Jessica Kelly, left, and Patricia McLaughlin, executive director of the Quad City Labyrinth Project, stroll through a labyrinth. (Photo by Dan Videtich / Radish)

The earliest record of a labyrinth is over 3,200 years old and comes from an inscription on a clay tablet from Pylos, Greece. Evidence of labyrinths have been found at different points in history, from diverse cultures in Arizona, Iceland, Scandinavia, Crete, Egypt, India and Sumatra. They were used in medieval Europe as a symbol of Christian faith.

Mary Lou Farmer, administrator of the Crooked Creek Christian Camp in Washington, Iowa, calls them a spiritual tool for Christians.

“It is a focused way to pray and typically has three stages. The ‘going in’ represents letting go of the details of life so that the heart and mind can be open and receptive. The center of the labyrinth is a place of prayer and meditation to hear what God is saying to you. It is a space for meeting Jesus and leaving behind the chaos of the world as you lift up and leave your prayers with Jesus. The ‘going out’ represents joining with God to go out and share what God has given.”

Unlike a maze, a labyrinth’s path doesn’t lead to multiple dead ends. Nor is it just aimless wandering. “A labyrinth is not a circle; it’s a path with a purpose that takes a walker on an internal journey,” says Patricia N. McLaughlin, executive director of the Quad City Labyrinth Project. “It’s more of a circular path that helps take people inward.”

There are four major types of labyrinths: classical, Roman, medieval and contemporary. Classical labyrinths consist of one pathway that loops back and forth to form seven circuits bounded by eight walls surrounding the center. Roman labyrinths are often square or circular and occasionally polygonal and are found as mosaics on the floors of Roman buildings. Medieval labyrinths usually are divided into four quadrants and are found as turf labyrinths in England. Classical labyrinths feature contemporary designs and range from minimalist to complex.

If you plan to walk a labyrinth, leave the step counter and iPod at home. This kind of walking is meant to help your mind, not your waistline.

“Focusing on counting calories or the number of steps is a distraction, an external focus,” says McLaughlin. “When we set one up, we reduce the distractions that might make people’s minds wander. We play music to help them relax and keep the lights low. When you walk around your neighborhood, there are lots of things to make you focus outward — plants, animals — and your focus is more external. In a labyrinth, the focus is more internal.”

Farmer agrees. “You should walk one to help focus your prayer/spiritual life. Labyrinths are typically in locations with little or no distractions from the world around you. A walk around the block is just a walk around the block with whatever distractions your neighborhood offers.”

In other words, forget the speed walking and let your mind unwind in a labyrinth.

After speaking with Farmer and McLaughlin, I was convinced to give a labyrinth a try (my friend Melody had been raving about the labyrinths in San Francisco for years). On a day when my shoulders felt glued to my ears and there seemed to be three times more things to do than hours in the day, I decided to try the labyrinth at Unity Church of Christianity in Moline.

The day I visited, the labyrinth was deserted: perfect for someone nervous about walking her first labyrinth. My hope was that this would help quiet my mind, which is normally going warp 5. Gray paver stones outlined the labyrinth and the grass between the rows was starting to turn green. It was quiet (at least until an ATV began roaring in the distance). I felt surprisingly mellow by the time I finished, and my shoulders hung loose. (I wasn’t able to completely relax my mind because I kept thinking of things to put in this article, but I may have discovered a cure for writer’s block!)

Will I walk a labyrinth again? Probably. I’ve already bookmarked the virtual one at the Labyrinth Society’s Web page. I never knew that walking in one place could take one so far.

The Quad City Labyrinth Project will set up a labyrinth at the Healthy Living Fair June 16-17 at the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island. For more information on the fair, go here. For a list of regional labyrinths, go here, or visit:

• Quad City Labyrinth Project: www.qclabyrinth.org

• Labyrinth locator: http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org

• Virtual labyrinth: http://labyrinthsociety.org