Creating our own rituals

No matter what you do, whether you do it "right" or "wrong," it will be sufficient as long as you do it with consciousness and in the best way that you know how. That is the nature of ritual.

An old Jewish story, which touches me deeply, illustrates the fact that we do not have to depend on existing structure to make powerful ritual expressions:

Once upon a time there was a great traditional ritual for the inner protection and nourishment of the people. The rabbi and all the people of the community went to a particular tree, in a particular forest, in a particular place, on a particular day, and performed a highly prescribed ritual. Then, there were terrible times. A whole generation was scattered and the ritual was forgotten.

When things got better again, someone remembered that there was an old ritual for protection and nourishment, but he could remember only its overall structure. The rabbi and the people went into the forest, but they'd forgotten exactly which tree was the right tree. So they chose a tree and performed the ritual as best they could. And it was sufficient.

More hard times came, and another generation was excluded from the ritual. Somebody remembered that in the old days their ancestors had gone into the forest and done something, so the rabbi and the people went out into the forest and made up a ritual. And it was sufficient.

And then there were more bad times, and much more was lost. The people remembered that in the good old days their ancestors had done something or other, but they didn't know when or what or where. So they just went out and did the best they could. And it was sufficient.

And then there were more hard times, and all that was left was the vague memory that in the olden days somebody had done something. So the new generation went out and improvised and did the best they could, intending their new ritual to be for the protection and nourishment of the people. And it was sufficient.

The moral to this story is clear: no matter what you do, whether you do it "right" or "wrong," it will be sufficient as long as you do it with consciousness and in the best way that you know how. That is the nature of ritual.

Basic Rules

Before you engage in any ritual activities, please read and remember the following basic rules:[1]

1. Don't do anything that would hurt others, literally or on the unconscious level. When you perform rituals, you unleash powerful psychological energy, and it is most rewarding to aim this energy toward a good and constructive purpose.

2. Have respect and courtesy for others and for yourself.

3. Don't provoke confrontation or be dramatic. These are not good uses of ritual, for their nature is inflation, not enthusiam. Neither confrontation nor drama will achieve productive results.

4. Affirm your personal responsibility for the Dioysian quality.[2] Dionysian ecstasy is yours to channel, to humanize. Use it to produce positive, enlivening energy.

Getting Started

Getting started with ritual is very difficult for many of us. Ritual is so seldom included in our daily lives that when we find ourselves involved in a ceremony--even a familiar one such as a wedding--we may begin to feel embarrassed. This is especially true when the ritual we are performing is of our own creation.

It is easy to think that the whole idea of ritual is silly and that nothing real can come of it. But ceremony and its results are very real. Don Quixote once commented that he was searching for the bread that was "better than wheat"--a reference to the Host. Ceremony in its depth is "realer than real," just as the Host is more real than wheat.

Ceremony is a conscious event. Even the smallest act can become a powerful ritual. An act performed with symbolic intent sets up an exchange between the unconscious and the conscious that allows for progression toward unity. This exchange can move in two directions: a consciously performed act will effect deep psychological change; a ritual act that springs from a change in unconscious attitude will be expressed as a change in conscious attitude.

Notes

[1.] For more detailed information on creating and ritualizing experiences, see the author's book Inner Work (Harper & Row, 1986).

[2.] The Greek Dionysus--half-mortal, half-god--swings between two worlds, transcending both. To touch Dionysus is to feel a part of the ecstatic, creative, and eternal force of life.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Mothering Magazine
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