What is Ritual?

What is Ritual?

It seems that there are so many invitations these days to different rituals, meditations and ceremonies. But how do we know when it is really beneficial to us to participate?

The words ceremony, and ritual are used together but there are differences in what they are, and how they are conducted.

Rituals are actions and words that declare and enable an intention . They can be performed personally or as a collective group. They are usually symbolic, and reinforce values and beliefs. Whereas a ceremony signifies significant transitions and is usually a public or social event.

Rituals are usually included in ceremonies. For example, in a wedding ceremony, there can be the ritual of the giving of rings or a ritual of cutting the wedding cake, which have meanings and intentions ascribed to them.

Of course rituals can be performed by one or many people and are also associated with magic , meditation and even personal family functions.

What makes a ritual powerful is the intention and symbols that people or a person empower it with. Therefore whenever accepting invitations to rituals of sorts, particularly spiritual in nature, I am happy to share a few considerations you may consider.

Id like to share a few instances where I have had to listen to my Higher Self in refusing to take part in rituals. Because I travelled with many shamans and medicine men during my anthropological fieldwork, I had to make some very courageous choices when faced with sometimes being coersed into rituals, sacred sites and meditation circles.

One time during a ten day ceremony in Peru I was accompanying a group led by a popular shaman. We hiked to the site of an ancient town and we were called by the shaman to walk down into a small cavern. As soon I I started to take the first steps, I felt something uneasy. I pulled back to the end of the line and then had the arduous task of deciding how to tell the shaman that I was not coming down. The feeling I had was very uncomfortable. It didn’t feel like fear but felt disrespectful and unnerving. i had been taught by Aboriginal medicine men to respect all sacred sites and to not venture onto them without specific approval from the traditional owners. I was particularly sensitive to feeling sacred sites and had taught budding archeologists the value of respecting them at University. In light of what i could feel, I told the shaman I would not be participating ; which did not go down too well. While the participants were in the cavern doing the ritual, I went back to the inhabited town and asked about the cavern, finding out that it was indeed an ancient burial chamber. For some reason, it was not appropriate for me to enter and so I listened to what my Higher Self was saying.

In another situation, still in Peru, I was invited to a healing ritual with twenty Brazilian people who had come to Peru with a Brazilian medicine man. The reason I was invited was because they were using the room I was staying in at the Shaman's Centre in Cuzco. Being polite I accepted. I had no idea who the Brazilian medicine man was, only that the Peruvian shaman had said he was very good and very popular . It turned out of course, that it was difficult for me to understand anything they were saying in Portuguese, and I was unaware of the procedure and the reason for the ritual.

I stayed in the background trying to see if I could pick up what it was all about, when suddenly I was pulled into a large circle. The Medicine man then proceeded to take out a powder from his bag and sent it around the circle for everyone to inhale. I was caught! I had no idea what it was and could not understand what they were saying. My refusal to take part was not being appreciated and so I pretended to sniff the powder. What transpired for the rest of the group was that they immediately went into a frenzy of emotional release. I watched in dismay as they rolled on the floor in emotional turmoil. I kept to myself maintaining a state of meditation. While inhaling the powder probably wouldn't have hurt me, the issue was that i was not in a responsible position to know what to expect and how to prepare. Often we are caught off guard without the proper preparation and this is something that would need to be discerned individually. This releasing event was certainly a time to clear any discordant energy from my room afterwards!

And finally another time when I was invited to what I thought was a meditation, but turned out to be the opening of a portal. There is a big difference between a group gathering to meditate on peace and connection, and the intent to open up a portal of energy from who knows where. Midway through the meditation- turned - ritual, when I realised what was going to happen and how inappropriate it felt, I apologetically excused myself , trying to bring as little attention as possible, and headed down off the hill that was acknowledged as a sacred Aboriginal area. I cringed at the thought of telling my Aboriginal medicine man what was happening without specific approval of the elders from that region and site. The opening of portals anywhere is a serious ritual and not one to be taken lightly as there can be serious consequences.

These experiences and others are recalled in my book soon to be available. It describes my experiences and focuses particularly on spiritual empowerment.

Now here are some points that may assist you to decide whether to participate in rituals and some recommendations to keep your energy field clear and strong.

1. Firstly, ask what is the group intention of this ritual? Does it align with your beliefs, your truth and what you would like to create?

   
   

2. What is the ritual procedure? Are there tools, herbs, incantations, procedures, expectations? Will any entities, Gods/Godesses/Angels /Guides be called in and why?

Once you have decided whether the ritual is right for you there are protocols that you may like to consider for your protection and empowerment.

1. Take it upon yourself to protect your energy field at all levels before you begin the ritual.

1. If any part of the ritual does not feel right or feels discordant in anyway, be brave to step out or aside. It is far more important to be true to yourself than to have to clear up energetic problems or entities later.

   
   

2. Afterwards always do your own dis- entanglement exercise to remove any energies that are not yours. Respectfully disengage your energy from the ritual, people and the environment and claim your own energetic space as sovereign and clear.

Our energy is very valuable and can be used and harnessed in ways that we may not be aware of. Be observant at all times with how you feel and realise your energy is a powerful conductor for creation. Use it and protect it well.

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