Oct 11: BONUS In-Person Socially Distanced DUP at Como Labyrinth

 

Posted by Conie Borchardt on Thursday, October 8, 2020

Adam and I recently pondered the possibility of holding some Dances of Universal Peace outside, masked and socially distanced.  In Minnesota, the time for warm weather gatherings is dwindling, so we're hosting an impromptu gathering this weekend!  Join us if you're available.  

When:  Sunday, October 11, 2020, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Where:  Como Park Labyrinth

May 5: World Labyrinth Day Walk

 

Join your Highland Park neighbors and friends outside to Walk As One At One on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 1 p.m.  Learn about this "prayer path," how to draw one on paper, and walk the labyrinth created at National Night Out last August.  Invite others to this local World Labyrinth Day event. 

Contact labyrinths@pointsoflightmusic.net or 612-756-8011 with questions. 
Facebook event link

Mar 1-31: Smallest Labyrinth Museum in St. Paul

Last fall, fellow Minnesota Labyrinth Network members Sue Swanson approached Tom Vetter and me about co-curating a Smallest Museum in St. Paul exhibit about labyrinths.  We said yes! 

We are happy to announce that in March 2018, The Smallest Museum in St. Paul will be showcasing labyrinths around St. Paul.  Come to Workhorse Coffee Bar and checkout the display that is just right of the front door. 

Details are being worked out, but you can expect pictures of local labyrinths, labyrinths you can trace with your fingers, and lots of interesting designs. 

There will be a artist reception on Saturday, March 10, 2018, from 10 a.m.-noon.  Join us for hands-on demonstrations of creating labyrinths from a seed pattern, seeing a variety of designs, and trivia about the local labyrinth scene.

Even if you are not able to join us for the reception, let us know that you visited by taking a selfie with the display and tag @pointsoflight_mu on Instagram, #smallestlabyrinthmuseum

What:  Smallest Labyrinth Museum in St. Paul
Exhibition Dates:  March 1-31, 2018
Reception Date:  Saturday, March 10, 2018, 10a-12n
Where:  Workhorse Coffee, 2399 University Ave W, St. Paul

Reflections from UST Labyrinth installation

A lone labyrinth walker (Photo taken from Dr. Mauer's office in Herrick Hall/ (c) PLM)

It's been a busy month and I'm just getting around to reflecting on the labyrinth installation I did at the University of St. Thomas almost three weeks ago.  Other than pondering if I answered the question of "Did I pick the correct present to pay attention to in the meantime?" I'm really grateful for the opportunity to install an unusual temporary design in a beautiful and interesting space with materials that were new to me. 

Special shout-outs to ...

Oct 9-13: Labyrinth at UST

The Project for Mindfulness & Contemplation at the University of St. Thomas asked me to install a temporary labyrinth for their Mindfulness Week.  Here's the flier they created for the event.  Please come and walk it!  It is open to the community.  When it gets closer, I'll give more directions on how to find the labyrinth.

Mid-point Reflections on Spirit of Peace Walk

My partner and I have really enjoyed our daily hour of intention together over the past three days. Here's a few of our reflections:

Day 1, Sunday, January 15

It's a beautiful sunny day. We gotta wear shades (I'm evidently a child of the 80's). 

Check out that amazing blue sky!  (No filter) Photo by Points of Light Music.

And look there's another labyrinth popup! 

Fresh snow canvas = snow labyrinth potential.  Glad someone used it!  (Photo by Points Of Light Music)

There's a few visitors touring the new finished renovations of the capital building. One guy asks: "Are you guys drunk?"  I reply, "No, we're stone sober." 

Start with setting intentions in front of the Veterans Service Building. We walk down the right side. Shuffle across the street. Restart again. The sidewalk has a pattern of a darker on-point square in the middle of the typical concrete and I enjoy watching my shadow spread my justice and peace energy as I walk up using the angles as my guide.  We find ourselves in front of the steps and sing a reminder of the light and love in every person. End with gratitude. 

Then we ventured inside for a look-peek. Do a little impromptu humming in the rotunda. And then walk back the other side of the mall. 



Day 3 walkers:  Patti, Saleem, and Conie

Day 2, Monday, January 16, Martin Luther King Jr holiday

Weather: overcast but not windy or freezing. I didn't wear my snow boots or extra cushy socks so my toes get cold. 

Walkers: Patti, Saleem, and I 



 

As we three are chatting by the Gold Star Table, I notice capital security has pulled into the parking lot. Since it's a federal holiday, we're the only ones parked there. We trot over to ask if it's ok and confirm the holiday and that the meter doesn't need to be fed. We're fine, he reassures us. 

 

Convening in front of the Veterans Service Building I notice the beautiful lotus-like sculpture in the center of the fountain(?). Does anybody know its background or its creator? There's so much beautiful and meaningful memorial installations on the Capital grounds. If you haven't had a chance go and explore! 

Today we decide to walk the left side up to balance what we did yesterday. It's lovely having another person to add to our harmony. As we make our way across the lower quad, I notice another (the same?) security vehicle in a different lot. They seem to be watching us? When we reach the street, we sing but don't walk the slow pace across. Over the course of the chant we advance 8 steps so crossing a four lane street would take at least 4 repeats. Not worth risking our safety or inviting question. 

I've been watching two group of folks milling about on the capital steps since we started. Now that we're closer it seems like some are logistics organizers for the Women's March and another group is live streaming a promo of the musical acts appearing at the March ... But we don't know that until we've photo (video?) bombed part of it. Oops! 

Today's trio ends by climbing the steps to the capital doors (locked due to the holiday) and then sending out prayers of blessings for all people from that incredible vantage point that views the river straight ahead and the Cathedral of St. Paul slightly to the right. 

Day 3, Tuesday, January 17

Weather: overcast like yesterday. It rained overnight and at home I slipped on the slanted, wet icy sidewalk (triple threat, can't win!) and fell on my tush taking out the recycling last night. Fortunately, the capital grounds folks are totally on it and the sidewalks are well salted for the opening of this week's session. Thank you! 



Our feet stepping out at the Vietnam War memorial installation at the Capital.
(Photo by Points Of Light Music)

Walkers: it's just Patti and I. We walk the labyrinth that appeared the other day, check in, and then head to our starting place. Today there are folks working in the buildings and walking here and there. A different vibe than the last couple days. But we begin again. 

Setting our intentions we recognize the cloud of witnesses surrounding us and this place, all people from the past, including the indigenious, and future as well as the thousands planning to be attending the March on Saturday. It is a bit awesome to behold. 

Today's variation: after we cross the street, instead of remaining in a single file line, I wave Patti to join me so we are side-by-side. A year and a half ago, I was leading this Dance at Village Fire with one other person. We modifying it for the two of us and I was floored by the feeling of strength I felt walking side by side as we crossed a field. That experience has stayed with me and continues to prod me with this public practice. The dream has evolved to include variations of groups of people walking toward each other and becoming a partner dance where they meet, turning together as they move through each other. Some day...

We reach the lower steps and move through our closing ritual. Our closing song are the words of Joe Miller, a Buddhist blessing: "May all beings be well / May all beings be happy / Peace, Peace, Peace."

But I know another version of it with an additional line and it was calling to me on my drive home yesterday. Saying "I need to be said." The line is "May all injured be healed." Telling my partner this, she affirms it is important to recognize this. We gloss over trauma in so many ways and the only way to move forward is to recognize it. Otherwise it gets stuffed down and remains undealt with causing unforeseen problems in the future.

May all beings be well,

May all beings be happy, 

May all injured be healed.

Peace, Peace, Peace. 

May we be open to the vulnerability required to admit our mistakes and learn from them. To rise over and over again. One step at a time 

We step forward again for the next three days. Join us at 2p in front of the Veterans Service Building or from work, home, or wherever you are. More details here.  Peace and blessings. 

Our Political Life Together

It is Minnesota's Primary Election Day today! 

I was sitting with my breakfast at my kitchen table this morning when I realized I live next to a polling place. The turf paint is still visible from last Tuesday's National Night Out labyrinth ... And wouldn't it be a good time to invite folks coming and going to the polls to reflect on democracy, civic engagement, and our political life together? 

Out come the pennants and the paper and markers! 

Ta-da! 

So, on this Primary Election Day, what are you reflecting on? 

- where and when did you first vote?

- what concern do you have for our city, neighborhood, state, country, world? 

- what's your favorite way to get involved? 

- what's a funny, crazy, <fill in the blank> story about a past election? 

- what does democracy mean to you? 

- or anything else you'd like to share...

If you're not in my St. Paul precinct, I'd love to hear your thoughts too! Please write a note in the comments below. 

Thanks! And happy Primary Election Day! 

National Night Out Labyrinth Pictures!

It was National Night Out earlier this week!  Guess what was installed at the neighborhood's party? 

A three-circuit modified Classical labyrinth. 

Here's a few of my favorites.  You can spy a few more on Facebook. 

Panning the post-party grounds beside the church.
It was a well attended party with folks young and wiser.

Inviting folks to walk and ponder neighborhoods in the labyrinth.
Notice the camp chair in the center.  I saw many kids use it as seat and as table!
(wish I got a picture of that!)

 

Inviting folks to write or draw about neighborhoods: what's missing,
a funny story or happy memory, if you change one thing what would it be?
What makes a neighborhood, a neighborhood?



A flower and person!



Response:  I like summer because then I get to see my neighbors.
My neighbors give me hope.

Drawings!  What do you think this is trying to say?

Turf paint on the ground is all that is left of the National Night Out labyrinth. 
Walk it while you can.  It lasts for a couple weeks and disappears slowly with mowing and rain.

Labyrinth Highlights from "Action Thru Art"

Last week, GoodSpace Murals answered a call for white allies to respond to recent gun violence deaths of black men and police officers, by hosting an "Action through Art" a community mural painting event on Sat, Jul 16 at J.J. Hill Montessori School.  They invited other artists to offer other healing activities and we answer the call with an offer to set up a labyrinth and lead Dances of Universal Peace.  

Here's a few photos of the labyrinth from the event.  Go and check out the many beautiful photos and video taken throughout the day of the murals and mosaics at the Facebook event page.  

Two volunteers give the 3-circuit modified Classical labyrinth a test run.

Walkers were invited to leave behind their hopes, prayers, and dreams

"I hope that someday soon everyone will be treated the same."

"Be Brave
Think of others
Have crucial conversations
Listen to people's stories
Make connections"

"Flowers
Food
Freedom"

"LOVE
STAY AWAKE
TAKE ACTION"

"Rest in peace"

"May hamster will get sick."

"One by one"

"Peace"

"I believe that reason, passion, and justice will win the day"

"Love"

Here's another invitation (sorry it's not "on location")

The labyrinth was set a bit apart from the mural, mosaic and other art tables for some quiet reflection time. 

You can still see the chalk spray outline faintly on Sunday evening, even after the rain from Saturday night.
We would love updates if it's still visible and walkable.  

Thanks so much, GoodSpace Murals!  I hope we can collaborate again soon.

Event: Action thru Art-St. Paul, Sat, Jul 16, 1p

Points of Light Music will be adding a chalk labyrinth and Dances of Universal Peace to this event to honor the memory of Philando Castile and show ally support to Black Lives Matter. 

Event: Action Through Art (more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1746338072320518/)

Location: J.J. Hill Montessori, 998 Selby Ave, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104

Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2016

Time: Mural painting event: 1-5p

- Dances of Universal Peace: 1-2ish

Join us to walk, sing, dance, paint and practice peace. 

Labyrinth Updates

2016 has been filled with labyrinths more than ever before ... Here's a skinny chronology of what's happened so far and what's coming ahead:


Walking the labyrinth at Wintermission.

• Jan-Feb 2016:  Invited to make a snow labyrinth for the Friendly Streets Initiative and their Wintermission event at the planned site for the Rondo Commemorative Plaza. 

The huge snowfall from the previous week melts during an incredible mid-winter thaw!  Oh no!  Brainstorm a stanchion-based rectangle design from materials from Ax-man that also can multi-task as dreams and concerns collector. 

• Mar-Apr 2016:  Submitted poster session proposal to The Labyrinth Society's annual meeting based on the Wintermission labyrinth.  It is accepted!



Two little people walk at the Backyard Farm Fair

• Apr-May 2016:  Invited to install a temporary labyrinth by The Trust for Public land at Frogtown Farm's Backyard Fair. 

Adapting Tom Vetter's Flower in the Seed design, I develop the stanchion based labyrinth idea from February and add pennant flags for more presence.

• Jun 2016:  Submit a proposal to Springboard for the Art's Ready Go mobile art tools to continue developing the stanchion based labyrinth idea.  I find out in a couple of weeks if it's accepted!

So, what's ahead?
* Prepare my poster and handouts for The Labyrinth Society gathering, make travel plans for Houston, TX, and go!  (Sept-Nov 2016)

* Attend Veriditas' labyrinth facilitator training in North Carolina.  It occurs to me that if I was going to install and facilitate labyrinth walks, it might be a good idea to get the stamp of approval by "the experts." (Aug 2016)

* Bring Field of Reflections to fruition if my Ready Go proposal is accepted!  (Jul-Aug 2016)

* Round up financial support. (Now) Although I'm hopeful about receiving a scholarship to attend training and the poster presentation comes with a stipend, I need to raise more funds for travel, lodging, and registration.  And if the Ready Go! proposal is not accepted, I already know I want to move forward with the project and will need to raise funds to buy material and commission an artist to create a centerpiece (intrigued?  more on that later!).  Would you be willing to consider supporting me in one of the following ways?

• Hire me to install a labyrinth (either the simple rectangle or Flower in the Seed design) for an event at church, workplace, or family/friends gathering.  Since I already have the materials, you pay for the setup/teardown and time facilitating during the event. 
• Or hire me for one of my many other interests: 

1. a Full Voice workshop with friends, family, or co-workers (ask me for details!)
2. a 1:1 Full Voice lesson,
3. lead Dances of Universal Peace for an event
4. lead community song at an event or worship service or team building session
5. facilitating other community art projects for your neighborhood or organization
6. providing music for funerals, weddings, other services, and events from the piano and organ bench, voice, flute, baritone ukulele, shruti box

• Contribute to my GoFundMe.com campaign. 

Thanks so much for reading my Labyrinth Update!  It's an exciting time and I'm grateful to have you along for the company!

Temporary Labyrinth Installation: Frogtown Park & Farm, Sat, May 21, 11a-2p

Come on over to the Backyard Farm Fest!  The folks from Frogtown Park & Farms are invitin' everyone over to see what they're planting in their swales and berms this Saturday and have all sorts of other enticing events going on like giving away sweet potato starts and other plants, gardening tips and tricks, gardening tool repair, and Poetry Gumbo with my friend Sheronda ... plus a labyrinth in the lower park!  Checkout the Facebook event page for more details.

Frogtown Farm's Backyard Fair!
Saturday, May 21, 2016, 11a-2p
Frogtown Park & Farm
941 Lafond Ave, St. Paul (map)

The labyrinth I'm installing for the day is Tom Vetter's "Flower in the Seed." It looks like this on the page. 

Tom Vetter's Flower in the Seed labyrinth design.

 And a little like this on the ground.  I mocked it up in the church greenspace by my house. 

Mid-installation of "Flower In the Seed."

A volunteer runner making sure "Flower in the Seed" is fun!



I'm especially excited to see this installation from the hilltop at Frogtown Park and Farm though.  You'll really get to see the center of the flower, the stem, and its leaves.  So come on over and walk, run, skip, dance, crawl your way through Flower in the Seed labyrinth with me! 

Many thanks to The MN office of The Trust for Public Land for sponsoring this! 

If you'd like to help out in some way, here's a few ways you can...

• Lend tomato plant cages or shepherd's hooks (hanging plant hooks) - they're sturdy posts for the ropes and lines of pennants!
• Got old party streamers in a corner collecting dust?  I'd love to weave them into the garden fencing we're using!
• I'm open to other ideas too!  Suggest something and we'll work with it!
• Donate to my GoFundMe page:  https://www.gofundme.com/CBLabyrinthDreams.  I'm dreaming of bringing temporary labyrinths to places that need thoughtful activation, like vacant lots, and need more sturdy pieces to bring it all together.  Plus I've been invited to share a poster at The Labyrinth Society's gathering in Houston, TX in November and I'd like to complete labyrinth facilitator training in the near future, both of which require funds to travel and registration/tuition.

Thanks so much! 

p.s. if you miss it, you can see a shadow of it for a few days afterward (at least a mowing or two) as we'll be using marking paint on the grass. 

Can't beat them? Join 'em!

What do you do when your snow labyrinth attempts are thwarted by enthusiastic dogs, aloof or single-minded strangers who walk through your design (and not on the path you've created)?  Is the only answer to give up and not make one? 

Nah. You gotta work with it! 

This winter the walkers in my neighborhood have cut across the church yard as the aloof mailman and the hungry teens walking to Chipotle in the Village. It's funny. In past years I've seen their paths encounter the labyrinth path and they go around. This year not so much. Over New Year's I was walking on a frozen lake with friends' dogs and well, you can imagine their enthusiasm for being outside. 

So, what did I do? 

With the dogs, I realized two things. 1) I wasn't gonna be able to distract them away and 2) their tracks and my tracks are completely different! Unless the dogs were rolling around in the snow (and thankfully they weren't!), the trail I was blazing would be clear enough for anybody walking on the lake. If they could navigate the lakeshore, they could figure out and keep to the human path if that was their choice. In the picture below a 7-circuit classical is farther out on the lake (and harder to see) to the left of this noodly spaghetti spiral labyrinth. 

As for the church yard, short of putting up signs of invitation (which crosses my mind lots; I just get stuck on the wording:/), I realized this is just another classic public art design issue: knowing your site, how it's used, and deciding what kind of statement your installation will make as there are times to be harmonic and times to push the dissonance. 

Here I wanted to be harmonic so I incorporated the cutting paths into the walk to the labyrinth entrance and cut the number of circuits from the standard 7 to 5, so the modified Classical design would fit the smaller space. 

The design is now on a diagonal and seems more intimate. Previously the entrances were off the sidewalk and aligned with the cardinal directions. There's a few trees to the left of this picture which I previously thought were part of the "gateway" and now seems to act like privacy shield. 

I would love others to walk it and share their experiences. 

Favorite fresh snow activity: making a labyrinth

The Midwest is getting pounded with a storm dub'd the snowmageddon or snowpocalypse of 2010.  And while most folks are kvetching about not being able to attend concerts, parties and shop, I love this opportunity to slow down by stomping a classical labyrinth in the church yard beside my house. 

(If don't know what a labyrinth is or how to use one, check http://labyrinthsociety.org/ for a good place to start. And if you're looking for a labyrinth in your neck of the woods (or desert) search the http://labyrinthlocator.com/.)

There's lots of directions on the internet about how to draw the boundaries for a labyrinth (here's my favorite:   http://www.lessons4living.com/drawing.htm) and not so many on how to create the path.  Where snow is plentiful, a path is all you need.  A few tips before you start:

• There are two types of steps to make.  When WALKing to make a path or connecting rings, feel free to drag your feet.  Other times you will need to take care and raise your feet high to not disturb the snow as you move between rings.  I refer to this as STEPping. 
• A labyrinth is always off-center and is, in other words, not symmetrical.   It is very close to being a mirror, but is not.  If it was exactly the same on both sides you would have unconnected parallel circles.  And not a path leading to the center.  Feel free to ruminate on why that is and it's metaphor on life.  :)
• I tried to color code the steps in a rainbow fashion, but yellow does not show up very well and red and orange looked the same.  So the steps are not exactly in ROY G. BIV order, but enough they should be easy to remember.

1. First steps are in BLACK:  WALK towards the center of the space where you are working.  STOP before you reach the center and take a BIG STEP.  This is your center.  STOMP a space twice as big as you.  I like to say a quick invocation of this activity before moving on.
2. Next make 7 half rings.  These steps are in RED-ORANGE:  If your steps toward the center are pointing "north" on a compass, these half rings start and end on the east and west axis.  Take nice big steps between the rings!  If you get too close to your previous ring the path may become unclear.  It's better to err on being too wide though then you run the risk of making it bigger than the space you have.  Nice thing about snow (at least in the Midwest) is it melts or you get more snow you can practice!
3. This step is the trickiest because of the possibility of making closed loops. Here's how to avoid that.  Go back to the center and step into the first path to the "west" (really you can pick either side, but for the purposes of this demo, I'll stick with what's happening in the drawing).  Now WALK to the second ring.  STEP INTO the third ring and WALK around the turn you just created towards the center.  First half is easy -- here's where we have to be careful about keeping the loops open.  STEP back to the center and to the second ring on the "east" axis.  WALK from the second to the third ring.  STEP INTO the fourth ring and walk around the other path to connect with the first ring.  This is the YELLOW-ORANGE turns in the diagram.
4. GREEN paths next!  For the remaining unconnected rings (four on the "west" axis and three on the "east"), make quarter arcs starting from the ring closest to the center and moving out. 
5. The BLUE turns are similarly to the orange-yellow turns in Step 3.  Take note which side has four unconnected rings and which has three.  Go to the "west" side with four rings and stand in the sixth.  WALK and connect it to the fifth.  STEP INTO the forth ring and WALK to the seventh.  Celebrate!  Half of the labyrinth is complete!  Trot over to the "east" side of the seventh ring.  WALK and connect the seventh ring to the sixth. 
6. To finish off your snow labyrinth, STEP INTO the fifth ring that is not yet connected and WALK to the path you made when you started the labyrinth (PURPLE). 

Your Classical labyrinth is now complete!  Congrats!

I can complete a snow labyrinth in about 10-15 minutes depending on the snow depth and heft.  My first one took much longer because I "drew" the boundaries in blue and green water, which I soon realized was unnecessary.  If you used these directions to create a snow labyrinth, please let me know!

Blessings!

Remembrance

This weekend has been a time of remembrance, personally and in the world.  I've been reviewing with a friend what has transpired over the last decade and a half as she stands at a transition point not of her own making, processing the pain and how to honor the best of the experiences while moving forward. 

In the world, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened 65 years ago and I will have the pleasure of dancing at a 65th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony with Kairos Dance Theatre Co. and live music performed by the Junshin Girls Choir from Nagasaki.  This event is at a Como Park's Global Harmony Labyrinth (map) in St. Paul at 7 p.m. on Sunday evening, Aug 8 (see event details here or here; more about the Labyrinth here).  Please come.  The girls sing about a beautiful rainbow of peace cranes. 

I am so humbled by the creative spirit that continues to live on here and there to heal the wounds created so long ago.  So grateful that amongst the pain we can reach out to each other, hold hands and seek a better tomorrow together. We may not know what the shape that future will be but it gives me hope that my friend will walk through this painful event to another side with hands full of beauty and grace.