Meditation in the Backyard

I'm really pleased that my backyard is large enough to mow out a labyrinth. I use it as a walking meditation - a place to release the tension of working on a computer all day and focus my mind for other things. It is fairly simple to mow once you see it drawn and then connect the lines.

Once you create the paths on a bit of paper - mow the top half (away from the entrance) with the center space and 7 half-rings of mown grass circling it. The trick is to figure out which of the pathways connect. On the right hand side as you're looking at it - 1+2, Center+3, 5+6 and 3+7 will do it. On the left hand side, 2+3, 1+4, 5 to out, 6+7 will do it.

Do the inner circles first before the outer so your turning radius will be large enough to turn your mower. It is far easier with a push mower than a riding mower but all I have is a rider so I get a large labyrinth.

One tip is to set your mower deck to its highest setting. If you make a mistake, you can drop the deck down one notch to erase the mistake.

But do try cutting one of these in your backyard - it's good for what ails you (and it will give the neighbors something to talk about as well) :-)