2020 Vancouver Island Labyrinth Pilgrimage
...A mindfulness journey in a landscape that nurtures the soul. June 19-24, 2020
Welcome to the magic of Vancouver Island! Be prepared for a transformational travelling labyrinth retreat that supports mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health and well-being. Join Holly and friends, in cooperation with Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo. Vancouver Island hosts more than 60 labyrinths and we will be walking many of these winding circular peaceful pathways celebrating Summer Solstice 2020.
It is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Join us for an awe-inspiring and life changing journey of connection, conversation, compassion, mindfulness, relaxation, laughter and labyrinths, as we travel this unique island eco-system. We will engage all of your senses through movement, music, meditation and stillness…Do you feel the calling?
Some highlights include: The Therapeutic Equine Labyrinth & Medicine Horses in Coombs, The World’s First Godden Finger Labyrinth Museum & the 11 Circuit Chartres Replica Labyrinth at Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo, Paint Life Laughing Labyrinth in Qualicum Beach, The Parksville Community Park Legacy Labyrinth, West Coast General Hospital Circle of Peace Labyrinth & STAR Labyrinth in Port Alberni, building beach labyrinths with Janett & Jerry E, O.U.R Ecovillage 7 circuit labyrinth, Sacred Fire & more!
Want more information? Download an informative PDF document about the retreat:
For inquiries contact Holly at pathways2wellness@bell.net or 250-927-3730. You can also see some more information about the retreat on her website:
Register at www.bethlehemcentre.com
We would be happy to help you design your own self-directed pilgrimage
or Guided pilgrimages for groups of 8 or more can be arranged.
Contact:
Patricia Lyster Fenske 2plyster@gmail.com
or Holly Carnegie Letcher pathways2wellness@bell.net
Treasured memories of the first Vancouver Island Solstice Pilgrimage
The first Labyrinth Pilgrimage on Vancouver Island was organized and guided
for delegates to the Labyrinth Society Conference hosted on Vancouver Island September 16 to 22 , 2013. Forty of the 160 delegates made their way up island from Victoria to Parksville over three days visiting more than 10 labyrinths on the way. After the conference the pilgrimage continued both north and west on the island. This amazing group of pioneer pilgrims helped us create the future and ideas we will use as we design future guided pilgrimages .
Learn more about the Labyrinth Society at http://www.labyrinthsociety.org
Wonderful photos courtesy of Lars Howlett
The Warm Earth: Remembering a Labyrinth Pilgrimage
by Tina Proctor
Denver, Colorado, USA
A canvas labyrinth, work of art: leaves covered with rainbow hues and then removed to leave their imprint on the color.
To be loaned by Cowichin Valley Hospice to those in need.
Surrounded by people from nearby and far away.
Two men from First Nation Salish tribe singing a welcome song with the Sacred Drum Circle.
A canoe of tribal people row by.
The sacred frog mountain, standing sentinel across the water.
The little brown sacks with sand and candles to light our way back.
The ancestors joined by special request. I felt the presence of dozens, then scores, then hundreds. Light spirits honoring the special purpose.
We began the walk in silence. Singers added their hope, in French and English, songs that sounded like bells and running water.
Then two wooden flutes pierced the silence with their woven notes, carrying them into the night.
Grandmother moon peeked behind a giant fir. I moved so I could see her. Dennis stood behind me and I leaned back into the familiar spot of his warm body. Grandmother smiled.
My senses full, I understood this pilgrimage.
That I would be in this place where I had never been with people I did not know . . .
To bless a labyrinth which will help people pass on and others to deal with the depths of grief and despair.
We were all one that night, one with the elements, each other and the ones who came before.
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The Labyrinth Society gathered on Vancouver Island to celebrate 15 years walking, studying, drawing, building, researching, facilitating and loving labyrinths. Beginning with an official proclamation of Labyrinth Friendship Day in the capitol of British Columbia and a day of group walks, talks, and welcome events, a pilgrimage bus of 30
continued north winding its way towards Parksville.
The pilgrimage visited labyrinths at a church, farm, hospital, school, ecovillage, and retreat center with a special First Nations ceremony and group walks on Cowichan Bay. Over 100 people joined for the conference at Tigh-Na-Mara where tidal flats provided an expansive canvas for beach labyrinths during the day and a full moon walk at night. Keynote speakers Carol Matthews and Jean Shinoda Bolen spoke on the metaphor and myths of labyrinths and mazes and Rick Scott debuted a touching and upbeat labyrinth song. A legacy labyrinth in Parksville was dedicated as a collaborative project with local school children and a lasting gift to the community.
Thanks to Holly Carnegie Letcher and Janett Etzkorn for organizing and hosting along with hundreds of other TLS members, volunteers and the local community who helped create this memorable event. The photos are provided by volunteer photographer Lars Howlett of the pilgrimage and gathering, but there were many more workshops, labyrinths, tours, events, and memories and were shared and documented by others also on the path.
