“When a woman enters the labyrinth of recovery she follows a twisting, turning, winding path to her center where she reclaims her inner authority. Finding the essence of who she is as a woman, she exits the labyrinth, integrating this vision with a new way of being in the world.”

            Do you think of your path to recovery from disordered eating as a maze? Have you been afraid of taking a wrong turn as you journey to recovery? Do you walk with a fear of relapsing, of having to start over, or a deep fear that you will never find the way out? Many carry this fear and look at recovery as a puzzle that needs to be to figured out and done correctly.

In the Light of the Moon Café, however, we view recovery as a Labyrinth. A labyrinth differs from a maze in that the labyrinth has only one path to its center. There are no wrong turns, no mistakes. At times the labyrinth can feel frustrating and disorienting, just as our journeys to recovery can be. The labyrinth’s path loops back upon itself, and although we are always getting closer to the center, at times it can seem as though the path is taking us further from our goal or back to a place we have already visited. At the Café’ we recognize that sometimes we need to revisit issues we have already processed at another level, at another place on our path.

The great thing about the labyrinth is that you can never truly be lost. If you slow down and simply place one foot in front of the other, you will continue to make progress. Unlike the maze, there is no clear “start” or “finish” in the labyrinth of recovery. Once you reach the center, your center, and connect with your true self, you begin the path back out. As you exit, you carry this new understanding of who you really are and begin to practice integrating this into a new way of being in the world.