"Did you know the First United Methodist Church of Boulder has built a labyrinth in its basement?" my friend Barbara asked me over tea one day.

      As a matter of fact I didn't know this, and furthermore I wasn't very clear about what a labyrinth actually was. As far as I knew, a labyrinth was a complex walking maze designed to baffle its users, and the only labyrinth I had ever heard of housed a dangerous Minotaur at its center.

      But it's not like that at all. Modeled after the 11-circuit medieval labyrinth in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France, the labyrinth at First United Methodist is neither baffling nor menacing. The walls, ceiling and floor of the labyrinth room are painted a creamy white. Light from the windows streams down onto the floor. The labyrinth itself is painted in a beautiful royal purple, and a depiction of the Virgin Mary and Child hangs opposite the entrance. Sacred music was softly playing as we entered, and the labyrinth seemed to be resting quietly between visitors, rimmed in candles and surrounded by 40 royal purple meditation cushions and pads.

      How did the First United Methodist Church of Boulder come to create an ancient spiritual path in its basement? According to Trevor Potter, minister of Adult Formation for First United Methodist, it started with John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church. Wesley talked about how we become dissipated when we rely on the world to tell us who we are. This dissipation leads to the path of misery, because the world is impermanent and always changing. Wesley encouraged each person to develop a method to recollect themselves and to journey inward to their sacred center which, he said, is abundantly alive and is our true nature.

      When First United Methodist dedicated itself to finding and creating a program which would engage adults in their spiritual journey-body, mind and soul-the labyrinth was a logical choice. Walking the labyrinth is one of many methods to help people find a spacious and peaceful simplicity.

      A labyrinth is different from a maze. A maze is intended to challenge and confound the walker with dead ends and convoluted passages. A labyrinth is created in the form of a circle with a single meandering path from the edge, to the center, and back out again.  Once a person makes the choice to enter, the path becomes a metaphor for the journey through life.

      Labyrinths have been known to the human race for more than 4,000 years, but haven't been prevalent since the Middle Ages. Then, as now, there was trouble in the middle east. The roads to the holy city of Jerusalem were unsafe for pilgrims, and yet in the Middle Ages all good Christians took a vow to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least once in their lifetime. To solve this problem, the Vatican decreed seven cathedrals in Europe as symbolic pilgrimage destinations, and a labyrinth was placed in the floor of each. Chartres Cathedral in France was one of the seven sacred destinations, and today it contains the only remaining medieval labyrinth still embedded in its floor. In time, the requirement to make pilgrimage became less pervasive, the western world forgot many of its ancient sacred practices and, at Chartres Cathedral, the labyrinth lay quietly in the floor, forgotten for many years and covered by chairs.

      Now, labyrinths seem to be experiencing a renaissance. Thousands of labyrinths have been built in the United States since the 1990s. Many are in churches or outdoor gardens, but some have been created by hospitals to be used in conjunction with medical treatment. People healing from major illnesses such as stroke, heart disease or cancer walk the labyrinth to assist their healing, as do those in the process of healing grief or personal loss. Labyrinths have also been successfully used to bridge the gap between prison inmates and volunteers who walk a portable labyrinth together within the prison walls. For many others, walking the labyrinth has become a regular spiritual or meditative practice, a natural way of centering the body and mind.

      Unlike other rites and rituals, there's not a lot of pomp surrounding labyrinths. They're user-friendly, and instructions for walking are simple:

. There is no right or wrong way to walk the labyrinth.

. You are invited to find your own natural pace.

. You can walk slowly or quickly, crawl, dance, skip or pause at any point as you walk to and from the center.

. You cannot get lost, and you cannot fail.

      When the First United Methodist labyrinth was begun, it soon became a congregational and community project. JoAnn Mast and Carlos Smith, both trained labyrinth facilitators, were the artists. It took 85 gallons of paint to prep the room before the painting of the labyrinth began. It took 14 hours to draw the eleven circles and another 10 to finish the pattern. Members of the congregation and the Boulder community then wrote prayers, meditations and thoughts on the labyrinth before it was painted. The intention of these messages has helped the labyrinth season and give the room a sacred presence. Finally, it took one gallon of purple paint, seven volunteers, and 14 hours to paint the labyrinth itself. The labyrinth was completed and dedicated in a ceremony on December 8, 2001.

      Since its dedication, about 1,200 people have visited and walked the labyrinth at First United Methodist Church, which is open to people of all religious traditions and denominations. The labyrinth is open to the public from Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 2:30pm and on Sunday from 8:30 to noon. Special times to experience walking the path with others include Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30pm and Sunday evenings from 7 to 9pm. Every second Friday of the month from 7 to 9pm, live musicians accompany those walking or dancing the path together.

      A number of workshops using the labyrinth are planned or being offered including: "Relationship as a Sacred Path," "Sacred Quest and the Labyrinth," and "Finding the Divine Feminine." In addition, the labyrinth can be privately scheduled for special events such as retreats, birthdays, memorial services, weddings, workshops, meditations or counseling sessions by calling First United Methodist at 303-442-3770.

      I have walked the labyrinth alone and with others a dozen times. The experience is never the same twice. The last time I was there it was night time, and the candles surrounding the labyrinth were alive and flickering beautifully in the darkness. A little girl was walking the labyrinth ahead of me with her doll. As she pushed her doll's feet along the path, we found ourselves walking in parallel again and again. As we reached the six-petal flower in the center, three adults were already sitting in meditation or prayer. I sat down on one of the remaining petals. The little girl sat down on another and on the last remaining petal she sat her doll. We all sat there quietly together.

      A far cry from a Minotaur, the sacred center of the First United Methodist Church labyrinth holds peace at its heart. The invitation is extended for people of all paths, ages and denominations to share the experience of walking a sacred path.