For lovers of labyrinths, there are quiet, circular, contemplative paths close to home

May 17—It's a contemplative walk on a compact, winding path, and a chance to commune with nature while tuning out the world.

It's also a centuries-old spiritual tradition.

For Jim Miller, co-owner of Petals in the Pines in Canterbury, home to two labyrinths he constructed during and after COVID, labyrinths are an oasis, and a force of nature in a fast world.

"There's an increased need nowadays," Miller said. "You only have to go as far as the news. The political climate. The world climate. The opioid crisis."

A lot of things are anxiety-provoking, and labyrinths are a getaway, he said. "People come here not just for a labyrinth, but to walk on the trails, to tap into the healing power of nature."

World Labyrinth Day earlier this month included about 300 labyrinths around the globe — including about 30 in New Hampshire.

Labyrinth walking is an ancient enlightenment practice believed to boost personal and spiritual growth.

At Petals in the Pines in Canterbury, people came to steep themselves in the sights and sounds of the woods, and walk the mostly circular paths.

"I need to do it because it helps me re-center," said Theresa Daley of Hampton, who makes a point of visiting labyrinths when she travels. "It's like life. You have no idea how you're going to get through it. You just have to keep to the path. Sometimes I walk through if I'm really stressed out and let go, let go, let go."

Basically, a labyrinth resembles a circular maze-like path with one route to the center, then out again. The slowed-down journey requires you to focus on where you put your feet — and to ignore other thoughts and intrusions.

According to historical accounts, early Christians walked labyrinths to draw closer to God. Symbols of labyrinths dating to 2000 B.C. have been found in southern Europe and North Africa, even earlier in India. Today, they provide a condensed, spiritual, hike-in-miniature.

"This is such a scary, conflicted world," said Betty Audet from Hopkinton. "Bringing peace in a natural setting? To me, it doesn't get any better."

"Part of it is just being in the woods" with the rustling sounds of a nearby brook, said Brenda Murray of Canterbury.

"Partly it's the contemplation you put into it. I try to empty my mind and just concentrate where I'm putting my steps," said Kathy Perron from Webster. "We pause. I feel peaceful. Your mind quiets down a little bit."

Miller designed the two maze-like labyrinths named "Love and Grace Labyrinth" and "Peace Labyrinth" to make people move mindfully through narrow paths flanked with stones, or defined by branches, sticks, logs and 'tree cookies,' the circular cross-sections of tree trunks. It feels a little like walking through an ancient board game laid out on a forest floor.

"Just by the nature of a labyrinth, you have to focus to stay on the path. You can tune out the world and go slowly or focus on birdsongs and push out of your mind the things that grab your attention, the things you worry about. If you combine that with prayer" or listening to an inner voice, "it's a great opportunity to find some direction on whatever you're looking for."

Petals in the Pines hosts more visitors each year, he said, including newcomers who find the place online through a "labyrinth locator." Roughly 30 labyrinths in New Hampshire are permanent installations open to the public. Others are temporary and portable. People lay down traps with labyrinth patterns in rooms at town halls and other public spaces.

"It's like covered bridges. Once you see one, you kind of want to go to the next one. They're all different," Miller said.

"It's one path that keeps going in one configuration. It's time to separate your body from your thoughts. You're in a pretty small space. Without going for a hike it gives you time to get away from yourself," he said.

For more about labyrinths and where to find them, go to labyrinthsociety.org.