Labyrinth as Metaphor
A labyrinth is not a maze.Above all, do not lose your desire to walk … I have walked myself into my best thoughts (Søren Kierkegaard, 1978, p. 214)
Labyrinths and mazes are distinctly different in purpose, intention, creation, and structure (Midgley & Trimmer, 2013; Sellers, 2016; Ullyatt, 2011). Conceptually, labyrinths and mazes are often used and considered interchangeable, leading to "terminological confusion" (Ullyatt, 2011, p. 107) while historically, both have a presence through ancient times in many cultures around the globe (Sellers, 2016; Ulyatt, 2011).
A maze is intended to confuse and misdirect, with multicursal paths leading to dead ends and retractions (Sellers, 2016). Complexity is inherent in the design. Mazes agitate and are designed so individuals get lost in the three dimensional, high walled enclosures. While mazes are constructed from ice blocks, garden hedges, or in corn fields, they are most often envisioned as permanent, subterranean cave structures as depicted in ancient Greek mythologies (Ullyatt, 2011).
A labyrinth is laid out in an open space, using markers to outline a unicursal, recursive path that leads into and through the space. Simplicity in their design, labyrinths are unwalled, visible, and patterned. Walkers can observe the whole design, but need to concentrate on each step and turn in order to stay on the path. Its intention is contemplative and reflexive, and walking a labyrinth is relaxing and reflective, a "place of deep reflection, of calm and contemplation; a wellspring for creativity; a place to connect with our deepest selves" (Sellers, 2016, p. 2).
This comprehensive portfolio will apply a labyrinth as a metaphor. While a maze is in some ways representative of the Joint PhD journey, with moments of feeling lost, confused and agitated, the labyrinth is a more evocative metaphor for my own journey toward this moment in the centre.
This is my moment to stand still."the walker can stand still, look back on their journey so far and look ahead, knowing that one foot in front of the other will bring them safely to the centre and the return to the outer world." Sellers, 2016, p. 1
I have walked to the centre of the Joint PhD program, the moment when I will be transformed from student to candidate. Here, in this comprehensive portfolio, I look back to the path through this metaphoric labyrinth that has brought me here, to the centre. Through this step by step journey into the labyrinth, I am transformed as cognate and learner.
References
Gardner, P., & Grose, J. (2015). Mindfulness in the Academy – Transforming Our Work and Ourselves ‘One Moment at a Time.’ Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 8, 35–46. https://doi.org/10.22329/celt.v8i0.4252
Gray, B. (2017). Jan Sellers and Bernard Moss, Learning with the labyrinth: Creating reflective space in higher education. Equinox Publishing, 150–152. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.32722
Jones, J. K. (2013). Into the labyrinth: Persephone’s journey as metaphor and method for research. In W. Midgley, K. Trimmer, & A. Davies (Eds.), Metaphors for, in and of education research (pp. 66–90). Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom,: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Retrieved from https://eprints.usq.edu.au/23418/
Midgley, W., & Trimmer, K. (2013). “Walking the labyrinth”: A metaphorical understanding of approaches to metaphors for, in and of educational research. In W. Midgley, K. Trimmer, & A. Davies (Eds.), Metaphors for, in and of educational research (pp. 1–9). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/59592
Sellers, J. (2016). Introduction: The heart of learning. In J. Sellers & B. Moss (Eds.), Learning with the labyrinth: Creating reflective space in higher education (pp. 1–13). Red Globe Press, Macmillan International Higher Education.