like evanescent bubbles rising up from deep within our souls. Even though they seem strong and present when we first receive them, they become increasing more difficult to access as we move back into our “regular” state of consciousness after leaving the labyrinth.

Get a small notebook and carry it with you during your labyrinth walks to record your ideas, thoughts, and inspirations. Look for a notebook or journal that easily opens flat and is convenient to write in without having to place it on a hard surface. If you like, you can even buy a notebook and decorate the cover.

I have a client who brings to her sessions a labyrinth notebook the cover of which she has decorated with a collage of inspiring magazine pictures. She walks the labyrinth after each session, recording new ideas that surface during her walk.

Ideas and inspiration can come thick and fast while you’re walking, as you will discover. You can either bring your notebook with you and record as you walk, or keep your journal handy for writing immediately after the walk. I know someone who loops his spiral notebook on a string around his belt, so that he feels physically freer to walk than if he were carrying it. You can also walk directly to center and place your notebook there so that it awaits your arrival.

Whatever method you choose, remember how important it is to record thoughts, images, and impressions. I can’t tell you how many times I have received a great idea while walking, and, sure I’d remember it simply because it was such a great idea or turn of phrase, didn’t record it. When I tried to recall it several hours later, I would find to my chagrin that it had simply evaporated.

When you walk the labyrinth to foster creativity, the most important task is defining your intention. As mentioned before, we shape the quality of guidance we receive by the clarity of our intentions. What is it that you really need? What is your dream: A new painting? An office dilemma solved? New vocational or personal goals?

Clarifying your intention begins the gestation period, when we allow the project, idea, or dream to drop below our conscious awareness and “incubate,” much as a mother hen incubates her eggs so that they may hatch. Walking the labyrinth is like mini-incubation: By engaging our bodies in outward movement, we are allowing the intention or question to drop deep into our psyches so that our souls may warm it and bring forth new life in response.

Take a moment now and think of what is currently your most creative challenge personally, relationally, vocationally, or spiritually. How would you best articulate what the challenge is? How would you articulate what the central desire or question is for you? When you’ve got your intention or question, walk to your labyrinth with your journal. Prepare in any way you’d like: light candles, breathe, stretch, anything that allows you to relax and be present.

State your intention or question at the entrance to the labyrinth, invoking if you wish any spiritual guidance. Begin walking, breathing and carrying your intention in your heart. Be open for images, intuitions, snatches of songs, feelings, and words, all of which may be responses to your intention or question.

Guidance often comes in sideways fashion. For instance, when writing a previous chapter I asked for help in not pushing so hard to get it done. Instead of receiving words or images, I heard a chant I hadn’t thought of in years: “We are the flow/We are the ebb/We are the weaver/We are the web.” The chant stayed with me the rest of that afternoon and helped me remember to trust and enjoy the flow