Walking A Shame Spiral
From Atop the Funky Skunk
In the past, I have used small lucite frame stands with pieces of paper drawn in Sharpie to identify a labyrinth and offer ideas for approaching it. Dew makes this a less durable and attractive option, as those signs have begun to disintegrate.
In the week leading up to Alchemy, I taught myself to use a wood burning tool to design new signs, adding several layers of polyurethane for durability. I even leveraged a dremel technique to create a finger labyrinth that I hung from a shepherd’s crook for event participants with different abilities or experiential needs.
Reflect, Release, Receive, Return
I reflect as I approach a labyrinth, release as I step into it. In the center, I find myself receiving information about the walk and any shifts in my state, which can shade the emotions I feel as I return.
At a burn, there’s always a soundtrack, and usually three or four unfolding at once! I created two playlists to accompany walkers, though few got to experience them in person…maybe they will be the accompaniment for your own processing?
Walk It Backwards To Transmute Shame Into Vulnerability
From the street, the shame spiral was so easy to slip into, the pointy way out uncomfortable and challenging, just like my personal experience with shame. The elemental stations of air, water, earth, and fire help remind me of tools to process this painful emotion.
Now. If I can start with some elemental grounding, begin walking the labyrinth from the opposite direction, start with the sharp parts first…
Vulnerability is pointy and uncomfortable. Have I found the right humans, the right container, the right words to fumble forward? Will I be reviled?
If I can nurture the relationships in my life with humans who are willing to witness my imperfections, if I can co-create safe spaces, if I can be brave with my words long enough to get past my own sharp edges…it’s a smooth spiral on out.
For a different experience,
I invited people to walk the pattern “backwards”, starting with vulnerability instead of sliding immediately into shame
This invitation opened up so many beautiful conversations about moments of vulnerability, experiences with shame that we were trying to shed, relationships worth nurturing and those best left to languish, issues of identity, gender, career, birth family, and chosen family.
At one point, too tired to walk but too amped for sleep, I hopped an art car—shoutout to the Funky Skunk!—to get a double-decker view of the labyrinth from above. When I collapsed into a chair after getting a tour of half the city, walkers slid into the space next to me in small groups to process their journeys with me.
Tears ran down my cheeks as I tried to really receive my own medicine. This pattern truly went beyond my wildest dreams and anticipations. Almost every conversation I had at this burn spiraled around emotions, awareness, practice, communication, and community. It’s the most creatively fulfilling project I’ve ever brought to a burn.
Read more about Spiral Beyond Shame, the build process, and the elemental stations.
Did you walk the labyrinth and have a story you wish to share with me? Drop me a note!