“If your culture or tradition doesn't have the specific ritual you are craving, then you are absolutely permitted to make up a ceremony of your own devising, fixing your own broken-down emotional systems with all the do-it-yourself resourcefulness of a generous plumber/poet.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert
What do we mean by ritual? For me ritual is about mindfulness, more pause, and connection. It brings in feelings and boundaries.
Whether you are thinking about the holiday season or starting new things in the new year, rituals can be a new twist to “habits.” Some of my own seasonal rituals include how I celebrate Solstice and journaling during the Sacred Nights of winter. Neither of these is a ritual I grew up with. I added them when they were what I needed during the season — and they grew, adapted or deepened over time.
The same is true some of my other most important rituals throughout the year:
The key to rituals is to remember they are not to-dos or practices we do out of habit or conditioning. They are actions done with reverence or mindfulness. The same action can be a ritual or a dreaded to-do. In the new year, I want to bring more ritual to my supplement protocol, tidying, and parts of my business. We can bring ritual into all parts of our life.
Here are three ways I’m going to play around with ritual in the new year. Maybe you’d like to try these doable changes too.
“A ritual is the enactment of a myth. And, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth. And since myth is a projection of the depth of wisdom of the psyche, by participating in a ritual, participating in the myth, you are being, as it were, put in accord with that wisdom, which is the wisdom that is inherent within you anyhow. Your consciousness is being re-minded of the wisdom of your own life. I think ritual is terribly important.”
― Joseph Campbell
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