The Build Process for the Spiral Beyond Shame Labyrinth
Watching participants walk one of my solar LED labyrinths at To The Moon (another regional Burning Man event in Tennessee), I noted how participants walked to the center of the labyrinth, had an incredible experience, and then did not always want to walk out exactly the same way that they entered. They stepped over the lines instead to exit.
That’s not wrong. There really aren’t any rules that say you “should” do things a certain way. (Though there are some guidelines that can make for a better experience.)
This got me thinking about processional labyrinth patterns that take you *through* the design instead of retracing your steps. The only way forward is through. I just completed designing 87 labyrinths to process all of the 87 emotions and experiences in Brené Brown's book “Atlas of the Heart”, so I searched my patterns for one that was processional, matched the Alchemy annual theme of Lighting the Void, and could fit within parameters for Camp Pretty Lights.
The build process is one I have refined over almost a decade of building temporary labyrinths, and the theme of shame represents one of the darkest emotions that I experience. It accompanies and even catalyzes other emotions like contempt, rage, and anguish.
Using solar LEDs to “light the way” illuminates, quite literally, this dark and disconnecting feeling. Shame disintegrates when faced with the light. As vulnerable as it can be to talk about shame, sharing shame experiences can connect and heal.
This design—and my deeper understanding of shame—would not be possible without my Atlas Circle, a group of humans who met for 15 months to process Brené’s book a chapter at a time. We developed levels of trust with each other that supported my own dismantling and rebuilding.
The first time I built Spiral Beyond Shame was during low tide in the middle of the night
Na’la, my co-facilitator for the Atlas Circle, and I built it together to close out our last circle of the 15-month program. It symbolized the shame we met together with vulnerability.
Serendipitously,
Circle Camp set up right next door to the labyrinth at Alchemy, emphasizing the Atlas Circle that formed the crucible of this work
I’m also grateful to Burning Nut,
A friends-and-family burn the weekend before Alchemy where I did a trial run, learning that I needed to simplify the pattern, buy waaaaay more lights, and allow for more than twice the build time I’d initially anticipated
Once onsite at Alchemy, it was a 12-hour build time to lay out the pattern in rope, add colored solar LED lights to get at least three strands down in all places, and hammer in landscaping staples. Additional time came in over the next few days to replace broken stakes in the morning, hammer additional staples, and set up the elemental stations. Breakdown was much faster—more like five hours—and had more helping hands!
Read more about Spiral Beyond Shame, the elemental stations, and walking a shame spiral.
Did you walk the labyrinth and have a story you wish to share with me? Drop me a note!