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David Tolzmann, currently a resident of Connecticut, is the founder of the Labyrinth Company (R), which calls itself the "world's premiere meditation space creator" with over 5,000 completed. 

In addition to being the founder of the company, and what they call its "chief geometer," David still personally manages the design and business aspects of the firm and employs a highly efficient and professional work crew. For those who want to do it themselves, the company has a "Paver Labyrinth Kit" which has been featured on cable television's DIY Network.

Since some people get “labyrinths” mixed up with “mazes” David explains the basic difference: “You get lost in a maze: it usually has walls, it usually has dead-ends; and you find yourself in a labyrinth,” he said. 

Labyrinths work like a left-brain jamming device, he explained. As you walk the pattern, your logical, rational, sequential left brain tries to figure out the complex labyrinth pattern and keep you on track, and it gets occupied. So your right brain – your creative, intuitive, spiritual side -- can free-associate for a while without being told by your left brain that you’re not on task.

That’s why he calls a labyrinth a “walking meditation device.”

Over the years David has seen labyrinths help many people to find answers to life’s difficult questions. He’s heard of them helping rebuild relationships, and helping autistic children as well as adults with Alzheimer’s. His company has built labyrinths at hospitals not only for patients and family members to use, but for the doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, as well. There are both public labyrinths and private ones. 

Labyrinths may get associated with “New Age” practices, yet they’re actually ancient. They’ve been around for about 3,500 years, on multiple continents.

A “seed” pattern, which creates a labyrinth when the dots are connected in a certain way, is the oldest design. The most famous design currently in Episcopal Church circles is the one from Chartres Cathedral, dating to 1200. David’s website currently features 46 designs. 

Labyrinths can be painted on canvas to make them portable, or permanently installed in interior and exterior spaces. They can be made from pavers, rocks, limestone, and other natural material.

One of the most photographed is at Avalon Park & Preserve on the north shore of Long Island where David said he’s seen up to a hundred people walking it before they head off to work in the morning (pictured above).

A favorite of his is in Bandon, Oregon, in a clearing in an old growth forest of Douglas Fir, at the Bandon Dunes golf resort. (Golf News Network video here.)