Creating Effective Ritual and Ceremony

Opening Sacred Space

Ritual and ceremony are essential for a healthy and balanced personal and communal life. Many persistent personal and social problems can be linked to the lack of ritual and ceremony. Rituals and ceremonies reduce tension, anxiety and stress, produce deeper self-awareness, and connect us to our community. They reconnect us with our deepest core values and our highest vision of who we are and why we are here.

Ritual and ceremony are two distinct practices used to engage the powers of the unseen world to effect specific changes in the visible world. Ceremony is a formal act or set of acts designed to celebrate, honor or acknowledge what is. Ceremony is used to strengthen or restore the status quo, grounding people in the natural order of things and/or deepening communal relationships. Ritual is a formal act or set of acts designed to cause a change in what is -- to change or transform the status quo.

Ritual and ceremony are a universal way to address the spirit world and provide some kind of fundamental change in an individual's consciousness or in the ambience of a gathering. They may involve prayers, chanting, drumming, dancing, anointing, as well as rites of passage. Both are designed to engage the spirit world in helping us to do what we are unable to do for ourselves. Without the connection to the powers of the spirit world, neither is an effective tool for initiating change. By creating effective ritual and ceremony, we can skillfully engage Spirit in the processes we are involved in like healing, therapy or actualizing our goals.

Potent rituals and ceremonies have similar foundational elements. Key elements of this foundation include:

1. Intention is the first element of effective ritual and ceremony. Without a clear intention or desired outcome, the energy created in the ritual or ceremony is poorly structured with little or no direction. This intention may be a new vocation, better health or world peace;
2. The creation of sacred space. Sacred space is that territory that we enter for spiritual and inner work. Preparing sacred space shifts our awareness from ordinary waking consciousness to a more centered, meditative state and structures a boundary that separates the sacred from the ordinary and profane.  There are no rules or restrictions governing this process, although tradition suggests that you begin by smudging. Smudging is the burning of herbs for cleansing, purification, and protection of sacred space. Consider setting up a centerpiece or altar that is appropriate for your reason for coming together. Although an altar is not essential, it provides us with a focus to pray, meditate and listen. An altar is any structure upon which we place offerings and sacred objects that have spiritual or cosmological significance. It represents the center and axis of your sacred space;
3. Invocations welcome and invite the archetypal spiritual energies of the seven directions -- East, South, West, North, Up, Down, and Within. Calling the spirits is an ancient shamanic rite that is practiced cross-culturally to access and honor the powers of creation. Inviting their presence, participation and assistance not only aligns us with their power, but also is a way of giving energy that helps revitalize these primal forces. The specific words of your invocation to the spirits do not matter. What matters is that your prayer comes from the heart. You must show the spirit world you have passion and heart. At this point, the process becomes either a ritual or ceremony depending on the intention;
4. Altered states of consciousness are induced through intense rhythmic stimulation such as drumming, chanting and dancing. An altered state of consciousness is any state which is significantly different from normal waking consciousness. Altered or trance states produce deeper self-awareness and allow us to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness. This process allows us to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize our own knowledge, and to internalize our answers;
5. The closure of sacred space. It is important to conclude the process by closing sacred space. When you close sacred space, you again address the archetypal elements and spirit helpers, thanking them for their help, healing and wisdom during this sacred time. After expressing your gratitude to the spirits, send them off, releasing their energies to the seven directions. The event may be followed by a festive potluck meal in which the people rejoice that the spirits have brought the blessing of greater power to the community. To learn more, look inside my Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide.