LynneRae Lowe walks her labyrinth.

After lighting candles on Friday evening, Tucson artist LynnRae Lowe walks the labyrinth in her garden with her grandchildren, ages 4 and 6. As she sings a little song she made up, she and the children share and bond. And on an unconscious level, the children are also learning about cycling around and going to the center, says Lowe.

Lowe walks the spiral herself at other times. As she slows down and catches her breath, she may enjoy a moment of in_sight, she says. When she reaches the center, she stands there and enjoys the peacefulness, and the beauty all around her.

Lowe decided to create the labyrinth af_ter a friend in her women’s group brought in a photocopy of a labyrinth design. After each had traced the spiral with their fingers, they shared their thoughts, and Lowe found that following the design "seemed to stimulate each person’s process."

The artist, who moved here from Telluride, Colo., with her husband, Buck Lowe, reflected on how one’s eyes were always drawn upward when living in the Rockies. But here in the desert, you look down in order to safely navigate the prickly terrain and to appreciate what lives on the desert floor; the concept of the desert is "more inner," says Lowe.

After her husband’s death, Lowe had grown tired of the upkeep of a patch of grass in her backyard. So that was the perfect spot to make a labyrinth, using flagstones left over from a walkway. Surrounded by views of her garden and the Cata_lina Mountains, Lowe reflects on the many spiral forms "in the process of becoming," from ferns unfurling to nautilus shells adding more layers.

Walking the spiral not only supports that process of outward becoming, "it brings you to your center," says Lowe. If your center is Judaism, it brings you there, and in that way, the labyrinth is a tool, just like a Shabbat candle, menorah, yad (Torah pointer), or mizrach (plaque denoting the east, the direction of Jerusalem), says Lowe, a world-renowned creator of Judaica.

Lowe also creates other healing images, such as a spiraling hands logo for the Synchronicity Center in Tucson. Dr. Bruce Roberts and his wife, Dr. Molly Roberts, founded the center after becoming disillusioned with conventional approaches that focused on giving pills to combat symptoms that were regarded as enemies. They began practicing a mind-body-spirit medicine that views symptoms as messengers. When people develop their own intuition, they become their own healers, says Roberts.

The labyrinth at the Synchronicity Center has seven layers, which correspond to the seven major chakras, or energy centers, of the body. When people walk with intention, they can bring the energy from all seven layers into the center, says Roberts.

The center’s labyrinth is unusual in that it has words carved into some stones — such as "grow," "imagine," and "peace." When a person is in the process of making a decision, the "yes" may catch their eye. Just a coincidence? The word "synchronicity" was coined by psychologist Carl Jung to describe how two or more things may co-occur in a way that has meaning to the person, which suggests that there is some underlying pattern. "It’s more than a coincidence when things draw our attention; if yes was not the right answer, a person wouldn’t look down and notice it," says Roberts.

Labyrinths are now found in many healing settings. Dr. Andrew Weil has been featured walking his labyrinth at his ranch outside Tucson. Sierra Tucson, a residential center that treats addictions and behavioral disorders, created one for patient and staff use. California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco was the first hospital to install a labyrinth; it was designed by Victoria Stone, a San Francisco health educator and interior designer, who is Jewish. Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis features a labyrinth with the Hebrew word chai (life) in its center, as a space for reflection and prayer.

Visitors to the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Ariz., may walk its large stone labyrinth. "The inward spiral into the center of a labyrinth is the spiritual journey from the layers of the outer world into the truth within. This is the root of the faith of Avraham," says Dr. Gabriel Cousens, founder and director of the center. This inward spiral "reflects the very beginning of Judaism, when Avraham was addressed by Hashem, ‘Lech L’cha,’ which is interpreted Kabbalistically as ‘Go to the self,’" says Cousens, who has received a blessing and certificate from New Mexico-based Rabbi Gershon Winkler, with validation from Jewish Renewal leader Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, to be a "pastoral rebbe," or one who can lead services and is a respected teacher.

Tucson venues also feature labyrinths that are open to the public. Before walking the labyrinth at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, I read their description of how the four sections of the labyrinth correspond to the four Gospels in Christianity. But the design made me think of the four worlds in Kabbalah. As I walked, I thought about a project I was beginning. The inward and outward weaving through the four sections helped me reflect on the layers of work, from idea to manifestation, and how I and others involved would shift and grow through our work together.

But when I reached the center, the cross design was not so easy to transform. The labyrinth outside Unity of Tucson features no religious symbols. The paths were designed to be wide enough to be wheelchair accessible, which also made them easy to walk. As I moved along the path bordered by colorful tiles, and looked up at the Catalina Mountains, it was easy to shed the stress of the day and ease into a meditative state. The labyrinth is surrounded by lights run on solar power, so that visitors may enjoy walking in the cool of the evening.

While I’m not drawn to drive across town regularly to walk this labyrinth, I think about how I can see a different view of the Catalinas from my own yard. Many of us can glimpse the mountains from the yards of our homes, congregations, and other buildings. Perhaps we’ll follow LynnRae Lowe’s example, and create labyrinths that help us slow down and enter the peace of Shabbat on Friday evening, or any time we need renewing.

Deborah Mayaan is a freelance writer in Tucson.

Local labyrinths open to the public

Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, northwest corner of Adams and Norton. Labyrinth is open to the public at all times.

Redemptionist Renewal Center, 7101 W. Picture Rocks Rd. Please stop at the office before walking the labyrinth (8 am-4:30 pm, Mon.-Sat.), 744-3400.

Synchronicity Center, 1701 E. Lind Rd. Visitors may walk the labyrinth when they are at the center for an event. To see a listing of current events, go to http://www.synchronicitycenter. com/upcoming-events.html

Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia. To purchase a day pass ($99), call 520-394-2520, ext. 201.

Unity of Tucson, 3617 N. Camino Blanco (Camino Blanco is 0.8 mile east of Swan on River Road; turn south and look for Unity sign on the right). When you enter the parking lot, a sign directs you to the labyrinth. Labyrinth is open to the public at all times.

Can’t get out? Check out the virtual labyrinth at: http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/html/labyrinth_walk.html.