Circling the Ranch: Unfurling the Power of Labyrinth Walking
Week of December 24, 2022
Step into the power of labyrinth walking and widen the circles of your precious life.
Our walks will unfurl on the Ranch’s labyrinth, which sits in the Bosque de Paz. The labyrinth is encircled by a grove of live oaks whose branches arch overhead, much like the spires of the Chartres Cathedral that rise above the ancient stone labyrinth upon which the Ranch’s labyrinth is patterned.
As we walk the labyrinth together, we will look for the ancient symbols incorporated into the Ranch’s labyrinth to help set our intentions and reveal insights. We will listen to the words of poets, the music of flutes, and the sounds of nature to fire our imaginations and seed our dreams. We will feel the movement of our bodies as we navigate the labyrinth’s twists and turns to find paces and places where our dreams can take root. And we will forge paths for incorporating labyrinth walks into an ongoing meditative practice – at the Ranch and beyond.
Evening Program: Unfurl the power of labyrinth walking.
This conversation will introduce you to the powerful practice of labyrinth walking as a meditative tool. It also provides a historical backdrop to the creation of labyrinths throughout the ages, with a special focus on the symbols found in the Ranch’s labyrinth. Take learnings from this conversation into your engagement with the Ranch’s labyrinth – either on your own or with others throughout the week’s group labyrinth walks.
Day One’s Labyrinth Walk: Setting intentions and opening to insights.
Invitation: You are invited to bring a question or concern that you are pondering.
Day Two’s Labyrinth Walk: Firing imaginations and listening to Emily’s forest of dreams.
Invitation: You are invited to bring your sketchbook or journal to capture your labyrinth walk experience.
Day Three’s Labyrinth Walk: Rooting dreams and planting prayers.
Invitation: You are invited to bring your prayer arrow (from Tim Hinchliff’s prayer arrow-making workshop) or another physical object that represents a dream or prayer. Also consider inviting your childhood self to dance the labyrinth.
Deborah Burand has walked labyrinths from Europe to North America, including the labyrinth designed by her father in their hometown of Anderson, Indiana. She began facilitating labyrinth walks after accompanying her father to France where together they walked the Chartres Cathedral’s labyrinth and began studying under Lauren Artress, founder and creative director of Veriditas (a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring personal and planetary change and renewal through the labyrinth experience). Deborah’s essay, Circling the Ranch, which was published online by the Ranch to commemorate its 80th anniversary, describes how she brought her 86-year-old father to walk the Ranch’s labyrinth (https://rancholapuerta.com/circling-the-ranch-by-deborah-burand/?msclkid=f89604ecbffb11ec9875a883f5855b10).
Deborah is a Professor of Clinical Law at New York University where she teaches experiential courses in the fields of impact investing and social entrepreneurship. She also is the faculty co-director of the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship, the first of its kind at a law school. The Financial Times recently recognized her multi-disciplinary teaching materials for their creativity and innovation in sustainable finance education.
Deborah’s innovative and creative spirit is not confined to the classroom. She has co-founded a virtual library (the Library of the Great Lakes), a professional association (Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM) International), and a legal community of practice (the Impact Investing Legal Working Group (IILWG)). She also sits on the boards of several impact investing organizations. Her creative writing and artwork have been published in literary journals and magazines.
She divides her time between New York City and Saugatuck, Michigan.