...can be thought of as symbolic forms of pilgrimage; people can walk the path, ascending toward salvation or enlightenment. Many people could not afford to travel to holy sites and lands, so labyrinths and prayer substituted for such travel. Later, the religious significance of labyrinths faded, and they served primarily for entertainment, though recently their spiritual aspect has seen a resurgence.
Many newly made labyrinths exist today, in churches and parks. Labyrinths are used by modern mystics to help achieve a contemplative state. Walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and thus quiets his mind. The result is a relaxed mental attitude, free of internal dialog. This is a form of meditation. Many people believe that meditation has health benefits as well as spiritual benefits.
Wonderful. Looks like someone with a lawnmower and a deft touch?
-d
This is a great work, congratulations!
Please can you tell more how you did it.
Where do you begin? In the center or from the entrance side? How large are the paths? And what is the overall diameter?
Thanks for the compliment! Yes, I start in the middle. The path is as wide as the mower. For the width of the edges I sometimes use a stick to keep me uniform, but in these cases, I just eyeballed it. I don’t really worry about the overall diameter unless I’m trying to maximize the space, they I calculate things out. It is best to draw things out on graph paper first. If you are going to mow it then you need to draw the path not the sides.
Send me pics of your work.
I described a manner how to do that on my blog. There are pictures also.
Please go to http://blogmymaze.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/how-to-mowe-a-labyrinth-into-a-meadow/