Toronto+Vancouver City of Labyrinths Project

Black and White photograph capturing the colourful Lines of the Roxton Road Labyrinth I painted on the wading pool in Fred Hamilton Park, Toronto . . .

View this post on Instagram

Kaiya / wading pool.🐠 #10monthsold. Photocred: @_bokeh_

A post shared by Brandon (@brand_master_flash) on Jul 7, 2018 at 10:09pm PDT

A skateboard who makes use of the Christie Pits Wading Pool as a “velodrome” once shared with me how he appreciated the painted lines of my Labyrinth.

It improved Situational Awareness as he boarded round and round in circles having fun . . .

It used to be that when I searched online for “Labyrinths” and ““Islam“, almost nothing turned up, except my own blog posts, and my own images.

Recently, I am stumbling upon posts and images like this with increasing frequency…

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
وَعَلَى الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوا أَنْ لَا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
#سورة #توبة
آیه ۱۱۸

“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

“And the three who were left behind to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him.

“Then He turned to them so they could repent.

“Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.”

– Qur’an : Chapter/Sūrat At-Tawbah (The Repentance) Verse (9:118)

This is one of the Heart Aglets from my larger scale Chalk Labyrinth currently on the Seawall near Science World in False Creek.

Aglets are that slip of plastic at the end of shoelaces to prevent fraying of the threads.

When I first began drawing circles at the end of the arcs and turn-arounds in my Labyrinths, I needed a word for what this was and what I intended and hoped for in behaviour of Labyrinth Walkers/Runners.

Over the years I had noticed by direct observation of people walking my Labyrinths, there were these micro-hesitations, these almost imperceptible pauses whenever people reached a turn-around.

Finally realized that people were looking at the far wall at the end of each Labyrinth Lane.

They would reach the wall, and only then would they make a decision to turn.

They were focused on the destination at the end of the lane.

By drawing circles at the end of the arcs, be they parallel or concentric lines, which altogether make a Labyrinth a Labyrinth, I saw those micro-hesitations disappear.

People were focusing on the circle as they walked towards the end of each lane, reaching it they seamlessly turned and continued walking or running until they reached the centre.

This micro-hesitation behaviour did not exist when I looked at people walking traditional Chartres Labyrinth designs.

That was an important clue.

I had observed people just kept walking, without the pause.

That was because at the end of each concentric lane is a semi-circle curve, a Labrys, which would guide you to the next inner or outer parallel concentric lane.

In essence, by drawing circles at the end of arcs, I had pulled in the Labrys from the far wall to the centre of a turn-around point.

That began in Toronto.

One day, I don’t recall when, but it was here in Vancouver, instead of drawing a circle aglet, I drew a heart aglet.

It changed everything.

The entire feeling of walking the Labyrinth changed.

With every turn, one’s own idea of whatever the Heart Symbol means to them, is being compounded with every turn until they reach the centre, where they usually find a Larger Heart, which I almost always now include in my Labyrinths.

I found this positive compounded feeling was lessened by using multi-coloured heart aglets, so I almost always keep them red.

Yet whenever I remember to do so, I mix it up and draw one or maybe two Heart Aglets in a different colour.

Thus, this Blue Heart Aglet…

A skateboarder once thanked me for the Concentric Circle Arcs comprising my Wading Pool Labyrinth in Christie Pits Park.

He said it helped with depth perception allowing for situation awareness.

I wonder if same holds true for Unicyclists?

Reflection upon Reflection upon the Heart at the Start of my Robson Square Labyrinth . . .

The Wading Pool which doubles as Labyrinth triples as an outdoor venue for House Music Performances . . .

View this post on Instagram

#warehousejacks @a_klass17 and @matthieu_bola_oito at @parksnwrecktoronto 2017. . . #tbt #parksnwrecktoronto #toronto #housedance #housedancetoronto

A post shared by Warehouse Jacks (@warehouse.jacks) on Jun 14, 2018 at 4:17pm PDT

The Labyrinths I’ve been in Chalking in MacLean Park are meaningful for people . . .

“🔸Labyrinths and Play 🔸

“Ever since I started studying Labyrinths, they seem to pop up everywhere around me. These ones were drawn in chalk at the MacLean Park playground in Strathcona some time last month.

“Walking a Labyrinth doesn’t always have to be a serious and solemn affair as we meditate our way to the centre.

“It can also be playful and light and joyous.

“Our inner child accesses earth magic in a totally different way than our grown-up selves do. how do our inner children feel about dancing or skipping, crawling or hopping or maybe even rolling their way through the Labyrinth?

“Play and movement is such a sacred part of healing.

“Allow the inner child to come out and dance their way to the earth temple💗”

– Leah Rose Tottenham, Radical Spirits Vancouver.

Blessings Appreciated !

“After several days of frazzled energy, encountering this Labyrinth painted on the ground amidst the gingko leaves that already festooned the space, was very much welcomed.

I was hurrying on my way to work this evening but gave myself the gift of time to stop and walk along the Labyrinth’s calming and healing pathway. Blessings to the maker.”

– Naomi Belle