The Daily Journal has a fascinating article that illustrates the shrinking radius we give our children to explore over the years by looking at the childhoods of four members of a British family. Great Grandfather was allowed to roam some six miles away from home to go fishing at the age of eight. Grandfather had about a mile radius of freedom, Mother about half a mile, and the now eight-year-old-child can only wander to the end of his block.

In what I consider a ringing endorsement of “druidic values,” psychologists are concerned about the mental health of the current and future generations due to lack of exposure to the natural world.

The report’s author, Dr William Bird, the health adviser to Natural England and the organiser of a conference on nature and health on Monday, believes children’s long-term mental health is at risk.

He has compiled evidence that people are healthier and better adjusted if they get out into the countryside, parks or gardens.

Stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces, he says. Even filling a home with flowers and plants can improve concentration and lower stress.

“If children haven’t had contact with nature, they never develop a relationship with natural environment and they are unable to use it to cope with stress,” he said.

“Studies have shown that people deprived of contact with nature were at greater risk of depression and anxiety. Children are getting less and less unsupervised time in the natural environment.

“They need time playing in the countryside, in parks and in gardens where they can explore, dig up the ground and build dens.”

This should be an interesting experiment.  Starting next week, I’ll be trying to give meditation instruction through a folder on our forums.  I don’t know if it will work, but there seems to be a good bit of interest.  As I say in my sign-up post, this style of meditation, shikantaza, I believe to be the most fundamental of all meditative practices.

Inanna at At the End of Desire wrote recently about a New York Times article which related mental health to the narrative style of the stories we tell about ourselves. Those with mood problems, for example, tell stories in which every major incident is tainted by some dark detail — “notes of disappointment.” Inanna suggests that a storytelling technique using this information could be used therapeutically to change, subtly and over time, characteristics about our selves.

This makes me wonder if a positive form of cognitive therapy could be to “rewrite” the stories we tell ourselves, making ourselves the heroes instead of the victims. I can imagine a therapist, peer counselor, or friend gently pointing out the “notes of disappointment” in a story being told and suggesting ways to change the narrative.
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Of course, it’s not as simple as “thinking makes it so.” (I don’t really understand the Law of Attraction, but I know that that’s not so simple either, The Secret notwithstanding.) If anything, the retelling works more like an affirmation; repeat it often enough, and you can cognitively “rewire,” training the mind to move in a different groove.

The possible connection of such a technique to ritual was, of course, not lost on her and she concludes with the observation that “Ritual and magick could also be powerful tools to aid in retelling.” I would expound on that and suggest that ritual and magic are extremely powerful and useful psychological “self-help” techniques. The connection between the power of storytelling and magic was made clear to me by a passage later in the article, relating how people who found recovery, externalized their problems:

At some level, talk therapy has always been an exercise in replaying and reinterpreting each person’s unique life story. Yet Mr. Adler found that in fact those former patients who scored highest on measures of well-being — who had recovered, by standard measures — told very similar tales about their experiences.

They described their problem, whether depression or an eating disorder, as coming on suddenly, as if out of nowhere. They characterized their difficulty as if it were an outside enemy, often giving it a name (the black dog, the walk of shame). And eventually they conquered it.

“The story is one of victorious battle: ‘I ended therapy because I could overcome this on my own,’ ” Mr. Adler said. Those in the study who scored lower on measures of psychological well-being were more likely to see their moods and behavior problems as a part of their own character, rather than as a villain to be defeated. To them, therapy was part of a continuing adaptation, not a decisive battle.

The findings suggest that psychotherapy, when it is effective, gives people who are feeling helpless a sense of their own power, in effect altering their life story even as they work to disarm their own demons, Mr. Adler said.

A sense of power? Disarming demons? Sounds like ritual and magic to me. I’ve discussed the psychological affect and benefits of ritual here before, and this reinforces my theory: that ritual and magic can be seen as a way to effectively communicate with the subconscious and thus change our lives for the better. If externalizing our problems is an effective therapy, what can be more therapeutic than magic in which our problems are not only externalized but given physical form, say as a poppet or a note on paper, and then manipulated or destroyed?

I am leery of reducing magic to simply a mind-trick we play on ourselves, but I think it helps to recognize that, at least on some level, that’s exactly what it is. The surprising thing I have come to realize, though, is that recognizing the “mind-trick” doesn’t reduce the power of the magic, it only helps us develop better and more powerful rituals! The reason for this is that the subconscious doesn’t know the difference. The distinction is being made by the conscious, rational mind. So, what can we get out of this article that will help us design rituals? Here are my thoughts:

1. “Externalize” the problem you are dealing with. Make it real and separate. Represent it with some tangible object that you can work with.
2. Word spells in terms of overcoming obstacles. Word them with the problem first, then the resolution. Negative, then positive ending.
3. Use third person instead of first person as much as possible.

It would also seem to me that this storytelling angle reinforces the importance of journaling. Journaling lets you see what’s going on in your life from another perspective, lets you integrate thoughts and feelings using both sides of your brain, and, as this article suggests, gives you a narrative you can review and examine in a different light, letting you see how your own “notes of disappointment” are bringing you down.

It was thought that humankind developed the abstract thought necessary to organize group rituals until about 40,000 years ago. A recent find, artifacts dating about 70,000 years old is making scientists rethink that assumption.

“Stone age people took these colorful spearheads, brought them to the cave, and finished carving them there,” Coulson said today. “Only the red spearheads were burned. It was a ritual destruction of artifacts. There was no sign of normal habitation. No ordinary tools were found at the site.”

The discovery was made in a remote region of Botswana called Tsodilo Hills, the only uplifted area for miles around. It is known to modern Sanpeople as the “Mountains of the Gods” and the “Rock that Whispers.” Their legend has it that mankind descended from the python, and the ancient, arid streambeds around the hills are said to have been created by the python as it circled the hills in its ceaseless search for water.

That legend made the discovery of the stone python all the more amazing.

“Our find means that humans were more organized and had the capacity for abstract thinking at a much earlier point in history than we have previously assumed,” Coulson said. “All of the indications suggest that Tsodilo has been known to mankind for almost 100,000 years as a very special place in the pre-historic landscape.”

Maybe the “Old Ways” are even older than we had ever thought.

At our Samhain celebration, I constructed a labyrinth that I was very proud of. Here it is:

On our forums, I was asked recently about the meaning of the labyrinth and how it fit into our practice. This was my off the cuff answer:

The labyrinth is like a path.. to where, I’m not sure… to the center of the universe, to an alternate “here,” to the edge of the divide between our world and the spirit world? Maybe all of the above. As you walk its path back and forth, your “head space” changes, expands. It’s a walking, moving meditation. When you reach the center and look around, it’s like you are in a different world. You are in the center of the world, surrounded by the universe.

It’s hard to explain. Maybe because, to any rational observation, it’s just walking around in circles and spirals, twists and turns. But you actually do it, and it’s completely different.

Honestly, my knowledge of labyrinths is very limited. It consists of having walked a few and briefly discussed them with Dragon once. I just found a very interesting site about them, though: The Labyrinth Society. They are “inspiring possibilities and creating connections through the labyrinth.” Their goal is to promote the use and construction of labyrinths worldwide. What do they have to say about the meaning of labyrinths? Here is their take on sacred geometry:

Sig Lonegren’s Definition
In a nut-shell, Sacred Geometry is, “The use of a handful of ratios to create forms that help the seeker to resonate properly to achieve their desired spiritual goal.”

While I am aware that others have found sacred geometry in the Chartres Labyrinth, I honestly have never found any evidence that it exists in the Classical labyrinths. Oh yes, you can make them with a compass, but it ain’t necessary. Is the turf-cut Chartres-type Braemer labyrinth south of Salisbury in England any less effective than the identical path labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France? I don’t think so, I’ve experienced powerful results in both.

BUT, there is a connection between Classical labyrinths and Sacred Geometry. To really gnow how to make one, you MUST make ten or so with your hands - the same as with and Sacred Geometrical shape like the phi rectangle. Something happens when you make a number of these forms. Suddenly, you can stop thinking about what to do next, and your hand takes over, and you just gnow what to do. That’s when the geometry becomes sacred.

So, while it can be made an issue with a small number of labyrinth types, for most of them, except for the gnowing-by-doing-it-with-your-hand aspect, sacred geometry really isn’t necessary to the construction of most labyrinths. (Of course you/Western Man can MAKE Sacred Geometry a part, but I have found that it is absolutely not a requirement.)

Unlike standing in the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid, or at the centre of Stonehenge, or in any other sacred space constructed using Sacred Geometry, I don’t believe it is the shape/form/ratio of the labyrinth that aids one in achieving resonance or entrainment, it is the act of walking it - back and forth, back and forth that does this. (This is one reason why I am less sure of the efficacy of modern labyrinth variants. It is the pattern that one walks that creates the resonance.

Alex Champion’s Definition
Sacred geometry is the contemplation and utilization of the archetypal geometric patterns of Nature for the purposes of spiritual communion and healing.

Robert Ferré’s Definition
“Sacred geometry is the act of studying the divine act of creation and then using that knowledge to create in the same way. By studying nature, we find that the basic building blocks of creation are geometric. Since a divine hand is responsible for originating the numbers and proportions of the manifest universe, that geometry is sacred. Studying sacred geometry leads us to truth and self-understanding. All societies use sacred geometry to construct their temples, sacred places, and art. Chartres Cathedral, for example. And its labyrinth. Numbers aren’t just for counting, nor are they just symbolic. They are the actual essence of everything that exists.”

More insight into the “why” of labyrinths was neatly provided on a website created for Palo Alto College’s Staff Development Day, July 25, 2001, and called: Labyrinth: Journey to Wellness.

A labyrinth is an ancient symbol representing wholeness that is over 3,500 years old. When this symbol is transferred to the ground and walked with purpose, it becomes a metaphor for the journey of life. It is a single path to our center, the inner self; a slowing down and listening, then returning to the outer world feeling renewed and rejuvenated. The benefits include stress reduction, relaxation and stillness along with the opportunity to open to our intuition and creativity.

Also, of good value is their list o’ benefits of walking a labyrinth:

10. It is a Right Brain task involving creativity and imagery. There is no logic or maze trickery.
9. You can experience an ancient archetype symbolic of wholeness and life’s journey.
The seven circuits symbolize the variety of parts that make up the whole human.
8. Allows you to be a part of human history…people all over the world have been walking these patterns for over 3,500 years.
7. When the labyrinth is an outside one, it is a wonderful opportunity
to connect with nature and Mother Earth, allowing you to realize
how sacred & precious everything is.
6. It is a walking meditation promoting relaxation, deeper breathing &
release of stress.
5. Mysteriously works with the chakra system and chi meridians used by Chinese acupuncturist throughout ages for healing and balancing the organs & body.
4. It is a way to get in touch with the inner self; the self that knows you best.
3. Gives you the opportunity to express your personal needs to yourself.
2. Gives you the opportunity to listen and search for your own answers.
To be self-dependent, self-responsible and connected to your inner source.
1. It is a gift of self-care you give to yourself and share with others.

As I said before, it doesn’t really make sense until you give it a try. Find a labyrinth near you and try walking it with purpose as a moving meditation and see what happens. I doubt you will be disappointed.