1b: Review of Labyrinth

So, Noah tried the labyrinth suggestion and wrote this review of the experience:

I started by doing the labyrinth with my finger, and thinking about the words Miranda had set. To begin with, I was just saying the words to myself, and I didn't really know what to do, quite frankly. So then I started thinking about the words- and saying 'if you are the way or the light or whatever, show me' and I suppose I was thinking about what it meant for God to be the way etc., and asking him to help me understand that.

On the way out, when I was meant to be thinking about Jesus saying 'follow me', I was asking Jesus if he could help me follow him, because I still don't know really why I'm on the path because I'm not quite sure if I believe in him yet. So I was asking 'could you help me and other people to realise that you and your father do exist, and that the world would be a better place if everyone believed.'

After I'd done that, I tried doing the labyrinth with the marble. The marble was much more fun, and I had to really concentrate on communicating with my body.

 [Miranda's note: I had expected Noah to push the marble around the track with his hands, but in fact, he instinctively picked up the whole labyrinth in both hands, and concentrated on tilting it in three dimensions - like a Wii game - to guide the marble around by gravity. Which did look a lot more fun, and more absorbing!]

I actually did it twice with the marble, because the first time I just concentrated on getting the marble round the track, and realised at the end I didn't get it as a prayer at all. So I did it again, and the second time I was more just letting it go round and not trying so hard to follow the path exactly letting the marble jump corners and walls. I didn't think much on the way in, but on the way out that time I found myself thinking about how it compares to life.

I mean, when you were rolling the marble around and trying to get it right, it kept jumping corners and going over the lines, but you eventually got there in the end. And I thought of this as sort of being like the journey of life: you try to get somewhere and when it feels that you're really really close you get turned away by little things, and then they turn into bigger things, and then you sort them out and they start seeming to be coming back into the perfect life and you are coming back into the centre again. And then more little things go wrong, more arguments with friends and family or whatever happen again, and get you further and further away, so you sometimes feel like there's no point in life and you might as well just die. But then things start to get better again and you realise that life is good and you start to feel it gets better. And you start to think maybe going to church might help you in life.
 And I thought, when I first remember going to church - when I was six or seven or whatever - it seemed really boring and pointless, but the more I learned about God I realised the more important it was and that it might help eventually to find my connection with God.

Summing up the whole experience I would definitely recommend using the marble (or the finger really) just don't bother using the set words.


Marks out of 10 (where 1 is bad and 10 is good)

Ease of use: 10/10 Very easy.

Interest: Marble: 8/10 made me think
Finger: 7/10 made me pray but more limiting because of the set words