Sunday, January 8, 2012

Amidst the Petals

I am very fortunate in this life to have a best friend, Laura, who is more like a sister to me. We have known each other since we were 7 years old. Her dad used to refer to us as the Bobsey Twins ( most of you are probably too young to know who they were – but they were book characters), and many people do look at us and think we’re sisters. In our hearts, we definitely are. She is my biggest fan, no matter what I choose to do. And vice versa.

            Today, I invited Laura to walk the labyrinth with me, her “virgin” journey. This has been an unusually warm, beautiful, January day – and so we also walked the track for a while following our experience in the labyrinth. Laura took it seriously – walked meditatively along with me – and deemed it “interesting”, which is how Laura processes things. In particular, she was intrigued with the petals and their meanings.

When we got to the middle, and stood in the petals, I explained to Laura where she was standing (abundance) and where I was standing (forgiveness). I told her that I like to contemplate why I find myself standing where I am, and what that means for me, and that I will then go from petal to petal and stand in its energy – and then in the center of Love – before I do the return walk.  So, we did that. As I walked from petal to petal, I heard a phrase for each one, and I share that here:

                        I stand in faith – and I trust myself.
                        I stand in surrender – and I love myself.
                        I stand in abundance – and I know myself.
                        I stand in service – and I grace myself.
                        I stand in forgiveness – and I release myself.
                        I stand in overcoming – and I honor myself.
            And then, I moved to the middle, Love, and heard:
                        I stand in Love – and I recognize myself.

            I can tell you that I floated through the return walk. The sun shone brighter, the air felt sweeter, my energy was lighter, and I was happy. Every time I go in the labyrinth, I get another layer of understanding, and it is bringing me more and more in balance.

            Again, I make the sincere offer that I would love to walk with anyone who is interested in having the experience of walking the labyrinth, or who would like to walk it again…. As an aside, I also walked the labyrinth this week at Richmond Hill – a beautiful stone labyrinth in the heart of Richmond, in the setting of what used to be a home for nuns, but now houses those clergy praying for Richmond (and that’s a very cursory explanation) – which feels very “old” and very sacred. We are so fortunate to have these meditative tools in our midst!

            And So It Is!

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