Welcoming God
Hey spiritual seeker! My name’s Sarah Haykel and I’m the host of Welcoming God, a podcast for spiritual seekers.
In this podcast, I’ll be sharing the goodness of Welcoming God back into my life after years of rebelling against the God of my Catholic upbringing and years of honest seeking on a personal spiritual path. I’ll share my consistently evolving understanding of God and what I’m learning on the path, to help create a God accessible to the every day person.
We’ll have honest and sometimes hilarious conversations about how to go from being a “spiritual” person to a God-loving person. Understanding God as a benevolent guide. What does it mean to have a relationship with God? What does it mean to surrender to God? Cultivating a spiritually mature understanding of God. Learning how to discern God’s truth and will for our lives. How to cultivate the most important relationship you’ll ever have, with God, on a daily, moment to moment basis.
Come along on this spiritually rEvolutionary journey where we get to know God.
This podcast is marked as explicit because there may be swearing or content appropriate for mature audiences in some of the episodes.
Welcoming God
Walking The Labyrinth: A Contemplative Spiritual Tool
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A labyrinth looks like a simple pathway in the grass, on concrete or made of stones or bricks. But the experience of walking a labyrinth can be anything but simple. I share how walking a labyrinth has become a deeply grounding spiritual practice for me, especially when it comes to communing with God and receiving clarity on a question I have or something I'm unsure about.
There is something uniquely steadying about moving through the turns toward the center, pausing to listen, and then walking the same path back out with whatever insight, comfort, or next step I receive! It truly is magical and transformative!
I also share about the practical side of labyrinth meditation and contemplative prayer. If you do not have an outdoor labyrinth nearby, if the ground is uneven, or if walking long distances is not accessible, a hand labyrinth can offer the same inward journey in a small, tangible form. I describe handheld labyrinths made from wood, clay, or paper, and how you can even print one out at home. I share my enthusiasm about making clay hand labyrinths for a local contemplative spiritual retreat, so people can participate in the practice even without a full-size labyrinth to walk.
Along the way, I point to simple ways to find labyrinths in your area, including a labyrinth locator, and I offer a gentle encouragement: treat the path as a tool for spiritual listening, not a performance. As always, this podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes and is not a substitute for therapy or professional help. If this resonates, subscribe wherever you listen, share it with a spiritual seeker in your life, and leave a review so more people can find the show.
If you want to stay connected, join the email newsletter at WelcomingGod.com for a free ebook companion to season one and info on upcoming retreats for women moving through the menopausal journey. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find Welcoming God.
Music by Song Channel Music. Listen at SongChannelMusic.com
Want to order your own hand-held clay labyrinth? Contact me at WelcomingGod.com by scrolling to the bottom of the page and sending me an email at the "Get In Touch" section! I can make laybrinths for individuals or for a group.
Welcome And Content Warning
SPEAKER_00Hey everyone, Sarah here. Just to let you know, sometimes I do use swear words in these episodes, and we may at times discuss adult content. In case you happen to be listening around little ones or people that won't appreciate that. Thanks so much for listening, and let's get right into it.
How I Found Labyrinth Walking
SPEAKER_00I wanted to talk about the labyrinth today. I am just new to the labyrinth over the past few years, and I enjoy walking a labyrinth so much. I've gotten so much out of it through my meditative experience with God. I usually go into the labyrinth with something on my mind or in my heart that I want clarity on. And I ask God for the guidance to support me through the journey of walking the labyrinth. And it is so powerful what I receive and what happens in the labyrinth. I remember knowing about the labyrinth many years ago. And I even tried to walk one once or twice, but I wasn't exactly sure about it. I was like, okay, so you walk in one this one way and you walk out the same exact way. It just seemed odd to me. So I kind of didn't really go there for a while. And then I happened to be on retreat at this beautiful place in the Niagara region called Stella Niagara. And they have an amazing labyrinth there. And I walked the labyrinth and I loved it. And so now I've found another labyrinth near where I live.
Hand Labyrinths And Accessibility
SPEAKER_00And I've also learned from this woman, Rashida, through a training that I have been in this year through the Shallane Institute. She runs labyrinth workshops. She brought in all of these handheld labyrinths made out of wood and plastic and paper. So you can also do hand labyrinths. You don't have to actually go outside all the time to walk a labyrinth. And especially if you can't walk or, you know, it's uneven ground or walking long distances doesn't work for you. A hand labyrinth could be a great option. And you probably can just print them out right online just doing a Google search. So I just wanted to introduce you to this idea of the labyrinth as a contemplative spiritual tool, as a way to meditate with God and ask for guidance. And there is something powerful about this walking in through all these pathways to the center and then walking back out the way that you walked in. There is something powerful that happens in a labyrinth. I
Retreat Plans And Clay Labyrinths
SPEAKER_00also am leading a contemplative spiritual retreat locally, and I have just made for the very first time hand labyrinths out of clay. So I'm super excited to see how they come out and to bring them to the retreat so that people can use them. Because we won't be near a labyrinth that we can walk, but we can do a hand labyrinth. So I just encourage you to check this out if you feel called to. It is a beautiful practice. You also could create your own labyrinth at home if you have the space for that. You can buy labyrinths that you can lay out in a large indoor space so that you can walk them inside for, for instance, groups, churches, community centers, et cetera. So there are other ways to walk a labyrinth if outdoors isn't possible, or you don't have any nearby you, or you don't have the land to make one yourself.
Finding Labyrinths And Seeking Guidance
SPEAKER_00So you can learn more about m labyrinths online. I've learned a little bit. Um the early labyrinths, it sounds like they may have come from Greece or somewhere like that. I don't, I'm not like a historian on the topic, but I definitely just want to encourage you to check it out as a spiritual tool, as a contemplative tool, meditative practice, a way to talk to God and get some clarity on whatever you may be struggling with. So enjoy finding labyrinths near you. And there also is a labyrinth locator that I found online. I'll try to remember to put that in the show notes as well. So Aloha Nui Loa, many blessings on your path, walking the labyrinth and beyond. And until we meet again, take care.
Legal Disclaimer For Spiritual Content
SPEAKER_00Hey everyone, Sarah Haeckel here from Welcoming God, a podcast for spiritual seekers. This is a legal disclaimer to say that this podcast is not a substitute for therapy or professional help. I am not a trained therapist. I also have not studied theology in a formal setting. This podcast is purely for educational, inspirational purposes, to share the goodness of welcoming God back into my life and all of the things that I'm learning on this journey. So thank you for joining me here, and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Thanks
Subscribe Review And Closing Blessing
SPEAKER_00for joining me on another episode of Welcoming God. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen, and consider leaving us a review as it helps more people find and benefit from this show. Music by Song Channel Music. You can listen and hear more at Songchannel Music dot com. Until we meet again, Aloha Nui Loa, take care and God bless.