Ritual - Creating Sacred Space - Marking Time - Honoring Transitions through Traditions - Giving Thanks and Praise...
since the records of ourselves and our times have been taken, we have as a species sought to imbue more than simple action into our lives. Whether that be through the arts and the crafts, or through the sciences and philosophies - we want this existence to be meaningful, to have purpose, and to help define us as we progress.
this is not the post for me to wax on about the need for spirituality, the brain chemistry that is fed by belief and awe, and the almost universal drive to create mythic structure. need not derive it; it exists, before us and around us.
instead, I'll ask - what is our relationship to that great 'IS-ness'? what's our individual engagement with awe, and wonder, and grace, and the suffering through which we become tempered? what do we do with these moments, with these teachings and with our lives? what has our modern, ultra-connective and informative world provided for us, created for us, left for us?
I suggest ritual - ritual - creating sacred space, then marking time as we honor our life transitions through our crafted traditions. and, in that honor, connect with awe, with grace, with that which is of Source...
since the records of ourselves and our times have been taken, we have as a species sought to imbue more than simple action into our lives. Whether that be through the arts and the crafts, or through the sciences and philosophies - we want this existence to be meaningful, to have purpose, and to help define us as we progress.
this is not the post for me to wax on about the need for spirituality, the brain chemistry that is fed by belief and awe, and the almost universal drive to create mythic structure. need not derive it; it exists, before us and around us.
instead, I'll ask - what is our relationship to that great 'IS-ness'? what's our individual engagement with awe, and wonder, and grace, and the suffering through which we become tempered? what do we do with these moments, with these teachings and with our lives? what has our modern, ultra-connective and informative world provided for us, created for us, left for us?
I suggest ritual - ritual - creating sacred space, then marking time as we honor our life transitions through our crafted traditions. and, in that honor, connect with awe, with grace, with that which is of Source...
Jamie Quatro explains the value of rituals:
There’s a sense in which we need ritual. We crave it at a physical level; we inhabit a universe that operates according to ritual: sun up, sun down; work, rest, play, work; summer, fall, winter, spring.
There is joy in the rehearsal of the known, the familiar. Raising children is a great reminder of this: they thrive on routine, love tradition. And without ritual, there can be no mystery—how can the unexpected enter into a life that is devoid of expectation? Ritual opens the door for revelation. We move through ritual and performance to access the Divine.
Yoga teaches this: when we know the poses—when they become habit, motor-memory—we can more quickly access the state of heightened awareness that is beyond the physical. The ecstasy. I find the same to be true with liturgy. The more I practice it—when it becomes part of the fabric of my being—the more quickly and completely I can move through it to approach the Divine.
thus, can we re-negotiate our relationship with the present and that which is greater through ritual? through crafting time and space, putting meaning and purpose into our actions, marking moments, and creating importance....
rather than hurtling forward, habitually grabbing your phone, checking your email first thing in the morning, and then just rolling through your day; what if you ritualized a moment or two? and, in those moments, sat still, listened, offered, emptied, processed, or just existed out of time?
maybe you're still in 'grace-rebound' after years of having to say 'grace' before eating... perhaps nothing need be said, but what if there was that moment, just that pause, that contemplation and moment of thanks? how would that be, and how much time would it take, versus how much clarity and beauty and purpose might it create?
slow down this week; stop pin-balling from thing to thing, building stress so you can go and grit your teeth as you bite your lip and prepare to eat and give thanks. create some moments for you, some sacred space, a retreat or a recharge space and ritual, and be better. just be a little bit better...
then, give thanks and praise!
rather than hurtling forward, habitually grabbing your phone, checking your email first thing in the morning, and then just rolling through your day; what if you ritualized a moment or two? and, in those moments, sat still, listened, offered, emptied, processed, or just existed out of time?
maybe you're still in 'grace-rebound' after years of having to say 'grace' before eating... perhaps nothing need be said, but what if there was that moment, just that pause, that contemplation and moment of thanks? how would that be, and how much time would it take, versus how much clarity and beauty and purpose might it create?
slow down this week; stop pin-balling from thing to thing, building stress so you can go and grit your teeth as you bite your lip and prepare to eat and give thanks. create some moments for you, some sacred space, a retreat or a recharge space and ritual, and be better. just be a little bit better...
then, give thanks and praise!
