The Minitab Santa Rosa Labyrinth Story

My husband (Milt Harris) and I have long-time friends from Pennsylvania. Marty was a retired clinical psychologist while Barbara is CEO of her statistical software company (Minitab) in Pennsylvania. When Marty and Barbara would come for a visit, Barbara and Milt would dive into statistics and numbers, crunching impossible problems on computer and/or paper. Marty and I would go for long walks, watching the turning of the seasons, discussing life and feelings, and just spending quiet time in each other’s presence. Later, when the four of us were together, we always had a common ground to share our left and right brain experiences!

In the early spring of 2000, Marty and Barbara were visiting us in our home. We returned from a walk to downtown Santa Rosa to find an urgent message for Barbara to call Pennsylvania. It was her sister-in-law, calling to say that Barbara’s business partner and younger brother, Ken, had died that day of a heart attack. This was devastating news for Barbara, Marty, her brother’s wife and daughter, and the many employees at their company. The following months were very hard, especially as the company continued forward with plans to purchase land and build a new facility. Not only was Barbara missing her only brother but details that Ken would have previously handled fell to Barbara. The ensuing months told of people coming forward, including Ken’s wife, and finding ways to re-organize.

At Thanksgiving, Marty and Barbara were once again visiting. As Barbara proudly displayed the blueprints of her new facility, I asked if there was any thought to permanently installing a labyrinth. Barbara asked for some information on labyrinths and copies of the Santa Rosa design. In the following month of December during a phone conversation, Barbara let me know that she had showed the information and pictures of the Santa Rosa Labyrinth to Ken’s wife Yvette. Both of them had been trying to come up with an idea for a memorial for Ken. They both agreed that the Santa Rosa Labyrinth with the heart space was the perfect thing to remember Ken. Barbara said that the employees could use the labyrinth for their own experiences as well as in remembrance of Ken.

The non-verbal language of the unconscious (in the form of the labyrinth) coming into relationship with the linear realm of the words and numbers of mainstream science reunites both sides of the heart of psychology. Incorporating these two ways of knowing and making sense of the world brings renewed attention to the ancient marriage of spirit and matter. This type of union could possibly result in something entirely new coming into our human awareness and evolution as we move into the unknown of the new millennium.

There is another addition to this equation of creativity and statistics. Minitab commissioned Mark Pilato, a sculpture artist from the Catskills of New York, to create a bronze sculpture for the heart space of the Minitab Santa Rosa Labyrinth. The heart space of the Santa Rosa Labyrinth is approached from all four directions. Pilato has entitled his piece, “Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall.” Three figures, eight feet tall, create a family, and awaken the senses of touch, sight, and the imagination. Pilato brings his love of nature, the turning of the seasons, and the form of being human into a masterpiece of beauty. You are invited to visit Pilato's website (http://www.pilatostudios.com) to view short movies and a photo journey of the process of bringing his art to the Minitab Headquarters and their Santa Rosa Labyrinth.

The Minitab Santa Rosa Labyrinth is also connected with the origins of the SNOOPY™ Labyrinth and Tuesday, September 11, 2001, but that is another story...