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The path of life is full of twists and turns. Sometimes it feels like you are moving along in a clear direction toward the place you always wanted to go, when suddenly an unexpected curve swings you out far away from your desired destination.

Conversely, there are times it appears life is taking you exactly the opposite direction from where you want to be, but then you turn a corner to discover — surprise! — you have finally arrived.

In this way, life is like a labyrinth. A labyrinth is an ancient design that shapes a path for people to walk in meditation, contemplation and prayer. The labyrinth’s pattern, a metaphor for life’s winding way, can facilitate a deeper understanding of your own path.

No one knows when this geometric pattern originated, but labyrinths have been used by cultures and religious traditions around the world for more than 4,000 years.

Labyrinth patterns vary in complexity — but, unlike a maze intended to disorient those who enter it, a labyrinth has no dead ends and only one path, leading to and from the center.

For Christians, the labyrinth has been used as a tool for taking a pilgrimage when you couldn’t actually travel to visit a holy site. The labyrinth on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France was called “The Road to Jerusalem,” and walking it was understood to confer similar spiritual benefits as journeying to the holy city.

The labyrinth is a path of prayer in which walkers open themselves to listen for the guidance of the Spirit. Mystics named the three phases of spiritual growth as purgation, illumination and union with God. Labyrinth walkers experience these stages as they walk into the center, letting go of worries and fears; as they rest at the center in peace and unity with the divine; and as they receive spiritual wisdom, walking back out from the center and reentering the world beyond the labyrinth.

Even if you have no major revelations, walking the labyrinth path can be transformative. The labyrinth’s twists and turns mirror the folds of the human brain, but walking the pattern actually “unwinds the mind” and opens a receptive consciousness in which new inspiration can take hold.

On Friday, May 20, from 7-9 p.m., and on Saturday, May 21, from 8-11 a.m., all are invited to come and walk the labyrinth at the Presbyterian Friendship Center, 1204 Spring Ave., La Grande.

A large fabric labyrinth in the Chartres style will be set out on the floor. You simply show up, take off your shoes, take a deep breath, then take as long as you need to walk the path. On average, people take about 30 minutes to walk this labyrinth.

I hope you will drop in when you can during those hours, try out labyrinth walking and discover the deep peace of taking this time out to reflect on your life with God.