The enigmatic figure of a maze usually provokes a mixture of surprise, fascination and restlessness. And this is so because it is a true symbol. Let’s remember that conventional signs (for example a traffic sign), They give specific and limited information.
The whether they are forms of nature or special artistic creations, contain a more subtle message directed to our deep being, with different meanings according to the ability and interests of who perceives it. Without words, they tell us something we need to know.
The labyrinth as a symbol
The symbol of the labyrinth is one of the oldest and most widespread. We found it, etched in stone, on the Scandinavian or Galician coasts. Also on the pavement of medieval churches. Pilgrims walked through it on their knees, equivalent to a trip to the Holy Land for themas in the Basilica of St. Quentin (Amiens).
They are famous labyrinths Knossos (Crete)he Temple of Amenemhet III in Fayoum (Egypt) and in Europe that of the Chartres Cathedral (France).
The spiritual meaning of the labyrinth
The basic structure of a maze is usually a geometric figure of straight lines (frequently a cross) and (spirals), as paths that intersect. Its input is known, but the output is not. And that’s the challenge: find it.
The reason, then, that seeing or imagining a labyrinth arouses in us an inevitable fascination is that it is an archetypal image of the world.
Although from the Baroque period the labyrinth present in many gardens is a playful or entertaining motif, its ancient origin is clearly ritual.
Regarding its meaning, symbolizes human life, with its vicissitudes from birth to death.
From a spiritual point of view it supposes the search for the truth. It represents the initiation path: the alchemical transformation of the dense (lead) into the subtle (gold); the passage from the lower self (ego) to the true self (the Self or Spirit).
In Christian, Jewish or Islamic terminology, supposes to obtain the salvation. For Hindus and Buddhists, it is equivalent to get off the wheel of Samsara and its circle of suffering.
One of the characteristics of the labyrinthine is that, like a game of mirrors, an enigma often contains another enigma. That is why it is possible to speak of a great labyrinth built with small mazes.
The first of these is the universe itself.with its infinity made of light and darkness: the firmament, the celestial orbits, the stars that are born and die… Physicists and astronomers have tried in vain, for centuries, to discover its origin and end: the entrance-exit of the labyrinth.
the second labyrinth Is given by our limited perception of reality. Time and space condition us, we don’t know what will happen in an hour, what is a few kilometers away or just around the corner. The senses themselves tend to create somewhat labyrinthine situations.
The third labyrinth is our own soul or psyche, with all its nooks and crannies. Just by realizing the countless images, ideas, emotions and feelings that move inside us in a more or less uncontrolled way, we will recognize that the experience of the labyrinth is something quite everyday.
Interestingly, if we look the outer shape of the brain, with its sinuous convolutions, we see that it resembles a labyrinth. Also if we expand our fingerprintsremembering that they are personal and are located in the extension of the brain that are the hands), we verify that they are forms that crein mysterious labyrinths. Even the intestine itselfwith its curves and changes of direction, you can remember it.
Sages and poets have often spoken, without naming it, of the inner maze. As in the famous taoist paradox: “Chuantzú dreamed one day that he was a butterfly, but when he woke up he had the doubt if it was not at that moment a butterfly that dreamed of being Chuantzú… “.
Emotional meaning of the maze: fear and hope
Much suffering and anguish derive from problems that we believe to be unsolvable, that is, from “labyrinthine” situations. apparently no solution.
Talking about the labyrinth should always mean realizing its reality. It would be useless to say that it does not exist, that everything is clear and transparent, that the news of injustices and catastrophes that continually appear on television are something unreal.
We are therefore in a labyrinth, that is, we often have problems… that we often create ourselves on a personal or collective level.
The labyrinth tells us, in short, of the two basic experiences of life: fear and hope. All the others derive from them.
The structure that our society adoptswhich includes from its institutions to its buildings and its amusements, it is based on wanting to feel far from fear and close to hope. These are the materials, like psychological bricks, with which the labyrinth of our lives is built.
But this existential anxiety, on the rise due to today’s hectic way of lifeIt is not the only side of the coin. In the same way that there is no darkness without light (the former is only the absence of the latter), there is no reason for complete pessimism.
The maze symbol indicates problems, but also that there is always a way out. We continuously live small and large luminous experiences, but often we do not realize it. In the same way that someone who goes through a maze can pass in front of the right direction without following it and thus returns to the point of origin or to a blind alley.
It is so important to free yourself from false fears (for example, “If I don’t earn a lot more money, everything will go wrong…”), like vain hopes (“everything will be perfect from now on…”), without understanding that there are always difficulties.
It is more advisable to appreciate the good things in life, often more simple and immediate than we think, and to have confidence in the light behind appearances, because the labyrinth is always relatively fictional, a mental construction.
How do you get out of an inner maze?
Exit the maze sIt means going beyond fear and hope in the sense of illusory limitations. For both attitudes tend to imprison us, to reinforce the walls of the labyrinth. And true freedom lies outside of it.
Living is learning to live, even if it sounds redundant. Both what you like and what you don’t like, you always learn. That experience that everyone has over the years is something precious if we know how to distill its essence.
The fundamental symbolism of the labyrinth indicates the need to reach a center, a space of true peace. It means going from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge, from limited to universal love.
They are not pretty words, it is what great figures in history have said, such as jesus or buddha. Curiously, his message is not one of anguish or discouragement.
The first recommended living like the birds, trusting in Providence. The second advised calm the mind and heartto purify perceptions and see things as they are in its essence: bright and friendly.
All those who have reached enlightenment or plenitude confirm two truths: that there is suffering (enter the maze) and? it is possible to find a solution the same (get out of the maze).
elevated symbolism, mythologies, children’s stories or hobbies like the game of goose, they talk about these same things. That there are problems and sufferings, that life is full of trials but what are you they can be overcome.
To get out of the labyrinth, Buddhism recommends not generate harma negative, that is,refrain from evil deeds, words and thoughts. Also, purify the harma already generated through spiritual practices.
The example of Buddhism can be used here, but all the paths of wisdom speak in a similar way. They also tell us a secret: You don’t have to look for the exit outside, but inside, deep in the heart.
The labyrinth indicates a problem, difficulty or confusion, but that there is always a way out, a real hope.
In order not to get lost in the maze…
No one can avoid problems and inconveniences. But it’s in our hands cultivate what instead of generating more confusion (labyrinth feeling) clarifies the perception of thingsfor example:
- Feel. Being aware of common sensations (eating a peach, smelling a flower, touching a stone…), as if it were the first time, purifies our senses of the inertia of time.
- Think calmly. Today’s society tends to immediacy. Too often images generate automatic emotions. Calmly analyzing a problem, delving into its causes, helps to solve it.
- Breathe deeply. The simple fact of inhaling and exhaling communicates with the external and internal world. Doing it deeply and at a calm pace helps to calm the mind and change a distorted view of things.
- Love without interest Expanding the natural love that we feel for our loved ones in the form of respect and warmth towards the world in general, is a way of contributing to the common good. Selfless love is a light on the way to find the exit from the labyrinth sooner.
- Fine arts. Many works help create harmony by being based on proper human and cosmic proportions: Egyptian, Greek, or medieval Christian architecture; Chinese landscape painting; Indian or Arabic, folkloric, baroque music; etc
- To meditate. Having moments of inner recollection is like resting next to an oasis. Believing in something higher, good and bright helps to overcome the trials of life, as doctors and psychologists recognize today. Praying or meditating means directing consciousness towards its source and feel that you are not alone in the middle of the maze.
The myth of the labyrinth and Ariadne’s thread
from among the myths and legends related to the labyrinthhighlights the one that refers to the built in Crete in the palace of Knossos by the architect Daedalus, following the orders of King Minos.
It was underground and in it lived the Minotaur, with the body in human form and the head of a bull, to whom young Athenians were sacrificed every year of both sexes.
To end this situation, the brave Theseus decided to go into the labyrinth and kill the monster. But the real difficulty consisted in getting out of the tortuosities of the den.
For this he had the help of Ariadne, daughter of Minoswho she gave him a ball of wool that he loosened as he went and allowed him to redo the path.
This symbolism can be explainedFor example, in the light of Hindu metaphysics due to its universality.
For this, both the soul of the world and our own are like a fabric made up of three types of thread which represent the three essential qualities (gunas): bright or ascending (satva), horizontal and passionate (rajas) and descending or dark (tamas).
The myth of the Minotaur represents a journey inside oneself to defeat the dark forces personified in the figure of the monster (the tamasic in us).
Theseus is the hero, the rajasic energy in the sense of the noblest and most active part of our…