Meditation & Contemplation

Aerial view of the Mount St. John Labyrinth, constructed with native plants. Photo by Michele Banker

Aerial view of the Sacred Embrace Earthwork. Photo by Michele Banker.

MEEC staff and volunteers maintain two unique places for meditation and contemplation for group or individual use by appointment, a native plant labyrinth and the Sacred Embrace Earthwork.

The Native Plant Labyrinth.  The labyrinth is a symbol which has been found in religious traditions for more than 4,000 years.  Although superficially resembling a maze, a labyrinth is unicursal with a single path for meditative walking.  Labyrinths gained popularity during the Middle Ages when they were used as a substitute for dangerous pilgrimages to the holy land.  Today, labyrinths are used by spiritual pilgrims to quiet and center the mind, receive insight, and experience the divine.

The path of MEEC’s native plant labyrinth are lined with purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), little bluestem (Schizochyrium scoparium), rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium), royal catchfly (Silene regia) and other native forbs and grasses. 

The Sacred Embrace Earthwork.  Designed by local artist Carrie Pate as a living response to a deeply-felt call to live in connection with the processes of art and earth, Sacred Embrace is a place to pray, to be nurtured and to appreciate the beauty and diversity of our native flora.  Sacred Embrace blooms in summer and fall with an array of prairie forbs including tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris), white and blue false indigo (Baptisia alba & B. australis), mountain mints (Pycanthemum tenuifolium & P. incanum) and partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata); and grasses including prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) and little bluestem (Schizochyrium scoparium). 

There is no fee for using the labyrinth or the earthwork, but donations are welcome to help cover maintenance costs.  Arrangements must be made in advance through MEEC to ensure maintenance or another group is not scheduled.  Simply call us at 937/429-3582 or email us.

Publications:
Download the labyrinth brochure.
Download the Sacred Embrace brochure.

In the Resource Center:
Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, by Rev. Dr. Lauren Artess, Riverhead Books, 1995.

Exploring the Labyrinth: A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth, by Melissa Gayle West, Broadway Books, 2000.