Finding a spiritual center

While walking in circles one might easily get lost in thought but not in spirit, says Ellen Allman, who led Sunday’s “Labyrinth Service” at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House at 21 Fairground Road.


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2017-01-09 / Front Page Finding a spiritual center Church holds 'Labyrinth Service' to help meditate By ALLAN STEIN allans@eagletimes.com Ellen Allman, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Springfield, leads children on a tour of a meditation labyrinth Sunday at the church meeting house on Fairground Road. — ALLAN STEIN Ellen Allman, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Springfield, leads children on a tour of a meditation labyrinth Sunday at the church meeting house on Fairground Road. — ALLAN STEIN SPRINGFIELD — While walking in circles one might easily get lost in thought but not in spirit, says Ellen Allman, who led Sunday’s “Labyrinth Service” at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House at 21 Fairground Road. Every January for the past six years, Allman has created the labyrinth so that people can meditate and feel closer to their spiritual center. That is the purpose and the goal of the labyrinth, she said. On Sunday, more than 20 church members and several guests attended the labyrinth service that included songs, readings, and “Lessons from the Labyrinth.” The medallion-like labyrinth had been drawn with chalk in the red carpet and lined with stones — nearly 200 of them, of all shapes and sizes. Allman and her husband, Robert, gathered the stones and pebbles locally and have been using them for the annual labyrinth service ever since. “We keep them in buckets in our house and pull them out and use them once a year [for the labyrinth],” Robert Allman said. Ellen Allman said she first became acquainted with the labyrinth during a meeting of “dowsers” in Danville, Vermont. Dowsing is an ancient type of divination used by practitioners to connect with spiritual energy. Allman said she was intrigued by the labyrinth and decided to try it out herself and share the experience with others. She said there is no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth, which is an intricate network of pathways with seven levels leading to the center of the labyrinth symbolizing spiritual awareness. “It’s more like walking meditation,” Allman said. “You can’t get lost, but you always find your way.” Allman said that some like to walk quickly around the labyrinth, others slowly, and others like to skip. Shoes are optional; silence is a must. “It is fine to go around someone if they are going at a different pace,” Allman said. After the service, Allman led the small group on a spiritual journey through the labyrinth. “People walk at their own pace and when we’re done we have to pick [all of the stones] up,” Robert Allman said.