Living Life as a Ritual
The present moment is where we can ritualize our lives and make the choices that bring more joy and fulfillment.
It takes just a brief second to pause and to become aware of the breath. Be still. Engage the senses….all 6 of them.
These moments throughout our day allow us to make more conscious choice. A pause is all we need to choose response vs. reaction.
What I love most about a pause is the stage it sets for a small ritual. This is done with our body and mind in unison. This scenario presented itself just as I was starting this blog……
‘Prior to starting my blog, I took a moment to sit in silence and be still. I enjoyed a hummingbird’s presence and the slight cool breeze and allowed myself to become empty. This is when I became aware of these small rituals I do every day. I wrote the title in my blog and then…my phone rings. Ugghhh…I should have turned it off!
I answer it and it is one of my children with a problem. I listen, empathize and we chat briefly and we hang up. In the past, I would then mull over the conversation and think of solutions or allow my mood to shift from creative to blocked…..all in 5 minutes! Instead, I stand up and bring presence with my breath and my 6 senses.
I walk around the yard for a moment and capture the beauty in one small detail of a flower and breathe in its beauty. As I walk to an unknown destination…in this instance a flower…..I release what is not mine (the solution maker to someone else’s problem). As I walk away from the flower I walk into stillness and presence. I collect my energies and in my presence I trust in my child’s ability to find their own way. I sit and now, once again, I have the presence of mind and realize I have had another opportunity to have a small ritual of intention.’
In just a few moments, I used the movement of my body and engaged my imagination to reset.
When we engage our bodies in purposeful movement, it supports the shift of energy.
Our bodies hold the memories of not only our experiences but, also of our thoughts and our emotions…..which, on their own, continue to give us the same results. These small rituals of intention help us re-pattern our habitual behavioral reactions.
Movement + Breath + Mindfulness = Rewiring Patterns
I’ll share one more of my favorite rewiring techniques. Put an elastic band or bracelet on your wrist. If I am working on a feminine quality (creative, receptivity, softness, unity, collective, intuition) or a female relationship, I will put it on my left wrist (feminine side of our body). Left side is the masculine side (mindfulness, assertive, strength, courage, independence, leadership).
Let’s say I am working on receptivity, increasing the ability to receive with more grace and ease. I place my bracelet on my left wrist. Later, in the day I get a phone call from someone that wants to help me on a project I am working on. I pause and breathe and acknowledge the discomfort….I can do this myself!! I put my hand on the bracelet and I breathe in courage and strength and I allow myself the discomfort of rewiring this behavior. I place my bracelet on the right side to remind myself to trust and to stay in the power of receptivity as I allow the discomfort of change. Mindfulness is bringing awareness to the opportunity of receiving. I pause and I breathe. I move the bracelet with intention and apply what I am moving from and what I am moving into. I have started the Rewiring Process.
If we want to grow and change Discomfort becomes our new friend!
Have fun being the altar of your life and a living and moving ritual. Your ordinary days become extraordinary and a small knowing smile emerges as a knowing and a becoming.