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

To Remain Open

Remaining open to life lessons and insight is a beautiful essence and way of being to bring to your day. There is a freedom that is found within. Accepting that we do not need to have all the answers, all of the time, is something that creates room for expansion, growth, gifts and beauty.

Many people have a difficult time saying "I don't know." They will struggle, pretend, and grasp for an answer as if the admittance somehow makes them less than in the eyes of others. But the reality is, within this statement, there is a great truth that shows just how wise one truly is. Being honest and open to one's ignorance creates room for greatness to be shared, room for our soul to expand and grow, room for life experiences and more.

Let's face it, we are not all interested in the same thing. We do not spend time studying, learning, exploring and investigating the same topics. We can't! This creates beautiful opportunities within our relationships for introducing, for sharing and for expressing. When we admit that we do not know something we create an opportunity to learn, a chance for wonder, a moment of engagement and a time for interaction in being the receiver of information from a giver of knowledge. The art of expression blossoms.

When we create the room for not knowing, we are not showing our weakness. Instead, we are making room for greatness. It becomes an opportunity for a relationship to deepen, for someone's confidence to shine bright, and for our ego to become comfortable with the not being the ONE! Most people who have practiced this act are very comfortable and confident in their not knowing. Being an empty vessel creates beauty within.

It takes honesty, integrity, confidence and great authenticity to admit we do not know something, especially when there is an expectation from others that we do or "should" know it. Not only is it an opportunity to model to others that there is no shame in not knowing, but it also opens our being up to the magnitude of discovery and learning. It creates pause to be receptive, it generates inquiry and wonder, and it shows your genuine ability to be flexible and vulnerable. It is a time for curiosity to grow and possibilities to manifest!

Blessings, Lisa

New Year Clearing for the Soul

When a new year presents itself many people will create resolutions to clean up, clear out and de-clutter many aspects of their life. Whether it be our homes, our bodies or our energetic fields, a good cleanse and clean up can be a very good thing.

When we take the time to clean up and cleanse our energetic fields our soul is given room for expansion and growth. It is given the opportunity to release anything that we have been challenged to let go of. As we let go of this heavy baggage that has been weighing us down our consciousness begins to re-awaken within. What has been stagnant and stuck can now be free and flowing.

With some positive intention and a little bit of commitment we find ourselves approaching this clearing with optimism and the results lend us lightness of spirit, energetic flow and the return of possibilities. Our energy that may have once been waning is restored. Our thinking that may have been clouded becomes clearer. Our emotions that may have been strained and negative are now open and more positive.

There are many ways one can clear their energetic fields and open the door to their soul's longing and freedom. Some use crystals, some meditation, some visualization, others chanting or drumming. Finding what works for you is not unlike finding the food plan that aligns with your body's needs or the exercise program that supports your body's movement.

Whatever method you choose to cleanse your energies, do so in a gentle and supportive way. Give yourself the time and space to be present and relaxed. Rushing through will not give you the results you are seeking. Be open to the possibility that it may take repeated efforts to get to the place of ease and freedom you are seeking. As with many de-cluttering efforts, the work sometimes is best done in layers and over time. Find what works for you and commit to it. The end results will bring freshness to your soul's work, lightness to your energetic fields and fluidity to your thoughts.

Blessings, Lisa

Your Soul's Tool Box

We all acquire a unique tool box as we move through life. The experiences we face ensure that we get creative, that we learn by trial and error and that we sometimes find success, accomplishment and progress. It is during these times that we discover new tools and learn to use them.

Whether it be visualizing, journaling, journeying, rituals, meditating, or any other act that calls to us, our soul guides us to tools that will benefit our life's work and progress. The more regularly we use our soul's tools the more we grow accustomed to them and learn to rely upon them for our work.

With the skills we gain in our days and the soul tools we gather we face our challenges with more agility, stronger intention and vibrant insight. Our soul tools can become an important aspect of how we move through life. The Universe responds to our attempts and brings to us what we need next. Our energies are engaged.

One thing that is needed in order for us to be our most authentic self we need to learn what our soul tool box holds. We need to become skilled at the use of these tools; knowing how and when to turn to them. Unless we put them to use, they cannot serve us. Sounds pretty obvious, yet often people fall into patterns that do not serve them well. Reminding ourselves that there are options to the way we make decisions, that we have choices about the tools we can use to best fit the situation that we are facing and that we can learn to rely on these tools to help us grow and expand toward our soul's calling.

Blessings, Lisa