The Magic of Labyrinths
A Tool for Spiritual Healing by Liz Simpson
SEE JOYCE'S LABYRINTH!
This beautifully illustrated book examines the phenomenon of labyrinths and their historical, cultural and spiritual significance. The author looks at how the labyrinth can be used to enrich our modern lives; she describes the different forms of the labyrinth and examines their importance in ritual and ceremony. Drawing from contemporary real-life experiences, she weaves her journey through the labyrinth around four themes: voyage, trial, initiation and resurrection. With 40 illustrations; 2-color throughout.
Joyce: "Its not only wonderful to see yourself quoted in a book like this, but to see yourself listed as a resource is an honor." Order On-line from amazon.com.
BELOW, AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK...
The Magic of Labyrinths-Living Labyrinths
"It was thanks to her beloved horse, Riley, that Joyce Leake developed her innate talent for animal communication, working with animals and their human caregivers to help enhance their relationship. When he died, this prompted Joyce to create a wonderful labyrinth memorial dedicated- not just to Riley, but to all animal friends that other people have lost."
Animal Remembrance- reprinted with the author's permission.
Joyce has always had an empathy with horses, so who better- her husband thought- to pour TLC on poor Riley, a sad, ill and wasted character he had found, who had been ridden too hard, too young. The moment she saw him, Joyce fell in love with Riley, and slowly nursed him back to health- certainly well enough that he could be taken out for light rides. Unfortunately, Riley died some time afterwards, which was devastating for Joyce. At that time, she was only casually interested in labyrinths, having been introduced to the concept by an artist friend who had built one in the nearby town of Elizabeth, Colorado. However, after Riley's death, an idea began to form in Joyce's mind, and she decided to build one on her own 60-acre property, close to where Riley was buried.
Joyce gathered together a group of around 40 volunteers who arranged the rocks that her husband, Roy, brought in from the construction sites he worked on.But before putting these friends to work, Joyce, her husband and a third helper marked out the land, using the traditional stick and rope technique- with Joyce being the one who got to stand in the middle holding the end of the rope, while the other two used the stick as a tracing device onto which lime was spread.(The best kind is the lime used to mark out tennis courts, or cricket and baseball pitches.) The day after, the volunteers arrived and chose the rocks, which they laid over the lime tracing.
Joyce's Cretan-style labyrinth is 90ft in diameter, that being a much simpler pattern to follow when accompanied by a large animal, and has pathways that are 5ft wide- big enough to walk or ride a horse through. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs, llamas, and alpacas are just some of the creatures that have walked the labyrinth with their owners. Joyce's corgis, particularly, love to plant themselves within the design and animal lovers can sit on a large rock in the center of the labyrinth or on the wooden chairs on the west side, watching the long grass softly sway in the Colorado wind like wheat.
What makes this labyrinth particularly special is that Joyce's labyrinth is a place where people can honor their dead animals in a unique and interactive way. She provides visitors with paint and brushes so they can write the names on the rocks of any animals they have loved that have passed away. The whole idea is very fluid. People are allowed to bring their own rocks to add to the labyrinth and they can place personal items underneath them- like a lock of hair or a favorite toy- to remind them of their dead pet. Joyce says that the painted names fade away after about a year and she believes this is how it should be.
The labyrinth provides both a memorial to animals that have had a profound effect on their owner's lives and a place where beings of all kinds can relax and just "be". Joyce recalls the visit by a working student of an internationally known horse trainer who brought with him a horse that was finding training to be a particularly difficult and stressful experience. Afterwards, Joyce asked the man what he had felt or hoped to feel while riding through the labyrinth. To which he replied that it was simply a wonderful opportunity for the animal to just walk in peace and not have to "do" anything.
Joyce's labyrinth, built in a grass meadow with stones and boulders of all shapes and sizes outlining the pathways, is little trouble to maintain. She lives in an area of the United States that does not get alot of rain, so she only has to mow it three times a year. The areas around teh edges of the stone are kept tidy by using a Weedeater (known as a "strimmer" in the UK) and as long as visitors call in advance everyone is welcome to enjoy the labyrinth, accompanied by their animals, or alone- to remember and honor ones that they have lost.
Order The Magic of Labyrinths from amazon.com.
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