Labyrinths

Here is the link to the Scalar site for my Comprehensive Portfolio for this PhD program titled

Into the Labyrinth: A PhD Comprehensive Portfolio

This page will further capture and link to some of the many resources I have located as I research how labyrinths are used in educational contexts.

My Story

During the Doctoral Seminar Part 1 course held at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, there was an opportunity to participate in a labyrinth activity. I regretted missing that event when my classmates shared their experience. Before Doctoral Seminar Part 2 was to be held at Brock University in St. Catherine’s, I became aware that a permanent labyrinth had recently been opened on campus. I reached out to the organizers to plan a similar event as was held the previous summer. When it came time to attend, the day was hot and humid, so no other DS1 or DS2 participants arrived for the event. I took full advantage of having the leaders as my personal guides to labyrinths and this became more about the research than the act of walking a labyrinth. At the end of this session I knew I needed to experience the effect of a labyrinth walk, so despite the heat, I ventured outside to located the labyrinth. It was set into the grass in a convenient location between the main buildings and the parking lot.

As I was informed, I needed to set an intention for the walk, which I did while removing my sandals. I was alone as I walked barefoot and empty handed into the labyrinth. I paid close attention to the sensations of air, heat, sound, ground, and emotions. As I walked, I became aware of my inner and outer surroundings. I had time to think and notice as I walked. Each step, each turn, each curve brought me closer to the center, where I was able to stop and look around. I realized that while I walked the labyrinth to get to the center, I had to pay attention to the ground and the path, without looking up or out, since I didn’t want to step off the path. It was only when I reached the center that I was able to reflect on how I got there, and attempt to see the path back out. It was at this point that I realized this was a metaphor for my PhD journey and that the comprehensive portfolio was the center of the my PhD labyrinth. As I walked outward, I felt the connection to the ground, the movement, how each step was bringing me closer to the end of the path. This return from the center was frustrating because at points it looked like I was moving toward the exit, only to be looped back into the labyrinth for another inward path. By the end of my walk, I knew that this labyrinth experience would have a lasting impact on my PhD journey.

As part of my reflective practice, completing a finger labyrinth has become part of my contemplative process. During times of stress and pressing deadlines, I am reminded to draw a labyrinth on a piece of scrap paper which I can use with my finger to focus and re-centre my thinking. This provides a momentary pause in which I can mindfully and intentionally face obstacles and process anxieties. The full walking path of a physical labyrinth isn’t the only way to experience this reflective praxis.

Labyrinth Research

Just as an autoethnographic research would do, after this experience I did a bit of research to ensure that I would remember and build stronger connections between the event and the literature. I began with the Brock University website where the labyrinth is explained and resources are shared. Here are some of the key resources I will use in my own research about labyrinths and an annotated bibliography.

Here are some of the key resources I will use in my own research about labyrinths and a link to an annotated bibliography about labyrinths.