Labyrinth

"The labyrinth ... is a walking meditation, a path of prayer and a blueprint where psyche meets Spirit.”
Lauren Artress, author, speaker and Episcopal priest

The labyrinth is an ancient pattern, found in many cultures across the globe, that helps us journey to our center. Unlike a maze, which is a kind of game with decision points and dead ends, the labyrinth has only one circuitous path to the center. Thus it is not a puzzle but a walking meditation, an embodied prayer. In addition to its centering effect, walking the labyrinth puts us in touch with the wisdom of our bodies and allows us to slow down and become more aware of the plants surrounding the path, the sky, the air, and the smell of the earth and sea.

There are many different types of labyrinths originating in Greece, Rome, India and other places. Mercy by the Sea has a left-handed, seven-circuit labyrinth, constructed of brick, inkberry bushes and Stony Creek granite. The brick and inkberry provide the borders for the stone path. If you follow that path (rather than the brick) you won’t get lost.

Located on the western end of the property, overlooking Long Island Sound, the labyrinth was conceived by Sr. Eugenie Guterch, designed by landscape architect Laurence Appleton, and constructed by Ted Ozyck in 1998.