10 Ways Rituals Help Us Celebrate Our Lives

By Abigail Brenner M.D. 

Ritual has its roots in religion, and life’s fundamental passages are often traditionally accompanied by religious ritual. But life’s great passages are by nature spiritual. They affirm human mystery and mutability, our connection with the universal. Rituals serve as a bridge between our outer and inner worlds, between the profane and the sacred, and between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Rituals:

Afford us a sense of belonging. When we engage in the ritual process we are, in essence, connected to “original time.” Rituals awaken that which is eternal within us and show us how our individual lives are part of a much grander design.

Connect us with nature and the seasons. The ongoing transitions that occur in nature provide the prototype for change. By watching the constant shifts and turns in nature we recognize our own cycles of life, our own rhythms as humans. Rituals remind us of the interconnectedness of all of life.

Provide us with a sense of renewal. They offer us a time-out from our everyday routine, habitual existence. Metaphorically, rituals are oases, a time to rest, replenish, and restore our selves on our long and winding path through life. Rituals help us to reevaluate our journey thus far and to reaffirm that the path we are traveling is the right one for us.
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Read the full article, and others like it at: http://edgemagazine.net/2011/12/rituals/