I will be using excerpts from several sites. Today’s site I have read for years as it is a place for those of us who have had spiritual experiences to be able to read about each other’s experience.

Spiritual Experiences & Spiritualityis your source for spiritual, religious and mystical experiences, the study of spirituality, religion, enlightenment and teachers.

We are interested in stories from readers like you, if you have experienced any kind of inner awakening, personal development, growth or if you had a life transforming realization, an experience of transcendence, an inspiring story or if you have a gift on matters of spirituality, please submit it! If you want to have your own profile page, please sign up, it’s free!

It is also a powerful community for sharing with others.

Today’s selection is “The Darkness Was Crushing Me”:

“After having a deep conversation about Christianity with my boyfriend I found myself alone downstairs doing work because I had a deadline today and had a lot of work to do. But I was quite upset because he was asking me these questions and I feel like I’ve missed out on something everyone should be able to learn and decide about because I didn’t know about sinning, I feel like I’ve got no chance of being righteous I have sinned so much already… I recently had a couple of piercings too and now this has happened. I kind of feel like they are burdens for my sins.”

“About 20 past 3 I turned everything off and went to go upstairs. As soon as everything went pitch black I suddenly felt freezing cold. I felt a tremendous pressure around me and inside me. I was so shocked, I stood there for about 10 minutes just too scared to move, but then I just thought get to my room and turn on a light. It was so horrible I felt like a million things were staring at me and following me up the stairs. I ran into my room and threw the door to shut it and it stopped, leaving a tiny gap which my cat ran through all big and angry looking. So I just sat on my bed for about 20 minutes feeling the pressure. It was kind of like the darkness was crushing me, so I prayed.”

“I’ve never really been taught about Christianity but it felt like the right thing to do, and suddenly I felt warm like I’d just got out a bath the pressure went and I suddenly could not keep my eyes open.”

“I need to know what happened to me, and can you please tell me when you began to believe? Or is everyone unsure to some extent? All I know is I want to believe and I have asked for signs but I have nothing.”

Photo credit.

mckaysavage

When I feel that God hasn’t answered my prayers and/or desires, I know that I may just not be ready for the answers at this time. So I have a list of other things to do to get out of His Way and/or to spend the waiting time in peace.

Having faith in God has rarely been a problem for these 30 years that I’ve been surrendering myself on a daily basis. Even the two years that I suffered from clinical depression, I never once felt that God was punishing me or had deserted me. I knew that I just had to be patient and continue to surrender.

Do I believe that God waited two years to tell me that I needed to see a psychiatrist? No, I believe He answers prayer immediately. But I was 10 years sober from alcohol and had learned in AA that drugs were a crutch. Eventually I did go to the doctor. (Actually I worked in a psychiatric hospital as a marketing specialist, so I told one of the doctors there that I needed to see him ASAP).

The waiting for the answer is the hardest teaching of the dedicated spiritual journey. I know that the waiting is like being a trapeze artist. When I let go of one bar and before I catch the next bar, there is a void. That void is where I am when I am waiting. During this time, I practice removing myself from fear and anxiety.

Having faith in myself to hear the answers has been a slow lesson to learn. I tend to forget that He created me in His image. I also have a battle sometimes to accept that I deserve all of God’s blessings.

Being the oldest child in a home dominated by alcoholism, I learned to not ask for anything and, worse, I taught myself to not expect much. I have shut out so many of God’s blessings by thinking I didn’t deserve them.  I started working at 12 making potholders for sale and did a lot of business. Then through high school, I worked every evening in a drug store. Working hard made me feel better about myself. I believe that these experiences made me stronger. The biggest problem for children in this type of home situation is the shame of feeling as if the home situation is only happening to him/her.

1. Spirit Rock In the San Francisco area, Spirit Rock (http://www.spiritrock.org/) publlishes the complete schedule of all of its resources. Transportation is provided to the site from volunteer drivers if a worshiper needs transportation. One of the founders of Spirit Rock, Jack Kornfield, explains what mindfulness means to him in this article.  Continuing education credits for trained professionals is offered a t Spirit Rock in collaboration with ISP, Institute for Spirituality and Psychology. Spirit Rock offers residental retreats, daylong programs, beginning classes, weekly classes, a diversity progam, a family program, a teen program, and a mindulness yoga and meditation training program.

2.Shambhala Mountain Center is a pristine 600 acre meditation retreat center located . The center offers beginning meditation, a yoga retreat, contempative arts as well as retreat and renewal weekends. The 2007/08 schedule is available online and includes sections in Buddhism, meditation, yoga and retreat. The  schedule offers: (1) tame your mind, learn to meditate through the introductory course or the Shambhala trasining series; (2) stretch your body and mind at one of the yoga retreats experiencing OM, Ashtanga, Hatha and Anusara yoga; (3) delve into Buddhist teachings with highly regarded dharma teachers; (4) deepen your practice and transform your life in monthlong summer or winter Dathun Meditation Retreats; (5) access the healing potential of body, mind, and community, (6) explore th powerful practices of ancient traditions ; and (7) demystify and prepare yourself for the untimate letting go. The Shambhala Retreat also offers conference and group retreats and rentals. It is located two hours from the Denver International Airport in the colorado Rockies.

3. Journey of the Spirit lists spiritual retreats, journeys and women’s retreats. It provides the following links:

 Zion National Park–Day of the Dead (Mexico)–Mayan Riviera–Teothihuacan, Mexico–Angkor Wat, Cambodia–Baja Mexico–Tepoztlan, Mexico–Patagonia–Egypt–Cartagena, Columbia–Costa Rica–Israel

4. Find the Divine has over 1700 retreat center and 900 conference centers. It organizes the resources as: (1) retreat centers for individuals and groups; (2) conference centers and retreat centers for groups; (3) retreats, events and workshops; (4) retreat leaders and spiritual guides; (5) retreat and confrtrncr centerds for sale; and retreat general information.

It has links for the following states/countries:

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky

Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota

Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wyoming
Wisconsin

Retreat Centers in Canada
Retreat Centers in Costa Rica
Retreat Centers in Belize
Retreat Centers in Mexico  

Email me at changemaker.kathy@gmail.com if you would like other retreats to be added.

Vince Millett

Teach Yourself World Faiths

Paul Oliver

ISBN 0-07-138448-0

Amazon link

Although I am a Christian, I have used other spiritual practices for 30 years. I started meditation techniques in 1984. My first introduction about deep breathing came from Herbert Benson’s book, The Relaxation Response, which he wrote in 1975. The present edition is co-authored with Miriam Klipper (Amazon link). Deep breathing is my first response when I am flooded with emotion. I do a very deep breathing halt to these emotions. So I have felt free to experience the practices from other world faiths including meditation, self-forgetfulness, and visualizations with guided imagery.

This book, Teach Yourself World Faiths, is a concise book for 12 of the worlds religions. The faiths that Oliver examines are Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha’ism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, the religion of the Parsis, and Sikhism. Each religion follows the template created by the author by including: (1) History of the faith, (2) the Belief System of the faith, (3) Organization of the faith, and (4) is concluded with an excellent Summary.

The book includes the following excerpt:

From Mystical elements in world faiths:

“In many, but not all, world faiths can identify an unorthodox strand of doctrine and teaching and also a perhaps less orthodox element, which might be referred to as “mystical”. The latter might be rather loosely described as a tradition within the mainstream faith which seeks to gain a direct and immediate experience of the divine. This is not, however, to underestimate in any way the orthodox traditions in religion, to the extent that they may aspire to a direct appreciation of god. The term “mysticism” is certainly very difficult to define in a precise and all-inclusive manner. This is at least partly because the mystical experience is something which may be felt in a subjective sense, before one can understand it. In other words, it is not completely susceptible to objective, empirical analysis. Hence it is not easy to define a phenomenon which some people find difficult, in any case, to express in words.”

“The most usual definition involves a tradition or religious path whose aim is a union of the individual soul or self with the divine. Mystical experience is also usually defined, by those who are able to do so, as involving feelings of great bliss and happiness and also a sense of overwhelming inner peace and harmony. It may also be described as a sense of the individual being able to reach spiritually a realm that would otherwise be inaccessible.”

“The role of the teacher in mystical training is regarded as very important. Gaining mystical training is not regarded as simply acquiring a measure of doctrinal knowledge. Mystical understanding, almost by definition, can only be authenticated by someone who has themselves acquired at least some degree of understanding and spiritual development.”

1. “There is a reasonable degree of commonality concerning the range of techniques used within mystical traditions. A common method involves the use of the mantra, or holy syllable, which is repeated over and over again. The steady repetition has perhaps a similar effect to breathing meditation, in that it helps to calm the mind in preparation for other forms of meditation.

In the Conclusion, the future of religion, Mr. Oliver writes:

“One of the most interesting developments in world faiths which has happened over the last 50 years, dating approximately from the end of World War II, has been the enormous diffusion of different religions across the world. Most of this happened because of post-war migration and resettlement, but, in addition, there has been the effect of television and lately the Internet, which has brought a much widened consciousness of different faiths around the world….People nowadays have a choice of faith, which was in effect lacking in previous generations. We are now aware of competing value systems and religious practices, with which only a minority of people were previously familiar. The cultures associated with other faiths have also had an impact upon society.”

By Satoru Kikuchi

Mystics and Miracles: True Stories of Lives Touched by God

Bert Ghezzi

ISBN 0-8294-1772-9

Amazon link

From the introduction:

“Miracles intrigue us. They burst into our humdrum routines with startling revelations of the supernatural realm. Some people dismiss them as imagined or psychosomatically induced phenomena. But most of us welcome news of visions, healings, and other divine interventions.”

“We get the word mystic from a Greek root that means “mystery”. A mystic is a person who is “introduced into the mysteries”. Broadly speaking, all Christians are mystics. We believe that by faith we are initiated into the mysteries of Christ’s death and resurrection. But most Christians are not mystics in the technical sense because we have yet to penetrate the Christian mysteries in depth. Mystics enjoy a special closeness to God. They get rid of all the clutter in their hearts to make room for God.”

Mr. Ghezzi has arranged the mystics he has chosen into 6 categories.

Part One–Miracles of Love

1. Healing Touch–St. Martin de Porres
2. Little Miracles of Affection–St. Theresa Margaret
3. Royal Miracles–St. Elizabeth of Hungary
4. Miracles from Failures–Venerable Solanus Casey

Part Two–Miraculous Prayer

1. Miracles That Made Peace–St. Catherine of Siena
2. The “Accidental” Mystic–St. Lutgarde of Aywieres
3. Miracles in the Desert–St. Anthony of Egypt
4. Miracles to the Rescue–St. Clare of Assisi

Part Three–Dreams, Visions, and Other Wonders

1. Visions–St. Perpetua
2. Miracles of the Heart–St. Gertrude the Great
3. Wounded Healer–Blessed padre Pio of Pietrelcina

Part Four–Miracles of Conversion

1. Miracles in Action–St. Dominic
2. Miracles in Death—St. Sabas and St. Apphian
3. Miracles in His Mouth–St. Anthony of Padua
4. The Miracle is the Message–St. Vincent Ferrer

Part Five–Miracles to Awaken Us

1. Miracles for the Poor–St. Francis of Assisi
2. A Miracle in Her Soul–St. Teresa of Avila
3. Raising the Dead and Other Miracles–St. Francis of Paola
4. An Astonishing Invasion of the Supernatural–St. John Bosco

Part Six–Miracles That Changed the Course of History

1. Miraculous Voices–St. Joan of Ark
2. Miracles over Magic–St. Patrick
3. Miracles of Discernment and Obedience–St. Ignatius of Loyola
4. A Miracle Within–St. Francis Xavier

At the end of each section, Mr.Ghezzi includes a statement or prayer from each mystic included. I have chosen to include a prayer from St. Theresa Margaret as I collect prayers that I love.

Genuine Love

“I desire to love you, O my love, with a love that is patient, with a love that abandons itself wholly to you, with a love that acts, and most important of all, with a love that perseveres. Just as one who loves a creature thinks of it often, so let the lover of God have him often in his thoughts. The mirror into which we must look in order to attain divine love in Jesus Christ. If the actions of our neighbors had a hundred sides, we ought to look at them on the best side. When an action is blameworthy, we should strive to see the good intentions back of it. Let us do everything for love and, remembering that love longs for love alone, nothing can appear hard to us.”

Wolfgang Staudt

Although I use spiritual practices originally learned from other faiths, I like Christian blogs best. Some of my favorite blogs are the following:

Christian Mystics–From the welcome: “Welcome to Christian Mystics, the site dedicated to Christian mystics both traditional and contemporary. As you’ll discover, we have a great library of things to investigate, as well as the freshness of a blog for lessons, reflections, rambling thoughts and more. I hope you’ll enjoy the journey! Blessings, Brian Robertson

Biscotti Brain (Thoughts: Twice Baked) From the author, Erin Wilson: “Biscotti remind me so much of how my mind works. Rarely is once-in-the-oven enough for my thoughts. They resurface, triggered by a piece of brilliance composed by someone else, and beg for reshaping… re-baking (rethinking)… and then finally consumption. Some don’t like biscotti. Others, with the patience to dunk in the beverage of their choice (medium black coffee for me), will find something to chew on.”

The Website of Unknowing features the writing of Carl McColman — American Celt, freelance author, aspiring contemplative, student of mysticism, and interfaith-friendly Catholic Christian.

Discombobula Sue says about her site: “I’m a 36 year old female from Melbourne, Australia, trying to make sense of the world, myself, God. Yep, I want to know it all. No wonder I’m discombobulated.”

Dirt Simple The author, Philip Eby, has posted this: “What can’t die is not alive. Food that can’t go bad, isn’t any good. To the extent that a thing is not perfect, it is real. This blog is not what I’d like it to be, but in order to create anything, one must first start with something that is not the thing being created. Welcome to dirtSimple.”

Barefoot toward the light: Barbara, the author, says: “This is a blog for anyone who cares to walk (or dance) beside me on my journey for a while. I imagine themes will arise as the blog takes shape over time, but I do like to muse on spiritual topics, especially as they relate to everyday life — small solitudes, as Mme Delbrel called them. At times, it is my nature to take an eccentric view of things — God’s little smartass, as it were. I hope you can take that in stride.”

Please email me, changemaker.kathy@gmail.com, with your favorite mysticism links.

An extensive collection of who’s who in Western Mysticism is complied by Professor Bruce Janz. This extensive list is divided into the following categories: Pre-Chrisitan mystics, early church Chrisitan mystics, medieval (Catholic and Orthodox) church, non-Catholic Christian mystics (16th-18th century), Jewish mysticism (links for Kabbalah), and Islamic mysticism. Janz has also included an addendum of terms, trends , movements, bibliographies, biographies, and general secondary sources about mysticism.

Another resource for mysticism and mystics, Concentric, has easy to use links to German, Hindu, Christian, Taoist, Jewish, Islamic, Spanish, and English mystics.

The Four Precepts web portal and spiritual search page has many web links. The web portal at this site has links to eco-spirituality, esoteria and theosophy, groups and forums, mystic traditions, popular authors, metafaith spirituality, self-help and psychology, poetic and aesthetic, news and current events, research and reference, and science and philosophy. If you have a site about spirituality, you can add your link to this site.

SpiritSite has several good writers who contribute to the site. Some of them are: Alan Cohen (“God Will Not Desert You”), Dan Joseph (Inspired by Miracles–which summarizes themes from A Course in Miracles), Daniel Goleman, Dr. David Burns, Dr. Deepak Chopra,Kent Nerburn (excerpt from his book, Simple Truths), Peace Pilgrim, Marianne Williamson, Thich Nhat Hahn, Dr. Edmund Bourne, and Byron Katie as well as many others.

HaPe Gera

While doing the research for the 50+ books I selected for the Changemaker Library, I realized that I love writing about good books. I have been reading for 60 years so I have a long history of what books can influence lives.

I don’t do book reviews. Instead, I give the book title, the author, the ISBN number and a link to Amazon to buy it. I also include excerpts from the book chosen so that a reader can decide if this book is a good match for him/her.

Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery

Marsha Sinetar

ISBN 0-8091-2773-3

Amazon link

From the introduction:

“My bias is this: ordinary, everyday people can and do become whole. They can and do live in ways that express their highest and most cherished values—values which also happen to be those most prized universally and collectively throughout human history. People who become whole are the ones who find completeness by consciously integrating inner and outer realities. This is a book about such persons, and about the way in which they manage to merge their inner truths with the demands of everyday living. It is for them, and for all who long for their own wholeness, that this book is written and dedicated.”

“It has been said that the inception of real personality health occurs when an individual stops trying to get the world to meet his needs and wants, and begins seeking out ways to perform some needed and meaningful service for others. That seems like a good and practice starting point for the discussion at hand, since it allows us to view wholeness through an inner/outer filter of how people conduct their life in relationship to others.”

From advancement to wholeness:

“Wholeness exists to the extent an individual is conscious of and receptive to his innermost self. The more aware and accepting a person becomes of his inner images and motivations, the more he becomes healed.”

“Paul Tillich’s phrase, “the courage to be”, is insightfully descriptive of what is required of one who would be whole. In his book of the same title, he reminds us that the self-affirming life requires will: the will to have more life, to surpass ourselves. This sort of courage banishes everything cowardly; it is the opposite of submissiveness to external gods. Rather it affirms that which really is alive within, and is the will which compels the individual to take on difficult, but perfectly natural, life battles. It allows him to tackle the kind of small deaths which open him up to a larger life.”

From the mystic type along the way:

“A key difference between mystics and all others is that their spiritual eyes have been opened, and they have “seen”. From the chaos of their early inner confusion, mystics awaken to an illumined posture of Being. They are in a state of Being rather than—like most others—

seeking to become. They possess such a high degree of interior richness that with little effort—or so it may seem to others—they develop their latent powers of transcending ordinary reality.”

From Dr. Lee Sannella who has researched the physical experiences or alterations to his/her physical state:

“Spiritual rebirth has become…a well-defined entity…It is not simply an altered state of consciousness, but an ongoing process lasting from several months to many years, during which the person passes in and out of different stages of consciousness…(This) can be described as an evolutionary process taking place in the nervous system.”

From Swami Paramananda, one of the first Hindu teachers to impact the United States,:

“The deep things do no come suddenly. Let us be patient—with ourselves. We may recognize many defects in our natures…it can all be removed. Go on working silently. Silence and patience go together. Silence has wonderful creative power. Make a study of the lives of great men. They conceive an idea but they do not go out and shout it before the world; they think silently and work quietly until they realize their ideal.”

From solitude and silence in the development of wholeness:

“Selected meditative and solitary practices help develop personality because the still-point of being, the innermost core of self, can—at first—only be reached indirectly: through dreams, through a flash of insight, through feelings or symbols, through stilling the mind.”

From psychiatrist William Glasser, a discipline must meet six requirements if it is to help people grow:

• It should be non-competitive and be done, for the most part, alone.
• It should be a practice which is not dependent on others for execution.
• It should be easy to do, should not require much mental effort (e.g., straining to make the mind blank turns people away from meditation despite their sound intentions).
• It should be a practice which is done regularly, about one hour per day (or twice a day in equal amounts of time).
• It should be something that the doer believes will improve his mental/physical state. He must see his own improvements, without needing an “expert” or guru to tell him he’s getting better—in other words, in every respect it should build self-sufficiency rather than dependence upon another.
• It should be something which can be done without inordinate self-criticism or comparison to someone else’s progress. The individual hurts himself, and his developmental progress, when he thinks, “I’m not running as fast, as far or gracefully as John,” or when he cruelly ridicules himself for the form or manner in which he sees himself doing the practice.

Per Ola Wiberg-Powi

When writing about spirituality, I much prefer to write about the fruits of the spirit than the subject of spirituality itself. I believe that each person’s spirituality is totally unique for each of us. Yet however we practice our spirituality, the fruits of the spirit will be reflected in our personality. If there are no fruits revealed, I question if the person is surrendering his/her will and life to the care of a God of his/her understanding.

One of the guiding principles of AA is that each member is taught to “not take someone else’s inventory”. In other words, The AA member is taught to take his/her own “inventory”. In continuing to blame others for our behavior, we are not checking our own motives. So, if we are truly committed to being changed, we begin the long road to self-discovery by learning to keep our side of the road clean. (In a side note to this, I have to confess that my favorite T-shirt of all times was for sale at an AA convention, and the slogan was: “Go ahead and take my inventory because I’ve already taken yours.”)

The fruits of the spirit are the heart of human change by a relationship with the God of his/her experience. From bible-knowledge.com, the fruits are listed:

Here are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit listed one right after the other in a bullet point format:

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control

Now here is the specific verse from Scripture where these 9 fruits are being given to us by the Lord:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

From Spirithome.com--

• Paul Describes the Spirit’s Fruit (with links to specific fruit)
• Other Passages Which Bear Fruit
• What Is the Fruit of the Spirit?
• Reconciliation and Unity
• Recap

Therefore, I want to continue focusing on the uplifting qulities that spirituality produces. 

The first quality I want to provide links for is creativity. I believe creativity to be the source for being joyful and happy. It is the place where we get to “play” and is the source of “flow” as I understand it to be.

By Wonderlane

One of the best writers who write about Buddhist principles is Pema Chodron. Several of her books include notes she collected from her talks. She took a year sabbatical to go through the large boxes of notes she had saved.

1)  From Shambhala: “Pema is the resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery for Westerners and has authored several books, including:

• Always Maintain a Joyful Mind (lojong teachings)
• Practicing Peace in Times of War
• No Time to Lose
• The Pema Chodron Collection (audio)
• Getting Unstuck:Breaking Your Habitual
  Patterns & Encountering Naked Reality (audio)

2)  Quotations by Pema Chodron at the Gaiam Life site include this one:
“You’re the only one who knows when you’re using things to protect yourself and keep your ego together and when you’re opening and letting things fall apart, letting the world come as it is – working with it rather than struggling against it. You’re the only one who knows.”

3)  Pema’s teaching schedule

4)  Her biography

The most important quality I notice in those studying Buddhism is the aura of non-judgment. We in the Western religions seem to have a need to tell others how to live and who to be. Buddhists, whose faith has principles and guidances, focus more on what is going on inside them rather than evaluating others. Compassion is rooted in non-judgment. I am reminded of how many times I’ve seen a Christian preacher looking very stern and preaching fear and screaming at us.

Dunure Labyrinth by green-man1

Labyrinths have helped people to become centered so that serenity becomes a welcome companion. The Labyrinth Society has a labyrinth locator so that anyone may locate labyrinths locally. it also has a labyrinth market. The products are listed from A-Z and include labyrinth builders. portable labyrinths, and finger labyrinths. The geographic index lists suppliers locally and includes gifts, clothing, teachers, facilitators, workshops, events, music, art, travel, and misc.

Some other sites and excerpts from them:

The Labyrinth and Acceptance

“The labyrinth is one of the oldest of symbols; it depicts the way to the unknown center, the mystery of death and rebirth, the risk of the search, the danger of losing the way, the quest, the finding and the ability to return. If we follow the path of the labyrinth from the floor of Chartres Cathedral we can observe that in the course of  its tortuous evolution it not only connects the periphery with the center (the Self) but actually fills out and covers the total plane surface of the circle; in striving for the center the path integrates the total circle, the total field.” Edward Whitmont, The Symbolic Quest, pg. 306-307.

Patient Centered Design: Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

From Fast Company–a slideshow that included 21 slides about this unique hospital that was designed by the patients.

The View from Above

“The right way to wholeness is made up of fateful detours and wrong turnings.” Carl Jung

“I know quite a few people who have been living life along one vector.  It’s as though the compulsion in that direction has no allowance for variance.  I’ve ridden vectors for extended periods as well.  It’s been my experience that such a vector eventually constellates opposition, which for lack of a better definition, feels like fate.  Actually, it feels like a brick wall.”

Not My Way

“I remember this game which I played as a child, I believe it was called Labyrinth. It was a wooden board that could tilt in four directions. The object was to control the marble by tilting the board, running the marble through a maze and prevent the marble from falling down the traps (holes in the board.)”

Meditative Jews Adopt New Tradition

‘Fifteen months ago, Franklin Horowitz was in a bad place in his life.”

“Entangled in “addictive issues,” he was lost inside his own skin. But then the Voorhees resident started walking the labyrinth at an Episcopal church in Bala Cynwyd, Pa.”

“Though Jewish, he was drawn to the winding path cut in the grass near his childhood home. On it, he discovered the labyrinth’s power for contemplation.”

“I was really meditative,” Horowitz said. “I was grounded with the earth. There was something about the way you took specific twists and turns while being cognizant of where you were going, in relation to your center.”

“Right there, in the middle of the thing, he called a counselor and arranged to get help.”