I don’t know about you, but I like rituals. They’re comforting. A ritual could be anything, from the way you brush your teeth -- to walking with your dog in the same pretty spot -- to holiday traditions. The great thing is, just like many of the habits and meditations I’ve written about, we can make up our own rituals and share them.
Here is a ritual that I made up, called The New Moon Ritual. I’ve heard that the new moon is a good time to plant ‘the seeds of change’ – and at the time when I first did this, about 16 years ago, I was trying to catch up with some big changes that had happened to me. You know, divorce, no money, no job, that sort of fun stuff. This was my effort to somehow bring myself to a centered place of calm, and also to ask for some sort of help. (and help came in such an outrageous way, you wouldn’t even believe it!!) Obviously, you could also do it on the full moon, or any old time you like.
So, get out the candles and let’s go! You’ll need seven candles. Rainbow colored ones are great. I happen to have rainbow colored glass candle holders, which works out well – or you can simply put a different colored piece of paper under each candle, or a colored stone next to it – use your imagination. Anything to distinguish them, so you have red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and white.
The Basic Ritual: Set up your candles in a circle on the table or floor. Light them. Settle yourself in, do some deep breathing, a minute of quiet, whatever centers you. When you feel yourself in a calm, slow, nice place, focus on each candle individually, one after another, blowing each one out after you say the following:
Red – I affirm my ability to love and be loved.
Orange – I affirm my sensual nature and my ability to allow abundance.
Yellow – I affirm my ability to teach and to learn.
Green – I affirm my ability to heal and be healed.
Blue – I affirm my ability to listen and communicate.
Purple – I affirm my spiritual nature. I affirm that I am walking a path of wisdom.
White – I affirm the Divine. I affirm the Divine within me.
Again, you can make up whatever feels right, but this is a good place to start! Follow with a short meditation or prayer or specific affirmations.
Have a wonderful month and join me in trying to remember that we are our own best counsel. Let’s follow those gut instincts for our own well-being – and I’ll see you in the hammock soon.
Love, MJ
