Grand Opening of Labyrinth By The Sea Set for May 6

On Saturday, May 6, thousands of people will participate in the fifteenth annual World Labyrinth Day as a moving meditation for peace, and Rockaway will be celebrating with the official grand opening of the Labyrinth By The Sea! 

The labyrinth walk is an ancient symbolic tool for healing and wholeness. To experience the benefits of the labyrinth, follow the path walking slowly towards the center, release concerns and let go. Stand quietly in the center seeking a peaceful space within. Retracing your steps out, be open to receive new insights, peace and healing. 

Labyrinths are found throughout the world with the oldest dating back thousands of years. In contemporary use, labyrinths provide an opportunity for personal reflection, spiritual practice and the reduction of stress, and associated mental/emotional and physical ailments. 

This month, Rockaway took its place in history as Labyrinth By The Sea opened in the beautifully restored NYC Parks facility along Shore Front Parkway. Dr. Nancy Gahles, founder of Health & Harmony Wellness Education, a holistic family practice in Rockaway and Spirit of Love, the Rockaway Sangha, a community spiritual center, is the visionary creator of the Labyrinth By The Sea in Rockaway. “The journey of walking the labyrinth offers possibilities for healing and self-care that are unique to the experience of the individual. There is no right or wrong way. There is only YOUR way,” she said. “When you travel on the path, something happens. You come to a place where your thoughts arise, awareness manifests and self- realized actions follow.”

Her dedication to finding a place where the community can gather for healing and building resilience within the natural environment of the beach was galvanized into action with the help of Robby Schwach, City Council Community Liaison and Portia Dyrenforth, NYC Parks Dept.

 “Persistence and you never fail!”, Dr. Nancy says, as a decade later, she joyfully announces the grand opening of Labyrinth By The Sea in conjunction with World Labyrinth Day on Saturday May 6 at 1 p.m. on Shore Front Parkway and Beach 93rd Street in Rockaway Beach.

World Labyrinth Day is an international event held on the first Saturday each May. Participants from all over the world will “Walk as One at 1” by walking a labyrinth at 1 p.m. local time to create a rolling wave of peaceful energy passing from one time zone to the next around the globe. “This is climate change in action”, Dr. Nancy exclaims. 

Labyrinth walkers may choose to participate in the Big Connection 3.0 research project, the first global humanity research experiment utilizing the labyrinth and asking the question, “What is the impact of walking the labyrinth collectively with heart centered intention and the impact that it has for ourselves and our planet?” Here is information on participating in Labyrinth Activism research https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/

Organizations, healers, healthcare institutions, educators, spiritual and religious communities who have an interest in discovering how the gifts of the labyrinth may benefit their people are invited to set up a table at the event with educational materials.

For more information, contact Nancy Gahles at: nancygahles@gmail.com