Are rituals healing?

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  Posted by mmk Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:26pm PDT

  I loved this post! I, too, am very big on rituals. They ground me during the insanity of my work week and provide great comfort. I actually think most people engage in rituals much more than they realize. Frequenting the same little pub for Happy Hour every Friday night with the same gang is a ritual. Sunday brunch at the local IHop after church...another rituaI.

  My own personal rituals are numerous and varied. I start each day with a jog before dawn and then sit outside as the sun comes up. This counts as exercise, of course, but it's much more than that. It's how I greet the day. At work during the week, I sit outside on the same bench at lunch and read while I eat my sandwich. This calms me down and relieves the stress of my job. Every Saturday and Sunday, my husband and I walk on the beach holding hands and catching up with our lives. And every Sunday night, we end the weekend by watching the sunset.

  In the midst of a very hectic life, I seek to live simply. My rituals are my way of slowing down to celebrate and remember who I am.

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  Posted by Jessica Ashley, Shine staff Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:57pm PDT

  Wow, mmk, you are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing.

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  Posted by Cranberry Lips Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:18pm PDT

  There are many kinds of rituals, religious, non-religious, spiritual, non-spiritual, etc. There's good rituals and bad rituals. The difference between them is that the good rituals raise your body's vibratory rate, while the bad rituals lower it.

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  Posted by Carrie Fri Aug 21, 2009 7:50am PDT

  A ritual is something we sacrifice for something else. i am now on a fast,(not food) but you eliminate something like television or chatting for thirty days and replace it with something else. I decided to give up television and read more. I found quietness and peace in my own spirit. It has given me a better focus and has allowed my to go inside and recieve inner peace

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  Posted by For Fun Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:52am PDT

  I was raised to have a stronger sense of spirituality than religion and as far back as I can remember, rituals have been a part of that. The strongest for me is waking up in the morning, stretching, and saying good morning with a smile. I literally say good morning to myself, it's my way of acknowledging I matter. The next comes with walking outside and just as I take that first step from my door I smile and take a deep breath. There's something about feeling that air in my lungs that makes me feel connected to the world around me. When I am uber stressed I drive down to a nearby pary with a manmadde river. I dip my hands in until my forearms are wet, wet my earlobes and look out onto the water. I let myself listen to whatever comes to mind. I don't try to rationalize any of it or doubt the possibility of anything I want to happen actually happening. When I feel my chest a little lighter, another deep breath and I say out loud, "thank you." It makes all the difference.

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  Posted by For Fun Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:53am PDT

  *park not pary Lol

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  Posted by Liz Sun Aug 23, 2009 9:05am PDT

  Yes, ritauls are tremndously healing and have been used since the begining of time to mark chapters in a persons life. Rites of Passage, the zoo every Sunday, how your family celebrates a holiday, brushing your teeth, a wedding, a Pagan spellcasting, Native American Drum Circles, they're all rituals and they all help us to bring shape and meaning and awareness to our lives.

  I created dozens of rituals (mostly borrowed from other world religions) during high school and college; it helped me to cope the stress and constant changes. Now, as an adult I'm more in tune with paying attention to the cycles of nature, the four seasons, the moon...they all have of way of offering insight about life and how things work and I've always found a comfort in that.

  There's a great movie/mini-series called Empire Falls which I found incredibly satisfying with regard to the natural process of all things; love, life, relationships, kharma and getting where we are meant to go; certaingly honoring our own path in life.

  Just my two cents. Always love the topics you take on :)

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