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What
Matters To The Heart?
Exploring the Psychological Significance of the Labyrinth
Doctoral
Dissertation and Research
by
Lea Goode-Harris, Ph.D.
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This qualitative research
explored the psychological significance of the labyrinth, especially
in regard to the relevance of the life-long process of individuation
with particular attention to the transitional period of adolescence.
Ten adolescents walked the labyrinth while contemplating two
images in response to: "What matters to the heart?"and
"What is the opposite of your heart's yearning?" Art-making
and interviewing were employed as means of documenting the experiences
of the subjects before walking the labyrinth, during the labyrinth
walk, and during follow-up meetings.
To
view entire Abstract,
Click Here
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The
following pictures and text are an example from the research
and give a brief synopsis of one of the teenager’s journey
through opposites in the labyrinth. |
Antonio’s
Explorations |
| Antonio's
First Image
What matters to the heart of this thirteen year old are money
and power,
depicted by a large, green, paper bill,
with $ signs in each corner on white paper.
Antonio
said, "Money. Power.
I chose money because, money basically,
you need to survive in this world.
I say you need it in this corporate world to survive.
You have to have some, other wise, you can’t really live.
Everything takes money. They sell water for money.
That represents money to me, that corporate world.
That is what matters to me, survival.
I only did this for my own reasons, to be published.
For everything I do,
I usually have a reason that benefits me.
That is another key to survival, numero uno.
Who else is going to do it?”
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Antonio's
Second Image
The opposite of what matters
to Antonio’s heart is emotions.
These emotions were depicted on black paper
using oil pastels with squiggly and straight lines
that fill the space with red, light blue,
dark green, pink, white, yellow, and purple.
The straight lines run corner to corner and vertically.
Antonio
said, "Emotions.
“I’m going to use black paper because it looks better,
black.
I made it up, all the colors.
Sometimes, colors are emotions.
There are a lot of emotions, some are the same color.
Sometimes it is just a weakness.
Like emotion really downs you.
If it comes at a time when you really don’t want
to have feelings to kick in, then basically you feel like a
soldier, if you have feelings for the dead,
you probably will get shot in the back.
You feel like you are this dead guy,
you are going to have to go on.
Say I’m a soldier, and I see a dead guy,
and I think this is pretty bad.
I see a pile of dead guys and you just walk
because you get used to it.”
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Antonio's
Third New Image
The third new image to come to Antonio while walking the labyrinth
was a brick of gold. Using black paper and a white oil pastel
to make the outline, Antonio filled in the gold brick with a
yellow, oil pastel.
Antonio
said, “A brick of gold.
I only need two colors.
I’m thinking of how am I going to draw this again.
This is when art class comes in handy.
This is supposed to be yellow
but it looks more like green.
This is my object.
It is an inanimate object and it is cool.
Gold.
Because even in ancient times
it represented power,
rarity,
and most of the time in ancient civilizations
if you had gold you had power.
Power
is another key.”
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My
Reflections
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the short amount of time we spent together, I have not forgotten
Antonio. His images, insights, and the sadness held in his
body, have continued both to haunt and inspire me. His ability
to move from paper money, through difficult emotions, to
the purity of gold was courageous. Using the labyrinth and
expressive arts, he tapped right into the symbols for the
alchemy of the soul. His flat, paper bill filled up with
emotions and became a 3-dimensional brick of solid gold.
Antonio’s bringing forth his third, new, image of
the gold brick is reminiscent of the alchemical search for
the spiritual gold concealed within the center of the heart.
Antonio talked of his gold representing power. It is possible
that Antonio’s gold and power were metaphors for his
own transformative properties being brought forth from his
personal underground vault. Antonio’s journey into
the labyrinth assisted him in finding this image with his
personal meaning and the possible golden flowering of his
own potential. |
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If
you have any questions, please contact me via phone or e-mail
Lea Goode-Harris, Ph.D.
phone:
707-575-7570 or
e-mail
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