Guest Post from Yzobella Dennis: The importance of ritual

   The day grows shorter, the nights longer and colder. There is a feeling in the air that drives squirrels and other small rodents into the warmth of burrows. The birds depart in a burst of energy, following the sun’s rays. Plants retreat into their roots, slowing their growth and dropping their leaves.
The hibernation instinct is strong within us too. As we witness our earth family slowing down and going to sleep, we too, slow our pace. For humans, our “hibernation” can take several forms. There are some who follow the path of the geese, and travel to warmer climates in the depths of winter, others naturally go inwards, socializing less and staying home more.
     For many of us, it can be hard to slow down, and we begin to feel sluggish, lazy, or depressed. We don’t see the sun as much, and often are restricted to the indoors due to unappealing weather. It can be hard to feel connected to the world around us and our own inner light when we feel isolated!
A great way to create sacredness, even in the long months of darkness, is through ritual. 

     The ancients practiced rituals as a daily part of their lives. From sacrifices, red tents, coming of age ceremonies, and daily veneration to the gods, history is rich with examples of the human need for ritual.
We can take this ancient practice and apply it to our modern routine for a sense of connection in our spiritual lives.
    What exactly is ritual? Ritual is a personal, or group practice that connects us to the sacredness of the world around us. We use the word ritual almost in place of the word “practice”, as in "personal practice”.
    Have you ever heard someone say that pausing to take three deep breaths, even just once a day, can calm your mind and give you a positive approach to life? Ritual takes that one step further, by applying physical action. Bringing the physical actions of our material bodies, and spiritual desires together creates a powerful mix. After all, we are neither one or the other, we are blessed by both the material  and the energetic world.

    Mother Earth has rituals! While her activity varies from day to day, even hour to hour, with weather changes, plate shifts, and natural disasters, she still holds a rhythm. She starts the day with the rising of the sun, and settles into the night with the darkness of the moon. She has her seasons that she moves through every year, without fail.
     We too are like the Earth. Our emotions are erratic and chaotic, our decisions often result from quick-to-pass feelings. What if we mimicked the Earth further? Honoring the natural chaos that comes with being a physical creature, while finding balance within our cycles.
      This is where ritual comes in. It can be anything that helps you stop, breath, and remember how loved and held you are. Rituals range from giving food to the spirits, tending an altar daily, meditating before getting in the car, taking intentional breaths every time you sit down to work, stretching before or after bed. Ritual will help you start your day on an intentional note, or end it in peace. Ritual grounds us to what is really important, and helps us process and put aside all that doesn’t really serve us in that moment. It helps us to remember that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, and encourages us to be of service to our surrounding world. 

     As a busy and exhausted stay at home mom, incorporating ritual into my life has been a challenge. It’s so hard to remember to ground myself when I feel like I’m living in  a whirlpool of things I need to do, or feel like I should be doing. 
Baby is finally asleep! Do I do dishes? Find something to eat? Start folding the laundry that’s been sitting on my bed for a week?
     The reality is that tending to my spiritual life very rarely crosses my already crammed mind. My solution? Creating ritual out of daily tasks. I don’t have the energy to tend an altar daily... But I DO have time to make a cup of tea in the morning! Selecting the tea, pouring the boiling water, and breathing in the delicate aromas has an instant calming effect on me. I take this moment to breathe deeply and feel gratitude for another day in my heart. This ritual is less than a minute, but it still brings me back into my body, and reminds me of all the beauty in my life. 
    My husband sits with a special stone every night before bed, helping him connect with his inner self and find peace before going to sleep. My mom journals every morning over a cup of coffee to start her day in a contemplative way. 

In what ways do you celebrate the sacred?

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