Insight to walking meditation
Mindfulness teacher, mentor and workshop facilitator Margaret Rainbird will visit Warragul this week as part of her world tour to understand more about the use of labyrinths in health settings.
A palliative care doctor in Sydney until recently, Margaret has studied medical disciplines and other healing modals for 30 years.
Margaret has just returned from a six-month tour of labyrinths in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe, where she walked 298 labyrinths.
During her visit to Warragul, which will begin tomorrow and conclude on Friday, Margaret would like to meet people who are interested in finding out how labyrinth walking can benefit their health and wellbeing.
Her missions are to document and explore labyrinths in healing and other environments and to bring back key insights and strategies for incorporating labyrinths into healing gardens on the grounds of healthcare facilities, retreat centres, and public spaces.
In recent years, Margaret herself began experiencing a particularly depleted and despairing time in her life. She found that walking the labyrinth was one of the things that kept her going.
This made her committed to bringing this winding and mysterious path to other people enduring similar stresses and challenges.
Labyrinths are unlike a maze that is designed to get you lost. The labyrinth is designed to help you find your way through life. It is often described as a walking meditation.
Shortly before Margaret was to set off on her long-awaited labyrinth trail, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent surgery. After a short period of rehabilitation, Margaret’s determination, together with her understanding of the benefits of labyrinth walking and of social engagement, the tour went ahead as planned.
Margaret attended a workshop in Chartres France in mid-May 2017, having launched her pilgrimage on World Labyrinth Day in Austinmer south of Sydney. World Labyrinth Day is held on the first Saturday in May every year.
On her International tour, Margaret collaborated with a broad range of institutions and individuals whose expertise in labyrinth design, construction, and facilitation will be utilised to create exciting new healing spaces in Australia.
“The labyrinth has been an important part of my life for over 15 years, and I’m committed to creating them as places of healing for other people,” Margaret said.
When completed, the Australian Labyrinth Locator’s upgrade will pinpoint Australian labyrinths on a map, provide a unique history of each labyrinth, and show distances between labyrinths, together with website links for tourism, local events, and accommodation information.
People wishing to walk the labyrinths or hear from Margaret about her labyrinth experiences should contact Jan Miller on 0408 318 429 or email jan.miller@monash.edu