Sacred Rituals and Intentions

I’m sure most days you set some form of intention. Maybe you like to make a list of things “to do.” Maybe you wake up and say today’s going to be a great day. Or maybe you wake up and already wish the day was over. Somedays you set the tone intentionally, some days you stumble through. 

This is a lot like sacred rituals.

Wait? How can that be? Surely if sacred ritual is part of your daily (or not always daily) routine, when you set out to do it it’s always going to be great right? And therefore it will make the rest of your day great, and then your life, and so on and so on… 

I guess it depends on how you define great, right?

Just like life, you can set your ritual intention, but…. you never know what’s going to bubble up. For example, in meditation, you may state your desire and then have a completely opposite message or experience present itself. Or, maybe during yoga you stumble through a sequence you’ve practiced 100 times. Or, while practicing Breathwork or Chanting, you forget the words to your prayers or the number of breaths or mantras. 

Life as Ritual. Ritual as Life. This is the Sacred Dance you came to play. This is the path of embodiment, intention, and play. This is how you learn to go with the flow, and do so with a clear mind, open heart, and the grace that some days can be difficult to muster. 

Ritual preps you for life’s curveballs aka earth school lessons. With one hand toward the sky and the other firmly planted to the Earth, you can live and breath a life of intention, security, and wonder. And in doing this, even the tough days feel not so bad. 

Let’s focus on the ritual of a meditation practice. This practice helps regulate your emotional and mental well-being. When life presents anxiety, stress, sadness, and even boredom, those emotions can put their grip on you. But you intuitively know you can fall into your spiritual practice for healing, clarity, and some spirit play. No matter what presents itself in meditation, you learn to let that be. It’s a glorious part of your Earth-School curriculum: one that preps you best for life’s twists, turns, epiphanies, and complexities. 

The world’s external noise i.e. life can be loud and aggressive. There’s no denying that energy, but there is a way to turn it around and continue to help facilitate healing in our culture. Meditation requires vulnerability and true transparency from you. This is how Ritual mirrors Life, and Life mirrors Ritual. When your daily intentions for either takes an unexpected turn, you have no choice but to pivot and listen. Wrap this ever so delicate part of your humanity in love and dedicate your daily actions toward calm, clear, and flexible navigation. 

Just as every new day, year, and moment in life brings new awareness and wisdom, the more frequency you dive into ritual, the better able you’ll be to shift your compass. These small moments and intentions combine to keep your vibe high—making your days brighter and your rituals deeper—which heals you, and further heals our world.