|
The Cosmic Walk
The Cosmic Walk is a ritual created by Sr. Miriam MacGillis of Genesis
Farm. It has subsequently been modified and facilitated by many people
around the world. The Cosmic Walk is a way of bringing our knowledge of
the 14-billion-year Universe process from our heads to our hearts. It
is a simple ritual that can be performed in a large room or outdoors.
A spiral representing the entire 14 billion years of the cosmic and evolutionary
journey is laid out on the floor or ground. At Genesis Farm this spiral
is painted on the floor of the library, but one can also lay out a rope
in the spiral form. The spiral should be at least 100 feet long, 140 feet
is better, with each instance of emergence in time marked at a proportionate
distance along the length of the spiral. Each such station is marked by
an unlit votive candle and, optionally, by a card describing the emergence.
The first station, located at the very center of the spiral, represents
the Flaring Forth of the Universe itself. This primary emergence is represented
by a lit candle by itself or sometimes within a large, faceted glass bowl.
One person, the walker, lights a candle from the primary candle and walks
the spiral, starting with the Flaring Forth and lighting each candle in
turn. The walk is synchronized with the reading of the text below by a
second person, the reader. The ritual is accompanied by music, traditionally
"The Fairy Ring" by Mike Rowland.
This ritual works for any size of group, the limitation being the audience's
ability to see the candles well. For fewer than about 15 people, it is
feasible to have each person walk the spiral, in turn, reading the cards
to itself in silence. Since the Cosmic Walk was born, many variations
in text, process, and music have emerged.
Some of these versions are below. Feel free to create your own.
Larry & Jean Edwards, Desert Edge,
CA.
Diarmuid O'Murchu,
Ireland & England
Paulita Bernuy in Seattle, WA.
Claudia McNeil & Paulita
Bernuy at the Still Point Retreat Center in Seattle, WA.
Presentation
by Sister Miriam Therese MacGillis at a workshop held at Loyola in July,
1998.
By Ruth
Rosenhek with an introduction by Mary Coelho
A brief description
of a physical Cosmic Walk created by the Sisters of St. Joseph
Nita Penfold
Marie-Andrée Michaud of Quebec,
Canada (in French). Theodore Richards
|