Walk the Mount Hope Labyrinth
Did you know that Mount Hope has a labyrinth on the property? As you enter the long driveway behind One Cheverly Circle where the historic home is located, the Mount Hope Labyrinth is to the left, just in front of the small gazebo. The Manty/Tuckermantys, who own the home, have long welcomed residents to walk the labyrinth. Now, in partnership with the Mount Hope Commission (MHC), they invite residents to use the Mount Hope Labyrinth to facilitate personal and community growth, connection, and healing. If you would like to walk the labyrinth, please call Liz at 301-807-4256 and make arrangements in advance.
The Mount Hope Commission is dedicated to engaging in creative and meaningful ways to establish community connection. A labyrinth is a form of meditation, spiraling those who experience it toward its center and back out again. The non-branching path, while meandering, offers a path to clarity. The MHC believes that this mindful exercise of inward and outward reflection can provide residents a way to connect with themselves and their community in a powerful and transformative way.
For those who are unable to physically walk the path, finger walk labyrinths are available for your use and can be found at the labyrinth entrance. Like the walking path, these tactile labyrinths can be used to experience mindful contemplation. The designs are beautiful and steeped in the rich tradition of labyrinths.
What is a Labyrinth?
A labyrinth is a meandering path, often unicursal, with a singular path leading to a center. Labyrinths are an ancient archetype dating back 4,000 years or more, used symbolically, as a walking meditation, choreographed dance, or site of rituals and ceremony, among other things. Labyrinths are tools for personal and spiritual transformation, also thought to enhance right-brain activity. Your left brain is engaged in following the path and your right brain may come out and play. Labyrinths evoke metaphor, sacred geometry, spiritual pilgrimage, religious practice, mindfulness, environmental art, and community building. (reference: labyrinthsociety.org)
The History of Labyrinths
Labyrinths have existed across cultures and time and served a variety of purposes. In ancient Egypt, a labyrinth structure with 12 courts inside served as a central structure and celebration of their kings and gods. In Greek mythology, a labyrinth was used to trap the ferocious Minotaur. A labyrinth symbol called the Taupat represents mothers and their children to the Hopi Native American tribe, and the Tohono O'Odham nation use a labyrinth called “the man in the maze” to represent the journey to find meaning in life. Recently, labyrinths have shown a resurgence in unexpected places. They can be found in churches, hospitals, prisons, and private residences like Mount Hope. The use of labyrinths in new places is a nod to the ways that they can be used to bring about personal and community transformation. (reference: oxbowschool.org)
How Do I Use the Labyrinth?
You begin a labyrinth at the entrance and proceed along the path. Lines define the path and often maintain a consistent width, even around the turns. Generally, at the center you have travelled half the distance, where it is common to pause, turn around and come back out again.
The complex, spiraling shape of the labyrinth is instrumental in its effect. Cultures around the world attribute symbolic meanings to spirals, finding a suggestion of movement, growth, and change in their singular path around a central point.
Instructions for how to enter and exit the Mount Hope Labyrinth can be found at the labyrinth entrance. There are also suggestions for things you may wish to contemplate to bring about personal and community transformation. (reference: labyrinthsociety.org and motheearthliving.com)
You may arrange a time to walk the Mount Hope Labyrinth by calling Liz Tuckermanty at 301-807-4256.
Please adhere to the following guidelines:
If you drive to One Cheverly Circle, please park your car on Cheverly Avenue. Please do not park in the home’s driveway.
Be respectful of the property and remain mindful that Mount Hope is a private residence. Do not leave anything besides your wonderful experience and energy behind.
Walking the labyrinth is an exercise in mindfulness and for some it is also a meditative experience. Please enter and exit quietly as not to disturb anyone else who may be walking the path at the same time.
Instructions for how to enter and exit the labyrinth, and suggestions for things you might contemplate to bring about personal growth and transformation in our community, can be found on laminated sheets located at the entry. Feel free to reference the materials and then return them to where you found them for the next person’s use.
If you will be using the tactile labyrinths, you may find them at the labyrinth entrance. Please return them where you found them for the next person’s use.
If you would like to let us know about your experience walking the Mount Hope Labyrinth, please contact us to share your story.
Mount Hope Commission Sponsored Community Labyrinth Walks
The Mount Hope Commission sponsors community labyrinth walks to commemorate National Observance days that align with the Commission’s mission. Community Labyrinth walks will be announced via the MHC website, the Cheverly Town Newsletter, and various other Cheverly social media and communications vehicles.