subject: Unconscious Habit Vs The Power of Conscious Ritual [print this page] There are many reasons for creating and maintaining rituals in our lives. They can be used as a way to complete unfinished business or to center and ground us. When I reached for the door and noticed the slogan, I actually felt myself relax. Traveling, doing workshops and being away from home so much in the past two months has a fun, exciting element to it but there are also a few stressors that come with all this. Grabbing my morning coffee and sitting at my computer to compose my daily blog is a ritual for me. When I am more than 3,000 miles from home, it brings a sense of normalcy to my life.
What rituals do you have to support and nurture you? A regular exercise program can be a ritual. A weekly phone call with a best friend, a certain comfort food or celebrating breakthroughs are all examples of rituals we create.
Like most things in life, there are two sides to the ritual coin. If you are consciously choosing an action as a way that helps you relax, reconnect, refresh and ground yourself it is a ritual. This is an anabolic, creative approach. If a ritual becomes an unconscious habit that disconnects you from your feelings, connecting with yourself or others, you've gone into a catabolic or destructive way of coping. A good sign that a ritual has become a habit is the difference between actively choosing it or experiencing it as something you HAVE to do or HAVE to have.
If you are not yet incorporating ritual into your life in a conscious way, what is one thing you can do at the start each day that will create more focused action and keep you moving toward your goals? What rituals can you create to support other core values such as having a healthy lifestyle or enjoying rich and satisfying relationships?
Unconscious Habit Vs The Power of Conscious Ritual
