Ceremony and ritual connects us with the mythic. Ceremony is “a formal act or ritual, often set by custom or tradition, performed in observation of an event or anniversary” or done to effect change for the better.
Ceremony, whether simple or complex allows us to step out of ordinary reality in order to access non-ordinary reality for the purpose of helping individuals, groups, communities, and the world as a whole to restore balance, wholeness, and health. A ceremony might be performed for any being or community so that right relationship or reciprocity is created between nature, humans, and the spirit world.
Shamanism is a practice of ecstatic journeying, by a shamanic practitioner who is in a state of prayer and connection working on behalf of another so that harmony, wisdom, truth and balance prevail for all concerned.
Examples of ceremony include the use of the elements, especially fire, calling in the directions, having a sweat lodge, using sage or incenses, chanting or dancing, the Despacho ritual, and honoring ancestors or Mother Earth.
Ceremony is a way to use our intention to create a new way to be, harmony for the earth, a generosity of spirit, and balance. It is a sacred way of life and connects us with the oneness of the cosmos.
