Saturday, November 29, 2008

My Labyrinth


It has taken me almost a year to complete this project and I am most grateful to my husband Paul for helping me with it as I know I couldn't have done it on my own. I can't tell you why I felt this urge to have my own labyrinth. I hope to use it as a daily meditation for those days when I can't sit still long enough to go within. It will also be part of my classes as I believe in the power of the labyrinth.

When I visited Paris a number of years ago, I made a point of taking a day trip to Chatres to see the labyrinth there. I was disappointed as it was covered with chairs and there was not much information available about the labyrinth.

According to Lauren Artress, the author of The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform: " A labyrinth nurtures the capacity to reflect ... To reflect upon your experiences is the only way you learn the art of being human ... Walking the labyrinth literally opens a new realm."

I'm looking forward to the new insights my labyrinth brings me.


Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A Day of Sharing Words

One of my favorite teachers and artists, LK Ludwig, suggested "A Day of Sharing Words" where we post of poem that "moves inside you, touches you, reaches you". What a wonderful idea. LK is always full of wonderful ideas as you will see in the latest issue of "Somerset Studio" which has an article on LK and her photo journals.

Go to LK's blog to find more poems shared:
http://gryphonsfeather.typepad.com/the_poetic_eye/a-day-of-sharing-words.html

So here is my poem by Mark Nepo called "Breaking Surface":

Let no one keep you from your journey,
no rabbi or priest, no mother
who wants you to dig for treasures
she misplaced, no father
who won't let one life be enough,
no lover who measures their worth
by what you might give up,
no voice that tells you in the night
it can't be done.

Let nothing dissuade you
from seeing what you see
or feeling the winds that make you
want to dance alone
or go where no one
has yet to go.

You are the only explorer.
Your heart, the unreadable compass.
Your soul, the shore of a promise
too great to be ignored.

Mark's website is http://www.marknepo.com/ and you can find more of his wonderful poetry there.
LK also suggested we post an image and this photo I took in Brevard NC a couple of summers ago surfaced in my mind as I was typing out the poem: