Rituals are powerful tools in our lives and when we make them our own we deepen the meaning. A ritual can be anything you make it, simple or complex, but it is a repetition of certain words, gestures and actions. It has religious origins from Paganism to Christianity. Many of my suggestions have been used since the dawn of time but I speak about them in terms of our current time space.
Creating Your Sacred Space
Energy will build and hold a space when it used time and time again for the same purpose. That is why I feel having an alter of some sort for meditation, or even reflective thought, is really important. I actually have two spots in my apartment where I meditate. And as soon as I sit in that area I can go deeper quickly because the energy is ready and has the vibration I want to go into.
An alter can be anything you hold sacred. For some that is nature for others it’s traditional / religious – it’s all perfect! I believe in many things – I take bits and pieces from all cultures and religions so my alter is very eclectic and I love it that way. I have symbols from Buddhism, Hinduism, Shamanism and representations from nature such as wood, crystals and objects that hold a sacred meaning to me, even a few pictures that represent a spiritual moment in time that I hold deeply in my heart. Most of what is on my alter has been there for many many years so it now “holds” the energy of deep and reflective thought, non thought and focused visualization.
Big or small your sacred space / alter will give you a beautiful space that is all yours! I have heard many people say it’s important to not let others touch things on your alter – that’s a personal decision but that said I think having people ask permission is valuable and honors the space.
Meditation
Meditation itself is a ritual but I like to add a beginning and ending. As a ritual I always do what I call The Three Gratitude’s before and after my meditation. I bow three times with my hands in the prayer position, once touching my forehead and I thank the heavens and all the powers that be, then in front of my heart and I thank all my selves (all aspects of who I am & my guides) and then palms facing down or even on the ground and I thank the earth. Sometimes just doing that on it’s own can be a great ritual!
Meditating under a tree is magical as well (that’s how the Buddha did it). If you have a tree you can befriend keep going to that one tree and whether you are conscious of it or not an energetic relationship will begin and strengthen over time. Trees are smart! Just read this and watch this. But in general when you sit up against a tree it grounds you deeply which increases a strong sense of self and life purpose.
Fire It Up! To Let Go & Receive
There are a few ways to do this. In your head as a visualization but I like the hands on version best to be honest – it feels more powerful but that’s a personal preference. It also depends on my time restraints and location. If I have little time or am in a public setting I go to the visualization but when I have the time I go hands on.
– The visualization – take some slow deep breaths in your nose and out your mouth and in your minds eye see a big bowl that has fire in its center. Begin to see what you want to get rid of and throw it in the fire for it to burn into the ether – it goes back to source where it is purified and recycled.
– Hands On – have two bowls, one for what you are getting rid of and the second for what you want to bring into your life. Make sure you do this is a space where the fire will not set your house on fire! Be mindful!!!! Take some paper and write down three things you want to get rid of and three things you want to bring into your life. I have found this to be very powerful when you do it with a friend or two.
Start with what you want to get rid of and read it out loud and then light it up and throw it in the bowl and sit and watch it burn. The way it burns can be informational as well – it’s not dissimilar to tea reading, just trust your intuition, divining how it burns is not the point here. Just watching it burn can be mesmerizing and deepens your focus on letting go. If you are with a friend(s) take turns doing the first part, each reading one of your three things, burning it and continue this cycle until all three things have been burnt in the bowl. Then move onto what you want to bring in using the same technique. Once done go outside and starting with the bowl of what you want to get rid of and say “I release this…” or whatever words work for you and toss the burnt paper out of the bowl and into the wind – everyone does the release first. Then do the same with what you want to bring into your life and again use what words work for you but I usually say “Everything I want will come into my life” and once this is done take a moment to say “So be it, so it is, for the highest good of all involved” – again whatever words work for you are just perfect – intention is everything.
Intention Candles / Light
These are fun, powerful and create beautiful ambient light at night. I’ve already written about this and you can read it though this intention candle link. I am pretty consistent doing these intention candles on every new and full moon – and especially on equinoxes and traditional holidays. Sometimes it’s elaborate and sometimes it’s not – to me as long as your intention is clear and true the universe hears you and honors you by you honoring it.
But I would add there are many other candle rituals that are beautiful, especially a rite of passage ritual and candle ceremonies on the equinoxes. The candles light is seen as a vehicle to bring you closer to spirit, as fire is an ethereal element, as is water. Usually candles are lit and paced to create a spiral (to honor cosmic sacred geometry) and each person walks through the spiral coming out on the other side as a new person or with a new “place” in life. For instance in Eden Energy Medicine the students walk through as a rite of passage to become certified practitioners and in the Rudolf Steiner world a child walks in silence through the path as they leave behind one grade and enter into a more adult grade.
Winter equinox has an especially beautiful ritual of everyone making their own lanterns and they place a candle in an apple, inside the lantern, and the spiral path has already been created and people walk silently from the inside outward as an inwardly gesture of winter. This also represent the end of the darkness as they enter the light coming back – this is to honor the earths seasonal rhythms. Each school or group of people will do this differently but they are all beautiful!
The Healing Bath
This to me has always been a sacred ritual, maybe my first because as a child I would fill the bath and then also leave the shower on to create my own magical secret water world. Soaking tubs are the best but any tub will do. Fill it with bubbles, aromatherapy and even colortherapy if you like! Add Epson and Himalayan salts, and Baking Soda and you have a healing bath. Light a candle or buy an ambient light that can change colors and you can create a sacred space. Water is healing and cleansing to the soul, as well as the body. This healing bath is enough in itself but if you want to add some extra healing / self-care you can hold your neurovasculars and / or do a chakra clearing and balancing – both are easy and nourishing to do in your healing bath.
Get In A River
If you have access to a stream / river that is not too deep you can create a serious cleansing ritual. I first did this with John Perkins in the Ecuadorian rainforest. We all shed our cloths and jumped in the river and laid down and let the water run over us and as we did this we affirmed it was washing away all our fear and anything unwanted in our lives – it was amazing, powerful and very energetically cleansing! Obviously this is seasonal for many people and many will want privacy but if you can do it, it’s very powerful and I do believe you can get the same benefits with a bathing suit on, of course, but honestly there is something sacred about being naked in the water – it’s primal and our energy seems to automatically know what it’s supposed to do – let go and be free!
Music and Dance
I put these together because for me and most of the people I know it goes hand in hand. Put on your “energy” music – whatever gets your energies buzzing and dance and sing away. Think about it – there are some songs that bring you back to a special and happy time in your life and you can access that anytime by listening to the song, and moving and grooving to it is the cherry on top – get funky, free and free form. That said the two are powerful rituals on their own as well.
Exercise
Many people use this as their ritual, especially yoga and dance. I grew up jogging so for me I can easily get into the no thought zone – and I’m getting crossovers as well (the runners high) so it’s an Eden Energy Medicine Therapy as well.
Cooking
It’s an art and when you cook consciously by using your positive thoughts to infuse into the food you can really get in the zone and if you cook for your family it can be you time or bonding time – both are great.
Other Random Ideas
– Dance under a full moon – with or without clothing. As a child of the seventies nudity was encouraged not shamed so I say lets put a bit of 70’s energy back into our 21st century lives. It’s very freeing!
– Sit in a talking stick circle where the only person who speaks is holding the stick and then it is passed on either by someone raising their hand to respond or just in a continuous circle. It creates a safe place for people to know they can speak at their own pace without interruption. This is usually done with a specific topic or intention.
– Any holiday can and is a ritual.
– Saging your home is a great cleansing ritual.
– Sitting down with your family for dinner is a beautiful bonding ritual that our modern society has seemingly pushed aside – bring it back into your home!
– Even sports games can be a ritual, albeit a noisy one but still a bonding can and usually does occur.
The point of any ritual is to honor you, all sentient beings, the world and special events. The events, or rituals, are meant to bring you closer to your inner being, your inner light. They are meant to create a feeling of oneness with spirit and that can take many many forms.
When creating your own ritual remember intention is everything!!!
Enjoy!
