The Bigger PictureThese are the days when we have less daylight and more night. While it's a time commonly associated with a downturn in mood for many, a different perspective on the night can evoke greater excitement. For example, I've always thought of this time as the "season of rituals": with the Muslims celebrating Ramadan, the Hindus revelling in Diwali (festival of lights) and, having made it through Halloween, the Christians are beginning to look forward to Christmas. What makes it feel like a festival is ritual," writes Shalini Sinha
When I was studying world religions at university, it struck me that religion could be thought of in separate terms of "philosophy" and "ritual". While I always got excited by the philosophical teachings of each tradition - showing me beauty, wisdom and insight - more recently I've been thinking about the joy and value that comes from ritual.
Today, increasing numbers of people are turning away from organised religion. In doing so, while one can maintain a personal connection to and interest in philosophy, access to rituals as a regular - even daily - part of one's life are often lost. Indeed, rituals are common defining markers of membership and identity for a group. Thus, stepping out of a group usually begins with ending one's participation in ritual.
Furthermore, it is the rituals that are often looked to when challenging what feels "rigid" or "oppressive" about a tradition. Many of these practices go back a long time, after all, and it is entirely likely that past social norms which now seem starkly unacceptable have attached themselves to one or more layers of meaning in the ritual.
In truth, all the organisations of religion have let down the community from time to time. For example, most of our major religions - from Hinduism and Buddhism to Judaism, Christianity and Islam (and those in between) - have fallen down at some point and sometimes regularly on the elimination of sexism, even to the extent of trying to justify a lesser value for women as some sort of "divine law".
This lacks insight into humanity, divinity, God, power and love. It is the agenda of a society before it has evolved to a higher functioning. While spirituality would aim to transcend - and thus eliminate - any injustices against one another, rituals are a community's way of putting thoughts into the experiential realm and so are susceptible to reflecting these struggles.
Still, I find it most interesting how rituals can create a sense of belonging and connection. And, honestly, we need to be feeling more of this, not less, in today's society. Not only do rituals give us a chance to reinforce philosophy into our experience, but by participating all together and at the same time, they support us in reinforcing community.
There is a mistake, however, in letting our exclusive participation in a ritual make us feel we are separate from or superior to others. Rather, there is a joy in simply marking our own history with love and pride.
It is valuable, then, to recover meaningful, connective rituals into our contemporary lives. For some, this might mean simply not taking some "suggested interpretations" of historic rituals too seriously and focusing on the connection and belonging experienced in a community sharing these actions.
For others, it might mean redefining meaning and/or altering current rituals. For still others, it might mean creating new ones. Whichever it is, something interesting happens when one ritualistically chooses to repeat an action . . . because it has meaning . . . so that it reflects and integrates into who you are.
It is possible to change a ritual. In fact, nothing we do is "exactly" the same as it was done in the past. Life is a journey of growth and adjustment. This was as true for our ancestors as it is for us. When a group changes something to acknowledge what more accurately reflects the inherent beauty of its group, it carries powerful meaning.
Activities that link us to our past, even when some aspects no longer have meaning for us in the present, bring an energy of feeling connected with "our people", with what we have overcome, with how we have survived and, most importantly, with how we have done this same thing in this same place over generations, searching for hope as we did it.
If we are choosing to create new rituals, they need to reach us at several levels. Not every meaning needs to be completely figured out. Rather, the spiritual journey is one of alignment with the heart more than the head, and there is a joy in leaving room simply for "experience".
In this, rituals deepen in momentum when they involve a community, are something we will repeat, and are related to a specific time or event.
Finally, I love the ancient sensitivity to do things when the sun, moon or stars are showing various stages. There really is no greater link to a historic past, a greater power, or movements, rhythm and change.
www.shalinisinha.com
Shalini Sinha works as a life coach with clients in Ireland and internationally, and practises the Bowen technique.