The Sacred Ritual

As a ritualist I often will turn to my practice to bring alignment to my needs with my hopes, to highlight intention in my actions, or to shed awareness to my words. Doing so establishes an honor to my efforts and an energy to them as well.

Rituals can be found in many spiritual books and websites. My most favorite and often most effective are those though that come from my own being as they have my breath in them, my heart and passion and my longings and awareness. Some rituals have many layers to them and can be quite deep in process and ceremony, while others gain tremendous power from their simplicity.

Rituals can be done to honor seasonal intentions, life's rites of passage, healing opportunities and more. They can be done at specific times of the day, phases of the moon or during significant life stages. I think that rituals can be as unique and splendid as the person acting upon them.

For some, the word ritual creates a snag, yet we are surrounded by them in our day to day lives. Many have rituals that they perform around the holidays, for example. Take the kissing beneath the mistletoe or the breaking of a turkey's wishbone, these are rituals. Rituals can be done at life events such as the tossing of the bride's bouquet at a wedding or the showering of a mother to be at a baby shower. Rituals also can be quite sacred and based on a person's spiritual practice, such as the various rituals we perform at the time of a loved one's death.

The next time you are facing a major life event, try creating a ritual that can honor this passage. Bring to the ritual specific intentions, honor from where you have come and to where you are going on your life's path, or choose symbolism that helps embody the essence of this time for you.

Perhaps a ritual can be created to honor an intention you are setting for yourself. Where do you want to focus your energies? Are there colors that, for you, create powerful meaning about this? If so use them. Is there an action that you can do that embodies this intention that you can incorporate into your ritual?

Bringing your creative self to your ritual planning allows you to incorporate so many different things that can have great meaning to you; music, family artifacts, images, colors, flowers, crystals, food and more.

Bring your playful soul out and allow it to dance with the sacredness of your ritual. See what comes to mind, what awakens and what longs to be honored. Whether it be small and private or more festive and community based is up to you, but the sacred act of bringing ritual to your practice can create a tremendous amount of power, healing, beauty and celebration to your moment of recognition. It will most certainly create a memory making event out of it so that you can often recall the intent of the moment, the special role it played in your life and the way in which your brought your soul's energies to your spiritual practice and life event.

Blessings, Lisa

A Wealth of Wellness

Are you someone who spends a good deal of time taking care of the needs of others? Do you put yourself at the end of the list? A beautiful gift to bring to your self is a day of wellness and healing. We all carry within us a seed for healing. When you nurture this and tend to it, giving it focus and the time and attention, you will find that it awakens healing energies and wellness within you.

Setting aside a day of wellness and healing for your body, mind and soul brings tremendous benefits to your life. Finding ways to address your vital needs brings your energies into alignment and awakens newness and vibrancy. Actually, just the awareness that you are putting aside time for YOU creates a spark of wellness.

I encourage clients to set aside time, whether it be once a week, once a month...everyone's needs are different. But when you book this special day with yourself you will find that you begin to make plans and set intentions. Think about what the day will include. Will you spend it in a special or favorite location? Will you share it with someone whose company you enjoy? Will it include certain activities?

Think of what your body needs? Rest? Recharge? Movement? Nurturing? Release? Once you know this you can move forward with your intentional day of wellness. Think of music that could support your needs? Perhaps certain crystals, flowers, aromas, or foods? A long walk, a massage, a day of play in the water...what makes you smile just thinking it over? Go with that!

The more you map out this day of wellness, the more the needs of your body, mind and soul will be revealed. The more you create intention to meet these needs, and the more doors will open to healing energies and revitalization of your overall well being.

Bringing your wellness into harmony is important to the way you honor your body, mind and soul. Recognizing that you have the right to be put first on the list and that it is worthy of the time and effort. This sends important messages to you and to others around you.  Cultivating wellness should not feel like a luxury, but instead a necessity as you awaken your awareness to your energetic needs, your body's balance and your thoughts' focus.

Blessings, Lisa

The Detachment Factor

So how detached are you? I don't mean distant, cold or uncaring. I mean how well contained you are. How good you are at boundary setting. And how present you are.

This skill took some time for me to develop. My emotions and feelings would get the better of me. Contrary to what was in my heart, the desire to help someone and show compassion, I would get wrapped up in the drama of the emotions, pulled into the feelings and actually become far less present in the situation. That is because when I allow my ego to drag me into the emotions and feelings of a situation I am contemplating on my stories of the past or my projections for the future. I am anything but present.

It seems that the more and more I chose to live in the present, my perspective shifted and became more and more impersonal. AND that was a good thing. To be effective as a shaman, a healer, a teacher and a woman in service to others, this skill needed to be honed.

Learning this detachment factor allowed me the grace to not get hooked by others feelings or emotions; necessary for the work I do. I could still maintain my compassion for others, but have clarity on what I could offer, what work needed to be done and how I would be present in the situation.

It also eliminated the need for me to have others in my life be a certain way for me to get on with my day. This detachment factor was huge! If someone was angry, frustrated or down in the dumps, I learned that I did not need to react or have it impact my day negatively. I just moved around it, took the detachment detour and got on with my day. I certainly could understand their feelings, their situation, but it did not become a part of me.

Actually, I was better able to understand what was happening to them. I could see it more clearly. My understanding expanded and so my services were more and more spot on, direct and effective. Being objective does not mean being uncaring. It actually affords you the distance and viewpoints to care in the best possible way, not a reactionary way.

Detachment keeps me clean. I don't pick up the energies of those I am working with. I also don't mistakenly place my intentions upon others, even the best of intentions. It allows my heart energies to be of love, not of expectation. It allows my soul to bring its beauty and essence to the equation without old stories or labels. It allows the situation to unfold in truth instead of confusion. Bringing detachment to my day gives me so much more room to be present, in tune with Source, in alignment with my truth and authentic.

Blessings, Lisa