In a Moment - Issue 4

In the last couple of years I began to experiment with the creation and practice of ritual. 

It didn’t begin with me consciously trying to create a ritual. It started simply — drinking warm water with lemon in the morning.

After time, I became committed to this practice. So much so that lemons are one of the first things I buy when I’m traveling away from home and some friends have made sure lemons are in the house if I’m visiting them for a night or two.

With this commitment, I found this practice began to become infused with purpose. It was more than drinking lemon water. It was more than its health benefits. It became something bigger. It’s meaning and significance fluctuate for me as the days pass, depending on what I’m working to cultivate. Right now this simple daily practice supports intentions of grounding and clearing. In a month, those intentions may evolve based on where I’m at and what I need. 

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I define ritual as an action practiced with intention.

Rituals can be anything. Rituals don’t require stuff. They can be simple actions. Waking up in the morning and spending a few minutes stretching and breathing before you step your feet out of bed. Pausing as you make your morning coffee or tea for a moment. Cooking a meal. Washing your face or showering. The possibilities are truly endless.

What begins to differentiate a ritual from an action is the practice. Something you are willing to commit to. It doesn’t have to be every day. But it is important to be clear in your commitment — define how often or how many times you plan to practice this ritual. 

By being a practice, it gives ritual flexibility. If you start something and it doesn’t quite work as you anticipated, you can adjust it. You can make shifts to find something that is more supportive, grounding, honoring, nourishing, enlivening, awakening, transforming … whatever you need.

And lastly, intention. Why are you practicing a ritual? What is that thing, that essence you want to cultivate or connect to?

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What is an action you are presently practicing that you could transform with intention? 

What would that feel like? What might you be able to uncover or realize?