Powerful rituals
I’ve just spent a week in NYC with an amazing group of designers from across the country.The days were long and intensely focused, and the time flew by. Every night the dinner discussions continued over drinks, and went into the early morning. A few hours of sleep, and we would start it all over again the next day.If you know me at all, you know how I treasure the quiet rituals of my morning. However, between an intense schedule, not quite enough sleep, and the desire to fit everything in while I was there, it didn’t take me long to abandon any attempt at my usual self-care.When I finally returned home, It felt SO good to walk the dogs in the pre-dawn light, to stretch into my yoga asanas, and to go deep in meditation for the first time in a week. It felt so good to open my journal and pick up my favorite pen.And so this might seem like common sense, but I want to say it here: our rituals help us feel good.As far as my rituals go, yoga brings balance and integration to my mind and body. And meditation gives me focus and equanimity to stay in the saddle when life accelerates to a gallop. Journaling gives me a sense of peace and purpose.But rituals give us a lot more than that.
We do our rituals so we can meet the world from our own place of power.
Our rituals let us say “I’ve got this.” Like the precise warm-up ritual of an Olympic-level gymnast, it’s more than stretching muscles. It’s where our agility, flexibility, and resilience come from. From our rituals we derive inner strength.Paradoxically, meeting the world from our own place of power also means submitting to the present moment, bowing to the situation, and accepting the circumstances that present themselves. There is nothing more powerful than this.The rituals of self-care that we intentionally perform are for far more than just feeling good. These rituals are a way to thrive.
Create rituals for yourself.
If you haven’t done so, intentionally creating self-care rituals can help you meet the world from your own place of power. But how exactly does one do that?Creating a new ritual is as easy as setting an intention and adopting a new, gentle practice. Such as… meditating in the morning. Or, brewing a really special cup of tea.Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind:
- Give your ritual a beginning and an end. Decide what action begins your ritual, and how you will end it. This helps signal to your mind that this time is set apart for a special purpose.
- Involve your whole body. The more senses you can involve in your ritual, the more immersive your experience will be. Movement, smell, taste, touch, sounds, something spoken, sung, or quietly breathed — all of these things make the ritual more involving.
- Try to perform your ritual consistently.If you mess it up, remember that perfection is not the goal. Presence is.
- A ritual doesn’t have to be spiritual. While a ritual certainly can be spiritually-based, it doesn’t need to be. Don’t be surprised, however, if you get something spiritual out of it.
- A ritual takes time. Give yourself enough time to just go there. You’ll be glad you did.
Go Deeper...
To get a leg up on some of your rituals, check out some of mine in the posts below. Maybe they’d make a great place to start for some of yours.
Let's talk about it.
So, what are the rituals you have in your day or week right now? How do they bring you to your place of power?What rituals are you seeking to develop in your life? What meaning will they hold for you?With love and gratitude,Lisa