By September 2018 Jack Favor will have clocked 500 miles on the labyrinth at Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens (PAL&G). Jack finds the labyrinth an invaluable tool for “refocusing.” As he strolls the 11 concentric circuits, “more important ideas come to the forefront.”
As a student in a Doctor of Spiritual Science course, Jack was encouraged to pay attention to his dreams. Pythagorean philosophies and prime numbers surfaced in his sleep. (Before landing in his present profession, Jack was literally a rocket scientist.) The “labyrinth helps me clarify those ideas.”
Serendipitously, labyrinths are created using the principles of sacred geometry…one of Pythagoras’ pet projects. Shapes and forms which repeat in nature when incorporated into a labyrinth produce a sacred energetic. (Maybe that’s why a labyrinth is also referred to as a moving meditation.)
“MSIA (Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness) is all about providing tools for awareness,” says Jack. “Less important matters fade and more important matters come to the forefront [when walking the labyrinth.]”
Plus it’s a good way to stretch the legs and escape a desk job. But Jack differentiates a labyrinth walk from a stroll on the beach or jog around the block. At Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens “The inner landscape is reflected with the outer landscape.”
Jack maintains that areas surrounding the labyrinth reflect consciousness. He sees the reflecting pool as a symbol of the unconscious; the pergola crowned by Madame Butterfly, the kingdom of emotions. And the Asian accented gardens? A foray into fantasy/imagination and the physical world. With all its ways of awakening awareness, Jack believes the labyrinth is reflective of the mental realm.
Inspired by Jack, I took a turn in the labyrinth. After saying a prayer at the entrance, I solemnly stepped and silently chanted HU (the ancient Sanskrit name for God.) Looking up, a fat chipmunk was furiously swishing his tail. He seemed intent on capturing a nut or some sort of morsel. I laughed. He reminded me of my tabby cat. The ice cream truck music decided just then to serenade me with It’s A Small World. I stepped off the labyrinth feeling lighter. No brilliant formulas. But some say joy is synonymous with soul.
