A labyrinth is like a maze but with no wrong turns, and studies show that walking through one has a profound calming effect on the brain, much like meditation. Drawing a labyrinth can help too. People have been doing it for about 4,000 years, and here’s what’s mind-blowing: Archaeologists have found images of this very labyrinth, called a seven-circuit labyrinth, on cave walls, coins, pottery, tombs and cathedrals all over the world. How could people, separated by thousands of miles and years, draw the exact same image? We talked to labyrinth researcher Donna Zucker, Ph.D., for our Magnificent Mistakes issue (#8) and she said there are a lot of hypotheses, but no solid answers. Dr. Zucker studies how walking labyrinths makes people feel, and she found that walking one enhances the middle brain and reduces stress, so that people are more likely to think before they act. She also made the point that, historically, walking a labyrinth was a way to take a long journey without having to venture far from home, where it might’ve been less safe. Think about all of that for a minute. Then try drawing your own labyrinth. Trace it with your finger. See how it makes you feel. Then, pass it on.
