Let go, Hear, Understand, Know, Listen

"Let the beauty you love be what you do.

There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth."

----Rumi

My visit to Asheville, North Carolina could not have been complete

without finding a labyrinth or two.

This was behind a church, right along a creek.

It was quiet all except the sound of the running water behind me

and the birds in the surrounding trees.

I feel like each of our lives are on a sacred journey.

The labyrinth is a model for that journey.

The Hopi called the labyrinth the symbol for mother earth.

This one was in Asheville also, near some

working artists studios and the French Broad River,

close to downtown. 

To find these labyrinths, I go online to the

labyrinth locator...

http://www.labyrinthsociety.org

It has made it easy to find them when I am traveling.

Sometimes you will find the center of a labyrinth

with objects that people have left,

symbolizing something that is meaningful to them.

I hope you find a labyrinth and make sure to....

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Morning Dew Tea

Happy Tea on Tuesday!

While on our anniversary trip,

we stayed at El Rocio B&B

which means

The Morning Dew.

Lovely place down in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Warm weather, and just a short drive south.

I enjoyed some green tea while there,

and took it on my morning walk,

along with a fresh picked orange.

We saw birds of many kinds,

and they love the citrus as much as we do.

Here is a kiskadee enjoying his breakfast,

and to the right

you can see a clay colored robin.

I also saw a chachalaca and paraque,

which are now added to my birding life list.

I walked a labyrinth on the property.

It is said that walking a labyrinth is a right brained task,

that involves intuition, creativity and imagery.

Our cottage, Casa Jardin,

had nice touches like this hand made quilt.

Loved this unique woodpecker door knocker.

Then we saw the little hobbit type meditation room.

Below shows a bit of the green, lush gardens outside our door.

Love the colors of the stucco walls too.

The rusted metal 'spirit lady'

that says

'Live in the Light'

was one of my favorite pieces

of garden art they had on the grounds.

Visit Kimmie for more tea posts.

You never know what you will find there.

Kimmie has lots of unique things in her Etsy shop too.

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

A surprising labyrinth

Each time I take a little trip

I look at the labyrinth locator online

and find out where I can find one to walk.
I also think they are very pretty.

Click on http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/

to find one near you.

I found one at a spirituality center in the Tx. hill country.
 I had to go beyond the second building
to the prayer path and take the right fork.

I walked and walked through the wildness of the land,
and sometimes I would come across a place to pause.

I kept walking the winding path
that was lined with local limestone rocks,
seeing lilttle surprises now and then.

This little statue was just one of many surprises.

This 8 ft. tall wooden Fruit of the Spirit plaque was another surprise.

Then about 250-300 yards in...

the path opened up to a clearing and there it was....

I had arrived at the labyrinth.

It was an eleven- circuit labyrinth —

a Texas vernacular reinterpretation of the well-known design at Chartres.

I was so pleased and surprised.

Here I am at the center of the labyrinth.

So, find a labyrinth.
You may be surprised too.

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Tea and labyrinths

Happy Tea on Tuesday!

While visiting my friend Lana

in the Texas hill country

this last week,

she pulled out a wonderful

collection of teas for me to choose from.

I chose this one....

Hedley's Rooibos.

The morning was a cool 64 degrees,

and it tasted good with a bit of honey added.

The last morning on my trip, I decided to

walk a labyrinth on the ride home.

Before hitting the road and leaving home,

I will sometimes go online to a labyrinth locator,

http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/

and find a public one to walk,

 in the areas I will be visiting.

This one is a little hard to see in the photo,

because of the shadows,

but it has a great design,

almost like a flower.

It was small and quick to walk,

one that would be good for a backyard.
Go here
http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/search/label/labyrinth
on my blog
to see more about labyrinths,
including one I created.

Visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

for more tea posts.

Enjoy the little things and don't forget to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Hibernation Tea and a Walk

 For tea day today,
I am having raspberry tea,
while hibernating indoors
away from this awful heat.

 It is so hot and dry here!

 This photo shows how dry the ground is.
Everything is crispy underfoot
and cracks like this are showing up everywhere.

 Visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/
for more tea posts.

***

I got back from my trip on Sunday,

One thing I do like to do on my trips
is to find labyrinths to walk.
I go to
 http://labyrinthsociety.org/
and click on
Labyrinth Locator.

I walked this labyrinth in San Antonio

early one morning,

when the sun was just coming up.

A labyrinth is not a maze.

It has only one path,

 a winding passage that leads to a central space in the center

 and back out again.

The labyrinth was used in Europe by medieval Christians and pilgrims.

Today, people of all faiths may experience their own pilgrimage.

There are three stages of the Walk...

Release

...the art of walking quiets and empties the mind.

Illumination

...is the place where you allow yourself to receive guidance,

 a place of prayer and meditation.

Union

...each time you walk

you can become healed and strengthened

for your walk in the world.

You can go within the soul and open the heart.

Walking a labyrinth always leaves me

with a sense of peace and healing.

Suggested Reading below...

Savor the day!

Yvonne

Labyrinth

I'm so happy with our prayer labyrinth at the church. When I first thought of putting one on the grounds I didn't know if it would ever happen as we are such a small church, only about 8 active members or so. But we received donations of materials and labor and it was done! The sign is up and people are walking! I've walked it myself several times.

I have walked several labyrinths, my first being the Desert Light Labyrinth in Arizona. I plan on walking more. Why don't you check your area for one as they are for all faiths and are in private and public areas for all to enjoy.

Oh, by the way, some anonymous person carved the center stone for the labyrinth and placed it there for us. Isn't that wonderful.

Our Prayer Labyrinth

Today was Labyrinth Day at the Church! We had a group of kids come down from Austin and some from Kingsville, who volunteered their time (and a few adults too) to come help build a labyrinth. They are also helping build an awning at our clinic. Awesome isn't it!!!
Last fall I had an idea to build a labyrinth as part of our centennial celebration which starts in 2010. We got the rock donated, the rock was hauled by Gene Hickey, Mike McConnell has put in time helping a lot and then we got the labor from the kids and their parents. We also have had members step up and donate food to feed the kids and donate bottled water and more. It's just been great!  We don't have many members in our church, only about 8 active members, so it was truly a blessing when these people came to help us.

This first photo is of me and my friend Michael. 

First we had to figure out which design we wanted to create.

We layed out the design of the labyrinth with a stick and rope,

making it quite easy.

Then the rock was delivered and the work began.

They dug a shallow ditch to put the limestone rocks in so they would be stable. The paths are 2 ft. wide and it measures 36 ft. in diameter. It is on church grounds partly under shade trees and we will have a picnic table and 2 benches around it for people to enjoy too.

This is Pastor Cindy Layton, the first to walk our labyrinth. We hope there will be many more to walk it. We are planning a dedication later on when we get a sign to tell people all about it and how to use it as a prayer tool.

Yvonne