Building a Labyrinth
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – In early September, volunteers at The Knoll (formerly known as the Middlebury College Organic Garden), built a meditative labyrinth on the grounds adjacent to the garden. Under the direction of labyrinth designer Lars Howlett, volunteers moved hundreds of rocks from nearby piles to the neatly marked circular shapes in the field. Working in 90-minute shifts, the volunteers completed the project over two days. The final product was a 7-circuit medieval labyrinth, based on the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral.
The project coincided with the 15th-anniversary celebration and renaming of The Knoll. The facility now includes an educational garden, a serenity garden with a large marble bench blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2012, an outdoor kitchen with wood-fired brick pizza oven, and the meditative labyrinth.
The labyrinth was a joint project of The Knoll, The Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious Life, and the Mindfulness Initiative.