I’m listening to Maledoma Patrice Some’s book “Ritual”.
wow.
just.
wow.
The texture of what’s being shared through Maledoma’s words strikes a chord with my soul. There’s something there.
I resonate with the perspective that Ritual is a fundamental nutritive need for human animals. I tend to imagine that this need extends beyond the human animal realm, far beyond.
Looking back on my own life I can see ritual everywhere. It’s always been there.
Little things.
Big things.
Conscious & other than.
The words “strategic ritual” stuck with me as I listened. Maledoma shares a truth of his culture that rituals are best practiced with specific intent & appropriate content to meet a particular need.
Pausing.
Reflecting.
Huh………
This truth feels true. It’s also illuminating for me. It shows me the shadowy intentions that have so often driven my unconscious ritualistic choices over the course of my life.
Pseudo-rituals lacking in specific intent. Driven not by a particular need but by general discontent, overwhelm, avoidance, depression, etc.
Pseudo-rituals lacking in appropriate content. Supplied not in accordance with a particular need but overloaded with this, that or the other. Reaching for what’s easy, accessible & potent rather than seeking & following forgotten traditions.
Pseudo-rituals occurring over & over without ever truly identifying the particular needs they were attempting to meet.
Addictive patterns seeking to fill the space where true ritual is missing. Patterns that in years past wreaked havoc on the health of my body, mind, spirit & relationships.
The spaces in my life that feel most whole are those in which I’ve gained awareness of the needs presenting themselves & learned to organize little & big rituals with the intent to meet them. Intent & content are not the same though. This is a growing edge for me.
I come from a people that were separated from their ancestral spaces & traditions a long time ago. This means that the rituals inherent to my body have been forgotten from conscious memory. I feel sad about this. Within that sadness I am also aware of the opportunity.
My body is descended from ancient, life fulfilling rituals. Their imprint is in me. I feel this when listening to Maledoma’s words. It feels like remembering.
I’ve learned over the years that my body has more answers than my mind ever will. Truly my body seems to have an answer to most everything. A challenge I’ve faced in this process is learning to divine the meaning of my body's answers since so many of them are preverbal.
This is my work.
The work of the ritual pause: to sink into my body & connect with the presence rising, pooling & ebbing within it. Sensations, emotions, movements, sounds, imaginings: these are the substance of my forgotten traditions. It feels true that they are also the guiding energies that can lead me into remembering & cultivating the wisdom of these ancient, life fulfilling ways: purpose.
The following video is an example of a movement ritual designed to connect with the happenings of Body, Mind, Spirit & Ecosystem. This video is not intended to instruct on a specific series of movements. Rather its aim is to inspire a ritualized expression of connecting to body, movement, breath, stillness & space in a way that fits.
This ritual has 4 parts:
Orient with the space.
Breathe into the space & move from breath. Move until movement is no longer necessary.
Settle into the stillness. Listen to the space & body.
Provide a gesture of gratitude for the space, body & all present.