The Need for Ritual

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by Mara Branscombe, author of Ritual as Remedy

The need for ritual is a primal and human instinct; a compelling impulse to unite with something beyond the mundane world towards the infinite. Ritual brings forth a web of archetypal understanding and allows us to grow towards paradigms such as unity, continuity, connectivity, transformational states, and higher consciousness.

When we awaken the power to self-guide through ritual, we get intimate with the great mystery that life brings. A door opens beyond the mundane of everyday life to the sacredness that exists within us and in the cosmos all around us.

A ritual can be anything that is done with intention. It can be done alone or in a group, and can be formulaic or intuitive. We can gather and celebrate the turning points in the wheel of the year as the seasons shift, we can share holiday meals or birthdays with intention, we can celebrate the outer expansion of the full moon or the internal expression of the new moon. We can prepare a ritual for a young woman who is coming of age with her menstrual cycle or a blessing ceremony for a mother who is ready to give birth. We can create a personal ritual by lighting a candle and stating our intentions out loud as we come to the end of a project or a relationship, or when we release an old way of being and open ourselves to the next phase in our lives.

Rituals give us direct access to our healing, reflect our emotions, and show us how we can access inner transformation and awaken our intuitive power. Rituals serve as sanctuaries from which we can contemplate the pivotal moments in our lives. Mindful, intentional, and ceremonial experiences can reflect back to us both the “truths” and the “untruths” we find in our life stories.

Over time and with practice, it is the “inner state” that transforms negative, toxic, or limiting thoughts and behaviors into glimmers of understanding (peace) and transformation, and a feeling of oneness or “unity consciousness” ignites within. This is the power of ritual: to engage and infuse life with present moment awareness, gain inspiration from our current experiences, and align with a deeper connection towards the sacred, individually and collectively.

THE REMEDY: WAKING UP TO CONNECTION

Could it be that small daily rituals can be our guide to connect to our best selves, to our most essential selves, to our intuitive power, to strengthening our inner bodies and minds so that we can self-heal and self-direct the life we choose?

I believe yes.

I wholeheartedly believe in this very simple philosophy:

Your life is shaped by what you feed your energy body.
Your thoughts, actions, words, and beliefs become your reality.

Your thought patterns, the words you speak, your attachments, and your habits—both unconscious and conscious—all become the soil in which your system grows. The work of the modern mystic is to be the gardener of your own energy body: create healthy soil, plant your seeds intentionally, water and weed your inner garden, and tend to the sacred alchemy of life all around you.

I believe that small, daily rituals are a remedy to feeling disconnected in our overly connected world. When we awaken the impulse to become our own guides, we can connect to our full potential; our most essential selves. This is where our intuitive power lies, and through it we can strengthen our inner bodies and minds so that we can self-direct the life we choose.

Ritual can take many forms. For some, it takes place on the yoga mat or the meditation cushion. For others, it is spending time in nature, being physically active, or engaging in artistic endeavors.

Through self-guided rituals you allow your mind to release the vibration of negativity or doubt and create a spark within. This spark filters from your mind down into your heart, and your intuitive and creative nature becomes enlivened. Small rituals can be quite different from going to a yoga practice or sitting in meditation. Creating an altar, sipping tea, lighting a candle, journaling, praying, or chanting out loud are all examples of how the experience can become more textured, creative, fulfilling, intimate, and liberating.

The next time you find yourself in a place of doubt, fear, stress, or imbalance, ask yourself, “Am I feeding this situation?” This is a golden moment to shift your awareness back to gratitude, breath, nature’s gifts, and trust in divine timing. Slowly, you will begin the process of shifting your default drive from feeding toxic energy in your life to fueling your life with truth, positivity, and compassion.

The daily task of the modern mystic is to bear witness to what thoughts, feelings, actions, and words you are feeding into your being. To become aware of what no longer serves you, and to truly accept what is going on inside of you—the positive, the negative, all of it. What is so important here is not to repress, push down, or bypass the core of your emotions, but to be constantly working with this material as a catalyst to activate a healing experience for yourself.

The average brain thinks thousands upon thousands of thoughts every day, and research has suggested that about 70% of them are on the negative spectrum. This means that the average person is living in a constant state of toxic thinking, and if left unattended, you will carry this energetic weight with you in your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life.

What would your life feel like if you started to dismantle the toxic thoughts or limiting paradigms in your life?

Can you get a sense of the feeling connected to this freedom?

Awareness is key, and this is where rituals can support the shedding of toxic thoughts and behaviors. By entering into a mindful state you can open up pathways, doors, and portals into a positive, conscious, and mystical way of living.

Once you give yourself permission to live a spiritual life in the form of a human body, the divine timings, the omens, the helping and compassionate spirits, the creator, the angels, the gods and goddesses (whatever your personal belief is), the spiritual energies awaken and journey alongside you to support you in fulfilling your wildest dreams.

You begin to see, sense, observe, and feel how you can attune to the signs and symbols around you; you can open up to the alchemy of spirit sending you messages. You begin to understand how and when to let go of toxic energies, overcome fear and anxiety, strengthen your personal boundaries, and do the work it takes to stay in alignment with your own personal mission in life.

THE PROCESS IS THE JOURNEY

Whatever stage you are currently at in your life, create space in your day-to-day living to trust your process and acknowledge the “divine timings” when they arrive. When we truly dwell in the present moment, set our intentions with clarity, and release our attachment to the outcome or the “final product,” we can witness our life as a “living ritual.” Not everything happens at once. When we are true to our personal process, live inside the current of reciprocity, we are truly living inside the essence of our authentic potential.

The world needs us to step up now, to raise our own energetic field of kindness, compassion, and heart-centered living. As the Hopi blessing states, “May you walk in beauty.” This can become a lifeline as we navigate our modern times of political unrest, technological overload, societal pressures of high productivity, and the lack of focus on community.

Now is the time, more than ever, to train our inner eye to see the beauty around us; to attune to our compassionate hearts, our conscious minds, and our clear, precise calls to action. By strengthening our inner sense of self and sharing our personal connection to rituals, whether they are ancestral or adopted, we can inspire our communities and future generations to effect lasting, positive change: emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Throughout my book Ritual as Remedy, you will find meditations, visualizations, breathwork exercises, elemental rituals to inspire connection, practices to expand your mind–body intuitive channels, poetic prose to inspire your personal alchemy, and journal prompts to awaken present-moment awareness, healing, and soul activation. Here are a few introductory exercises to help you bring ritual into your daily life.

Five Steps to Begin a Daily Ritual

Many of us already engage in daily rituals through yoga, meditation, exercise, communing with nature, following personal faiths, practicing daily gratitudes, or following the rhythms of the earth, sun, moon, and stars. Whichever rituals you choose, keep following and studying the path that inspires you. Share your gifts with your community, and integrate the practices so you may guide yourself and others in this meaningful way.

Use these five simple steps to get started. Write them down in your journal to get you committed and focused on your daily self-care rituals.

Set a simple intention. For example: “Today, I am opening up to Grace…” Look inside yourself to find what you would like to manifest or shift.
Start with a simple assignment; one small step. For example: call in three gratitudes each morning.
Use a power symbol to inspire you. It could be anything: an image from nature, a deity, a crystal, etc.
Honor the ritual. Remind yourself to do it every morning; do not allow anything to get in your way. Allow your soul work to weave into the fabric of your daily life.
Release the outcome. True transformation takes time; release the need for instant outcome. Observe how your energy shifts when engaged in mindful rituals.

Clear Your Energy Field and Connect with the Elements

Intention: To let go of everyday stress and ignite a connection with the five elements for clear energy, renewal, and mind–body–spirit integration.

Find a comfortable seat and close your eyes.
Visualize yourself in a place in nature that you love, one that allows you to feel calm and at ease. Picture the landscape all around you and get a sense of the energy that allows the plants, the trees, and the flowers to grow. Welcome the grounded energy of the earth into your body. Focus on the lower half of your body; imagine yourself becoming truly connected and embraced by the warmth of Mother Earth.
Take six deep, full breaths to connect to the earth.
Now, welcome in the element of water. Perhaps you can imagine the sounds of water nearby and visualize the flow inside the water. Welcome the flow of water inside yourself; into your hips, your pelvis, and your abdomen.
Take six full breaths in and out as you welcome the flow and ease of energy in your body and in your life.
Go to the element of fire, visualize a candle flame. See the bright colors of the flame, and welcome this energy of passion into your solar plexus.
Take six full, deep breaths. With each breath, allow the flame of the candle to grow brighter. Swirl the colors throughout your body and your mind.
Visualize the element of air. Imagine the sky. Are there clouds, or is the sky bright and clear? Is the wind soft or strong? Imagine any heavy emotional energy inside your heart clearing away. Imagine the element of air now bringing fresh and clear energy into your whole body.
Take six full, deep breaths to welcome the release that comes with air.
Visualize the element of ether. Bring your awareness to the force of energy all around you. Imagine the alchemy of vital life essence that creates everything in existence. Visualize the energy of the stars from which you came long ago; the matrix of the inside of a flower that was once stardust, and the cells of rich fertile soil that birthed this earth and human life. This is all a part of you. Imagine the element of ether, the mystery of the divine, swirling around you; inside you, connecting you to the divine spiritual essence of life.
Take six full, deep breaths as you fill yourself with this alive and expansive energy.
Return now to your breath, into the space in which you are currently sitting, and reflect on any shifts you feel or sense from within.
Witness any changes in perspective or attitude, and welcome this fresh energy as you move throughout your day.
Call forth a positive “I am, I will” statement that resonates with you. For example, if I am ready to activate both fire and earth energy into my day, it may come out like this: “I am a blazing fire of grounded energy. Today I will ignite my balanced, radiant self in all ways.”
Repeat this statement three times and write it down. Weave it throughout your day when you need a reminder.