08/12/2026
The Importance of Rituals
We are spiritual beings living a human experience while experiencing Earth school. We chop the same wood and carry the same water whether we are totally enlightened or the average Joe, just plodding through. These are the facts, no matter where on the spectrum of straddling the two extremes we live. Rituals are designed to bond our earthly expression to our innate spirituality.
Three decades ago, while attending a spiritual conference, one of our speakers was the minister of a predominantly gay, New Thought church in Fort Lauderdale. This guy was so in touch with his intuition; he was bold, funny, and so skilled at setting the stage to create the service's climate before a word was spoken. He felt it was important to stimulate the congregants' five senses for every service. Incense for smell. For communion (and community), instead of wafers, a baguette was passed through the congregation, and individuals broke off a piece of the bread and passed it to the next person. Instead of a complicated foot washing. basins of water were placed intermittently, and congregants washed each other's hands. Music, of course. For the visual, my favorite, this guy wore a cloak of many colors, which he called his transvestment. When it was time for the message, the congregants were unified as one entity. He designed his ritual, and the powerful result was initiated at that first whiff of incense.
Often, long-term committed couples unknowingly create a ritual. The same is true of parent-child situations. There will be a consistent soothing physical gesture that becomes a habit. The couple may, for instance, stroke each other's wrists or hands when feelings become intense. A parent may brush or stroke a child's hair. And then, when the action is taken for no reason, all the feelings of comfort rise with that unconscious bonding touch. Even when a candle-lit birthday cake is brought into a darkened room, it brings a joyous ritual into being.
One of our jobs as students in Earth School is to be aware of God's presence in everything. This is the definition of a mystic: to be aware of that presence in all. Where in our lives can we begin a ritual to stimulate that spiritual memory? I'd love to know your ideas!! Rev. Pat cowtownmystic.com
