Long Island Labyrinths guide

It was just after Sept. 11, 2001, when Marianne Fulfaro of Sayville ran across a small advertisement in a local newspaper. "The ad asked if anyone had ideas on what can be built to commemorate September 11," Fulfaro recalls.

Community residents had placed the ad to solicit ideas to enhance a small, grassy lot called Rotary Park. After reading it, Fulfaro said she suddenly had a flash of inspiration -- a labyrinth. "It just came to me," she said.

While at first glance it might appear to be a complex maze, a labyrinth has a singular circular, twisting path leading to the center, and then leading back out. Walking through it can be a spiritual experience, enthusiasts say, eliciting a sense of peace and balance.

The Peace Labyrinth, completed in 2003, is dedicated to the memory of Fulfaro's parents, Carlo and Carmela Annunziato. It sits within the park  renamed The Common Ground at Rotary Park, and includes a community-built performance pavilion and gardens.

Fulfaro said the labyrinth, which she funded, "was a gift of love. I wanted to give something back to my community."

Her gift has become a popular destination.

"People come to the labyrinth from all over," said Judy Abrams, the park's media officer. "It's a refuge."

Rising popularity
Some people still draw a blank at the word, but labyrinths are located across Long Island and have been growing in popularity in the United States, especially since the 1997 founding of the Petaluma, Calif.-based nonprofit organization Veriditas and the creation in 1998 of  The Labyrinth Society, a nonprofit organization based in upstate Trumansburg, in the Finger Lakes region. Both organizations promote and educate the public about labyrinth walking.

While they're a relatively recent creation in the United States, labyrinths can be traced back more than 4,000 years to ancient cultures around the world, according to The Labyrinth Society.

One of the most famous labyrinths is at Chartres Cathedral, built in France in the 13th century. At 42.3 feet across, the 11-circuit pavement labyrinth fills the entire width of the nave. Circuits help indicate a labyrinth's size and refer to the number of rings surrounding the path's center.

Many modern Western labyrinths tend to replicate this medieval design. Typically round in form, a classic labyrinth has a single walking path that winds to and fro in a circular pattern until it reaches the center. To exit, the same path is followed out. With no course decisions to make, walking a labyrinth is stress-free, calming and contemplative, enthusiasts note, characteristics that are at the core of its appeal.

In contrast, a maze is created to puzzle or challenge the walker and can dwarf even the largest labyrinth in size. It also is characterized by various paths, requiring the person walking it to make choices.

Local destinations
Those seeking  labyrinths on Long Island can participate in scheduled guided walks with facilitators (some trained and certified by Veriditas), or walk the paths solo. Increasingly, labyrinths can be found on the grounds of religious institutions, college campuses and public parks, such as the one in Sayville funded by Fulfaro.

The Peace Labyrinth there is constructed of paving stones and red gravel pathways, and is a seven-circuit, mini-Chartres design. For those who want guidance and company, Fulfaro leads walks once a month from May to November when there is a full moon. The next moonlight walk is Thursday, starting at 8 p.m.

"Basically, I try and let people find their way with as little direction as possible on how to do it," she said. "You can stand at the foothold and ask a question [internally], then allow yourself to be open and receive an answer" as you walk the labyrinth, she explained.

Bob Campbell, of Bellmore, said he prefers the camaraderie of group walks. So every two months or so, he and his wife, Valerie, visit the labyrinth at the Little Portion Friary in Mount Sinai.

The outdoor labyrinth at this Franciscan retreat house run by the Society of St. Francis is set in grass with wood-chip paths. It was constructed in 1998, and Clark Berge, minister general of the society, estimates about 100 visitors per week walk the labyrinth on their own. But once a month, the friary holds a community potluck supper and a prayer service followed by a labyrinth walk.

"The labyrinth is about pilgrimage," Berge said. "You're on a journey."

Like life, adds Campbell, the journey around the labyrinth has loops, in and out, as you follow the pattern. At some point you find yourself centered, collected, and as you walk there's a feeling that you are tapping into a special place in your soul.

Labyrinth devotees also said they often gain a sense of clarity -- answers to questions or dilemmas -- when walking.

But that requires concentration. So during her guided walks at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook, following brief opening words, certified facilitator Linda Mikell hands paper and pen to participants, asking them to write down a goal for the day's walk.

Intentions can include expressing gratitude, seeking inner peace, working through a problem or decision, honoring someone's memory, finding a purpose, or just letting go of stress. The papers are then slid into plastic name-tag holders carried by participants as reminders. Once intentions have been set, Mikell stands at the entrance of the labyrinth, pacing walkers as each enters, so there's a distance between them as they meander through the paths.

This is why guided group walks are encouraged over walking unaccompanied, said Anne Bull of Veriditas. Several people walking at the same time requires spacing, she points out, and "a facilitator overseeing the walk is a grounding person who can help create a safe space" and keep an eye on outside disturbances.

The next moonlight walk at the Unitarian labyrinth is Tuesday.

Intense experience
The eight-circuit indoor labyrinth built in 2006 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is made of eco-friendly Marmoleum, flooring made of linseed oil, cork, limestone, tree rosin and natural minerals. An outdoor labyrinth offers a more rustic experience among trees and shrubbery.

An altogether different aesthetic can be found at the stone labyrinth  within 33 landscaped acres that are part of St. Ignatius Retreat House (also known as Inisfada) in Manhasset.

A magnificent, 87-room Tudor-Elizabethan mansion completed in 1920 serves as the backdrop during monthly, full-moon and candlelight guided labyrinth walks at the Jesuit facility.

For those unavailable during the full moon, it's possible to find enlightenment and tranquillity within the bustling South Campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead.

Open to the public at all times, the granite labyrinth is situated in The Court of Courage, a courtyard between three populous academic buildings, said Beth Levinthal, executive director of the Hofstra University Museum.

The labyrinth, constructed in 2000, is for students, academics and visitors.

"In keeping with the concept of contemplation and spirituality, the university wanted to have a place where people can connect," Levinthal said.

Three memorial sitting walls commemorating historic events are also part of the labyrinth complex. One is in honor of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; another is dedicated to the Polish uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II; and the third is in remembrance of Sept. 11.

Famous labyrinths
The central feature that distinguishes a maze from a labyrinth is the pathway. A maze generally must have choices in the pathway. A labyrinth usually consists of only one path.

From the Bronze Age settlements on the Atlantic coastline and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, through the Roman Empire and the medieval Christian Church to modern usage in both secular and spiritual contexts, labyrinths are everywhere. Among the most famous:

-- Chartres Cathedral, northern France

-- Reims Cathedral, northern France

-- Labyrinths of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

-- Chianti Sculpture Park, Tuscany, Italy

-- Conimbriga, Portugal

-- Trojaborg Labyrinth, Sweden

Sources: Jeff Saward; Labyrinthia; Veriditas; The Labyrinth Society