To listen to rather than read the following, click to play the article voiceover above.
For background on this series, head over to the welcome letter or find the entire series on the roots section of my page.
Building off of the dive into cycles last week, let’s wander into rituals as potent roots to anchor us into mother earth… to anchor us into the beings that we seek to be. Exploring rituals as opportunity to celebrate the little joys in life and to celebrate those cycles within and around us.
Rituals are available to us in small daily ways and also throughout our lives at various key times. Some are carried out alone or in certain corners of the world and others widely acknowledged. Rituals are at the core of many religious organizations and cultures - often making those communities who they truly are - carrying the essence of their beliefs and values. I don’t believe rituals are inherently good nor bad, but I do believe that they can hold a lot of power, a lot of influence, and thus a lot of opportunity. They can be a unique bridge to the sacred and to the universal wisdom that exists around us.
We’ll briefly reflect on big picture rituals and then focus in on what I have come to find most important… those that we incorporate into our day to day. Just as you can mindlessly be sitting in a religious mass without participating in the ritual, so too can you mindlessly make your daily cup of tea without connecting to the sacred plants that you are communing with. Your experience will drastically differ based on the how that you are approaching these scenarios… and I don’t necessarily mean every single second has to be a focused ritual, rather I am inviting you to bring your attention to the areas where ritual does have the possibility to come alive… where you may bring your own flare and heart to already established rituals… or perhaps where you may want to let some go.
For those dedicated to certain religious or cultural communities, tune into the rituals that you participate in. How do you relate to them? It could be big holiday celebrations or a simple weekly prayer… examine what has possibly become habitual and what remains to be immensely nourishing to you. It’s okay if those that have become habit still serve your spirit, the practice is to not be afraid to rejuvenate or approach something differently. This disruption can often invite in a sense of aliveness and reconnect us to our spirit more deeply.
For those that simply live in our modern world, widen your view of ritual. A birthday can be a ritual. If you have a tradition you love, amazing keep doing it. If you crave something different than what is typically seen as celebration, ask yourself how do I want to honor this moment? What could it look like if I imagined that anything is possible? To me, ritual is bringing a sacredness into experience. Maybe instead of only balloons and cake, you also invite loved ones to write a little blessing to you. Maybe you light a candle just with yourself… journal on the beauty of the year before, letting go of that which you want to let go of and calling in dreams for the year ahead. The end of a job can be a ritual… not in a malicious way but take a document that symbolizes your old job and burn it in a sacred fire, offering it to the heavens… creating space for your energy and heart to welcome in the new chapter. To me, ritual and ceremony can be a sacred pause, allowing the body to integrate the moment and move more freely into the next. It can bring color to the black and white. It can bring alignment of body and spirit.
For those intrigued by ritual as a way of syncing with that which is greater than us, with the spirit world, with the natural world… it is truly a playground that awaits you. We could and might fill a whole series dedicated to crafting mystical rituals... solstice and equinox ceremonies, moon cycle ceremonies, and more. There is abundant history across cultures in this space that ask of us to properly honor and learn about them. You can also always intuitively honor these moments in whatever ways feel good to you. Ask yourself if you may want to explore this deeper. Reach out to me if you need support in getting started.
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Now let’s switch gears into our daily lives and journey through a brief reflection with me…
I invite you to let go of feeling constrained by certain qualities of the setting where you live or the schedule of what you do… move out of a mind that is seeking to find the highest productivity approach to your day. Energetically shift out of this with me… you can imagine in your minds eye allowing your spirit to walk out of one room and into a new space, into a great warm welcoming abyss. There is nothing to latch onto, no rules to follow here, this new space is one of unlimited possibilities.
In this space, ask yourself what if I radically crafted my reality? What If I could bring immense sacredness into my days? What would that feel like for me? What does my heart, body, mind, spirit crave in order to feel nourished? Let your imagination run free and focus on a simple day, not the big travels, careers and dreams. (For example… I seek to feel grounded and connected with my body and heart, I seek to savor the sensations of my day, I seek to creatively move and express myself, I seek to feel connected to others, I want to feel more present with my child or partner or coworkers, I want to feel that I have time - not rushed. Make it your own.)
Take a few moments here and pause. You can close your eyes to feel into what arises or free write in a journal for a bit. How do you seek to feel in your day to day… no parameters, anything is possible.
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No matter where this reflection did or did not take you… notice anything that came up. Remember this isn’t something to “figure out” one time and you are set forever. Be light and playful - as we move through the cycles of life, perhaps different desires and thus rituals for our days may be revealed. Allow the shifts and also trust in what comes up now… begin somewhere.
Focus on 1 or 2 things and get curious about it. Begin to connect any dots such as what specific actions make you feel the way that you may have uncovered you want to bring into your life more often. Much of this exercise may simply lead you into seeking to create different habits - waking up earlier, drinking more water, journaling before bed, etc. but lets loop back to how ritual can play a role. I am differentiating here between habit and ritual which feels important. Habits also make up our days and are essential in instigating transformation which I strongly encourage you to bring into awareness. Ritual on the other hand, can be what brings the sparkle to our days, the deeper presence and connection.
As I have shared with some of you awhile back, Lara Day speaks to this in her holy nights guidebook…
“Incorporating ritual into our life illuminates the magic all around us, and carries the thread of the sacred throughout what might otherwise feel like a tedious and insignificant human existence. Adrift in the swirling challenges of being human, ritual acts as a lifeline to the divine. Ritual, after all, is the language the Divine understands best.”
I love this line… the lifeline to the divine.
Not everything has to become ritual however play with inviting one into your day that ties to the feelings you imagined for yourself. If you wanted to feel the sensations of your day more deeply, create a ritual around dinner… light a candle, turn on your favorite music, place your meal on a beautiful plate, honor each ingredient - the color, the shapes, where they came from, give thanks in whatever way that means to you, and turn this time into something special. If you wanted to feel more connected to your body, transform your shower or bath into a prayer to the body. Now dream on your own, see what comes up.
I’ll close with an invitation that I myself am working on - holding both a radical showing up for myself and a radical surrender to the flow of life at the same time. May I paint my days with magic and may I also trust in what comes.
Take from this what sparked something within you and don’t worry about the rest.
With love,
Erin