Walk in the Wilderness of Lent: Thursday's Reflection

I invite you to walk.

I invite you to walk intentionally and meditatively. Slowly.

I invite you to take off your headset and maybe even your Fitbit and walk.

I invite you to walk alone, or if with a friend to walk in silence.

I invite you to walk with awareness of each step.

WHY? To gain clarity...to break old patterns...to explore...to connect with God...to receive help...to become more open...to relax...to find wisdom...to celebrate...to turn a new corner...to pray...to integrate inner and outer realities...to heal...to wonder...to see if anything is going to happen...to meditate...to connect with Sacred Truth...TO...

I invite you to walk a labyrinth, if that is possible. You can find locations of labyrinths in your area here.

Here are some questions to consider as you walk--whether in your neighborhood, at the mall, on a labyrinth, or even in your home or where you work. 

Here are some questions to consider as you prepare to walk:

           Why am I doing this walk?

           What is my intention?

           How am I feeling right now?

           What baggage am I bringing along with me?

As you walk, pay attention to how your body is feeling. Take time to find your own rhythm. Ask yourself:

            What do I need to release? What am I holding on to that no

            longer serves me?

            What prevents you from being the person God created you

            to be?

            What is it you need to see, to know?

            On the labyrinth, how does it feel to follow its curves?

            Are you staying true to your intention for this walk?

If you walk a labyrinth, you will eventually reach the center. If you  walk someplace else, stop and pause before you begin to return to your starting point. This is a time of receiving. Does anything special come to you as you pause in the center or the midpoint? Is the stillness at the center different from the stillness as you prepared to walk? What does being at the center mean to you? What would you like to receive? Any surprises?

Now is the time to begin the walk back out from the center or back to where you started. A time of returning.

              How does it feel to resume movement?

              Does anything feel different? 

              Has the pace of your movement changed?

              What are you bringing with you from the center? What

              have you left behind?

Take a few minutes as you leave the labyrinth or end your walk to hold the experience in your heart. You may want to journal. Reflect on your intention. Did it change? What did you learn? Is there any action you intend to take?

A gentle reminder: Don't worry if "nothing" happened. The meaning of this labyrinth walk may unfold with time. Notice what you feel and and think in the next few hours and days. 

              We are always beginners on the spiritual 

               journey. The practice of conversion calls

               us to remember this. The pilgrim calls us to

               to remember the ongoing unfolding of life.

               When we embrace our inner pilgrim we begin

               to see all of life as a process of revelation, of

               holy moments, of new possibilities arising that

               we could not have expected.

                                           Christine Valters Paintner

An Invitation

I invite you to walk. What do you experience. I would love to know. 

NOTE: Every Wednesday evening from 5:00-7:00 p.m. during this season of Lent the indoor labyrinth will be available at Gloria Dei in St Paul, and I will be there to answer any questions or offer any guidance that might be needed. Wednesday evening Lenten services are at 7:00 p.m. All our welcome.