More about rituals

The concept of ‘rituals’ has stayed with me all day today, and I was remembering more and more. So let’s look at the creation of new rituals.

Giving credit to family, cultural and religious rituals, I think there is also a place for creating rituals. The granddaughter of a friend of mine is going through chemo, and knowing that she would be losing her hair, her brother volunteered to have her shave his head, and so did the dad. It was a ritual with lots of family in attendance, pictures, the whole katootie. It turned what could have been a traumatic episode into a solid recognition of fact and camaraderie.

I remember a friend of mine who sewed a special apron that had ultra
long sashes to tie in the back. It was a ritual apron – to mark her
son’s 18th birthday. He and some of his friends gathered around while
the mother tied the apron first around herself, then with the extra
long sashes, also tied her son with the apron strings. There were words
said (I can’t remember the words, only the act – which is usually what
sticks in the mind), then with ‘ceremonial scissors’ – the son cut the
apron strings and he was no longer tied to his mom’s apron. What a cool
ritual!

On New Year’s Eve, a group of us get together and write out all the things we want to leave behind from the last year, and we burn them in the fireplace – a ritual of letting go. A couple who were getting a divorce, went through a "divorce" ritual – apologizing, asking and giving forgiveness to each other, and committing to remain friends, while no longer sharing their lives in the same way.

When Hayleigh draws a picture at school, we have a ritual of hanging
it on my "fridgalator" (as she calls it). Whenever I move, I have a
ritual of going through each room in the
house before I shut the door finally, and I speak to each room –
completing my connection with it, so that I go into the new home, not
dragging any energy from the old place to the new place. It makes it
easier to be fully "in" my new home.

Companies have rituals. I remember this one boss took his team out for dinner and drinks when they achieved this big success. They were able to look back on the journey, laugh, and acknowledge each other for a job well done.

My challenge is for us to create rituals – rituals that mark a specific point in time, or an achievement, or even a "letting go." Some people have a gift for it – use them. Isabel Vidal, a friend of mine in Johannesburg, regularly creates rituals for all kinds of things – solstices, home blessings, etc. Marianne Williamson has a book, Illuminata, which is a treasure trove of rituals. And use your amazing bio-computer to generate rituals of your own. They usually have more of you invested in them, and therefore more "ooomph." 

I can’t wait to hear about Your Rituals!