by Carrie-Anne Fields ([email protected])
Whether you are a yogi, tarot reader, healer, masseuse, naturopath, acupuncturist or just a lover of all things spiritual, creating a daily ritual for divine connection needs to be a priority for soul development. Creating a deep ‘groove’ of behaviour (samskara) provides a way to instantly connect to Source energy at will. This becomes important when faced with life’s challenges and inevitable stressors. The ability to pause, breathe, feel, reflect and respond, rather than react at these times can make the difference between chaos and finding higher solutions.
Rituals need to be aligned with that which gives you profound joy and can be changeable to support how you feel in each moment. Yogis often create a practice that can include postures (asanas), breath work (pranayama), chanting, mantras & affirmations and/or meditation. Healers may pull a tarot or healing card each morning to meditate on it’s message and set a theme for the day. Many people love to journal their thoughts to curb over-thinking and analysis and to express their inner-most feelings. Lighting candles, prayer, watching the sunrise or sunset, dancing, preparing a wholesome meal with full awareness as an act of self-love and walking in nature are just some other ways spiritual rituals can become part of everyday life. These rituals are intended to evoke deep feeling, higher connection, a sense of oneness with all of life and a reverence for Universal Consciousness (God/Goddess). With commitment to these daily rituals, a sense of ‘aliveness’ can be experienced consistently, as you have developed a way to go beyond the ‘monkey mind’ and into the peaceful, joyous and loving space sitting behind the screen of the mind chatter.
How to Create a Plan for Daily Rituals
Do what you love! Do what gives you joy! Do what evokes peace! Stay away from rituals that feel like a chore and give you a sense of dread at the thought of them. Many people mistakenly believe that daily spiritual discipline needs to feel like a ‘slog’ and if that’s the path you want to go, you have full permission to do so. Personally I feel this is very ‘old school’ thinking, particularly in the yoga world where for many, a ‘good’ yogi is seen to be up at sunrise doing a vigorous asana practice that takes at least 2 hours to complete. For some, a rigorous physical regimen is required to go beyond the pain the inner dialogue can create, or to burn up excessive and often anxiety-inducing physical energy – if this is you, this kind of daily ritual may be needed and extremely beneficial. For others, this kind of daily practice could lead to mental rigidity, guilt (when you fail to practice), and a denial of feminine energy (which often needs more creative and restful practices). The key to daily rituals is to create balance – if you’ve been overdoing the masculine side of life – working, socialising, money-matters – then do something ‘feminine’ (think meditation, having an oil-scented bath, dancing). If you have been engaged in more feminine pursuits – family/home life, processing emotions, caring for others – create some rituals that bring out the inner masculine (think gardening, physical exercise or yang-style yoga asana).
Creativity plays an integral role in finding suitable daily spiritual rituals. Being creative brings you close to the Divine as you can literally glimpse enlightenment through the intense focus you bring to the task at hand, entering deeply into the ‘now’ moment as the usual process of problem-solving and planning subsides. Take the time to ponder or write down which creative pursuits you love and find a way to incorporate them into your life on a regular basis.
The following is a list of possible rituals that you could do or at least help to stimulate some ideas for rituals that may align with you:
- Journalling (gratitude or expressing feelings)
- Meditation
- Prayer
- Chanting
- Asana (yoga postures)
- Pranayama (yoga breathwork)
- Watching the sunrise or sunset
- Dancing
- Cooking with Love
- Reiki (giving to yourself or sending to others)
- Music (listening or playing)
- Gardening with Awareness
- Self-massage/bathing
- Blessing your food
- Walking in Nature
- Mindfulness in daily activities (eg. house chores)
- Oracle reading
- Crystal therapy for self (meditation using crystals or choosing appropriate crystals to wear for current needs)
- Mantras (saying affirmations)
- Painting
- Photography
- Visualisation/manifestation
- Siesta or trance-sleep
- Swimming
- Communicating with angels, spirit guides
My daily rituals look like this: I love meditating as soon as I awaken. I am not an early riser naturally so for me, meditation comes easier in the morning when I am in a half dream, half wake state. I then will pull an oracle card on the days I feel I need a Higher Message. In the afternoon, I walk my dogs in nature and afterwards (on most days) I do my yoga asana and pranayama practice to music. I choose music to match my mood and my practice can be masculine or feminine, depending on my emotional needs on the day (eg. somedays a masculine vinyasa practice feels good, other days a feminine yin or restorative practice is best). On the days I make excuses not to do my asana practice, I will convince myself to do just 5 minutes. This turns easily into 20-30 minutes and I LOVE it! I adore this time when my only guides are my breath and my intuition. I also will often incorporate chanting into my practice. At night before sleep, I give gratitude and focus on affirmations or a visualisation if I am wanting to manifest something. On the days I miss my practices, I choose not to feel guilty. This has come with maturity and it has taken years of self-talk not to buy into the ‘I’m not good enough’ type thinking if I miss a day or many days of ritual behaviour.
Have fun with creating your ritual ideas. When you have a few great rituals you love to engage in, allow them to come into your life – some daily and some when you have more time like weekend rituals. Know that you deserve to have space and time for your rituals. In fact, see this time as imperative for your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health. If you can ‘fill your own cup’ to the point where it runs over, you will find it effortless to take care of your other daily responsibilities such as work, caring for children/elderly parents, running your household etc. If you do happen to miss a day or a few days of ritual practice, don’t chastise yourself. Be gentle with YOU. Rather, notice how you feel when you commit to your rituals and how you feel when you don’t. Observe yet don’t judge yourself when you realise you haven’t meditated or had time out for yourself for some time. Know that you can always start again anytime. Be excited to know that tomorrow you can make that choice to nourish your soul in ways that lift you up into the arms of the Divine. You are worthy of this time everyday for rituals. YOU MATTER.
Love
Carrie ([email protected])
