Rituals

I don't know about you, but when I used to hear the word “Ritual” I always envisioned something like an altar with a bunch of candles or some sort of sacrificial offering taking place. Thankfully, however, I could not have been more wrong about this! Maybe in the olden days rituals were tied to religious beliefs, but now a ritual is basically just something we do habitually that provides us comfort.

Let's be honest, have you ever been able to consistently adapt any of the daily rituals you want to into your daily life? If you have, good for you! If you haven't, it’s probably because they require you to wake up early, work out, meditate or are just all together time consuming. Although meditation has a ton of benefits, for some reason I have never been able to commit to a meditation practice for more than a few days before it starts to begin like a chore.

Tips for creating a ritual and sticking to it:

1. Be Accountable: Once you’ve chosen the ritual, share your plans to commit to it for a month with a friend or loved one. This will make you feel a little more obligated to do it. It may seem like a drag at first but once you get into the swing of the ritual you'll be happy you're doing it.
2. Be Realistic: Be honest with yourself! If you never exercise, you probably aren't going to start running 10 miles a day at first. If you love to sleep in, you probably aren't going to want to wake up at 5 am every day for a month. Dream big but within means to make sure you aren't setting yourself up for failure. Once you accomplish the first realistic goal and see that you CAN do this, you can expand your goal and feel confident.
3. Be Open: Why are you really doing this? What do you really want to gain from this? Be open, transparent and clear on your vision and goals for doing this. This will keep you motivated and keep things in perspective while you start growing into your new habit.

Self care is key! When we take care of ourselves we also inadvertently make the world a kinder, softer place for others.

Here are some other ideas for rituals you can incorporate into your life.

Adding just one or two of these a week and keeping up with them is sure to improve your mood and overall quality of life. Let’s try this out for a month and see what happens. Slow down and relish in the ritual. Feel everything fully and watch your self love start to expand.

• Start a crystal collection. Head to a local shop and buy a few that connect with you. Learn about their meanings and set your intentions into them nightly.
• Every morning take 20 mins to journal your thoughts, ideas and hopes for the day.
• Spend 10 minutes star gazing, no phones!
• Try to go a whole outing without snapping a photo.
• Have a hot bath with a cup of tea.
• Stretch for 15 minutes every morning with your phone tucked away in a different room.
• Read a book before bed.
• Face-masks!
• Try essential oils and self massage.
• Spend 20 minutes outside in nature. Bonus if you can be barefoot, it’s very grounding!
• Cook your own healthy meals.
• Clean out your purse, room, closet, and make space for new things to come.
• Massage or acupuncture.
• Take a class on astrology or eastern medicine.
• Try making something! Soap, Candles?
• Write a song/book/blog and self publish it to share with friends and family.
• Volunteer for a cause you’re passionate about.

Good luck!