Ritual and Responsibility
Conscious intention is required to participate in one’s own healing journey and to create meaningful ritual. This is stated to differentiate between those who heal as a result of the collective prayers or healing energy sent by others, sometimes without an individual’s direct conscious knowledge. It is scientifically proven that collective focused prayer can lead to the healing and improved state of being of the one who is the recipient of the prayer.
Deciding to take responsibility and participate in your own healing journey is a conscious choice and no one can be coerced to heal. Many consciously choose to remain with their symptoms and conditions, preferring the familiar to any form of change. Sometimes individuals are so entangled with their symptoms that they can’t perceive of themselves or life without them. In their perception, they are the symptoms and nothing anyone can say or do will shift that perception. Sometimes these symptoms, illnesses, or dis-ease are the healing journey for the individual. In many situations, terminal symptoms create the opportunity for a journey toward death. This often creates an opportunity for the individual’s spiritual development, growth, and healing. Involving ritual in your life is a way to prepare you energetically for any significant change or transition you want to embrace in your life.
Planning a Ritual
There is no right or wrong when planning a healing ritual. I think an essential component of ritual is that it needs to be heart-felt. It needs to connect you to self and wholeness. Many individuals conduct rituals in a space with a table, counter, dresser, or altar for setting meaningful objects and tools for the ritual. Rituals can be quite simple or highly elaborate. Let me provide you with some of the components of ritual if this is totally new to you. Really, it is up to you to decide what has meaning in your life to fulfill your ritual purpose.
Steps to Create a Ritual
- Set an intention for your ritual. What is the purpose of the ritual?
- Decide on a time for your ritual. When is the best time for you to step out of your everyday routine? This could be in the early morning, perhaps late in the evening, or any other time that will work for you.
- Decide who will participate in your ritual. Will it be solitary or with a group? Do you have to assign roles to others?
- Decide where to hold your ritual and prepare a sacred space for your ritual to take place. Ritual can be done out in nature, in the home, or in any other suitable space. It’s important to ensure that the space where the ritual is to be held is peaceful, calming, tidy, and set off from other distractions.
- Take the time to tidy, cleanse, do an energy clearing, or purify the ritual space.
- Decide what meaningful ornamentation, objects, and tools you will need for the ritual and gather them in advance of the ritual so you won’t have to run about looking for things during the ritual. The ornamentation may reflect the intention or purpose of the ritual. It might reflect the season or time of year or create the setting for some other meaning.
- Decide how you will open the ritual. Do you light a candle, have an invocation, make a motion with your body, or call in the four directions in some way. The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination.
- Decide who or what you will invoke into the space with you for the ritual. That may include your ancestors, divine spirit, animal totems, the entities or guardians of the four directions, Mother Earth, Father Sun, the knowing field or collective soul, guardians, spirit guides, guardian angels, saints, ascending masters, Gods and Goddesses, or faeries. Feel free to invite any spiritual entities that are meaningful to you.
- When it’s time to begin your ritual, centre yourself for transformation through breathing, silence, meditation, lighting candles, grounding to Mother Earth and Source, or meaningful activities such as drinking from the cup of life.
- Create the focus or central body of the ritual. What was the intention of the ritual and what did you hope to shift or transform? What actions will assist you to reach your deep authentic self and connect you to the spiritual realm and wholeness? Do you need to let go of something? Do you need to bring in certain qualities to support your efforts to move forward?
- Include some way of blessing yourself as you move forward. Celebrate your own journey with a self-blessing, you might include a blessing of your parents or your long line of strong ancestors as well, or a blessing from divine energy. You are supported by universal energy so find a way to include that support in the ritual.
- Shift the energy of the ritual and heighten the energy is some way so that you take the process into your heart, mind, and soul. Perhaps you could use drumming, rattles, bells, singing, chanting, singing bowls, physical movements, or music to raise the energy to a different level of consciousness.
- Ground the ritual into your body and to Mother Earth. Transformation and healing for human beings happens when we ground ourselves to our planet.
- Decide how you will close or leave your sacred space. Is there a meaningful action or verbal narrative to end your ritual, allowing you to step away and feel complete?
- Many rituals are accompanied with a meal or feast. This would be a good time to include gratitude, food, and abundance with your ritual.
- Your ritual is complete and your transformation will radiate out into the world that surrounds you. Like healing, ritual is never just about self.
Bringing ritual into your life and your healing journey will help transform your everyday world and your old emotional patterns into new ways of being. Are you ready to create your own meaningful ritual?