What are Rituals and How You Benefit from Them

When you hear the term ritual, what do you think about?  Something spiritual or magical? That could be.  What if you think a little more broadly about rituals?  In a broad context, rituals are specific activities or practices that we have. They’re something specific we do, in a specific way every day, week, year, etc.

We each complete rituals without even realizing it.  Think about your morning routine.  I’ll bet you have one.  If you wake up, brush your teeth, wash your face, and have a cup of coffee every morning, you’ve completed a ritual.

If you read a daily devotional or are a student who says the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of each school day, you’re participating in a ritual.

Rituals can help you feel more in control of your life and more grounded.  There are several other ways that rituals can help us.

Rituals Develop Awareness

Developing and executing a ritual can help us gain awareness about ourselves, our surroundings, or even the present moment.  Participating in rituals gives us a chance to create an intentional pause and bring focus to something specific. For example, if one of your daily rituals is to drink a cup of coffee each morning, you have a chance to pause and reflect as you drink your beverage.

I’ve found it helpful to have a small notebook with me during my first cup of coffee each day.  I take that moment to set my intention for the day and note it in my journal.

If you read a devotional each day, you can focus on the reading and contemplate its meaning in your life. Frankly, almost anything you do on a daily basis can become a ritual because it’s a chance for you to slow yourself down, to pay attention to your surroundings, and to acknowledge the significance of that time and that moment.

Rituals Build Your Community

Rituals can also be a great opportunity to build community, as many rituals are done in groups or group settings. There can be individual activities you do, like getting a cup of coffee at a coffee shop, that can become communal by engaging in an interaction with others who are doing the same thing at the same time.

Then there are group rituals such as those done in the workplace (i.e., EOD check-ins, weekly staff meetings, reciting mantras, etc.) that work to build unity and create community among team members. It is the sense of community that helps us navigate hardships and push through challenges.

You may also participate in religious rituals at your church, synagogue, or mosque.  Religious rituals heighten our awareness of the present moment and cause us to reflect on our faith.

Rituals Add Structure

On any given day, we are each confronted by many things that are outside of our control.  This lack of control can make us feel uneasy, disorganized and possibly scattered in both our thoughts in in our actions.

Rituals can bring structure to our life.  Rituals are routines that we can consciously implement.  When we execute them consciously and with purpose, we are asserting control in our lives.  We choose to establish daily routines and we get to assign meaning to them.  This can contribute to a deeper sense of feeling grounded.  It may also feel like we have a little less chaos in our lives.

Rituals Reduce Anxiety

Going along with the idea of more structure in our lives is the fact that rituals can also contribute to decreased stress and anxiety. As we begin to feel more in control of what happens to us and involves us, this sense of enhanced control can directly combat the effects that a lack of control can cause.

As we add rituals to our lives, we add structure.  This added structure can contribute to decreased stress and anxiety.  Stress and anxiety are reduced because the structure of rituals gives a sense of control over what happens to us.

When we feel as if things simply happen to us, our stress and anxiety levels can skyrocket, leading to mental, emotional, and even physical health issues. The simple act of consciously adding rituals, we know what we can expect each day and that can alleviate stress, decrease anxiety, reduce the risk of depression and lead to overall wellness and health.

Consciously adding rituals can be very beneficial to us. Rituals can give us enhanced awareness, add structure to our day, decrease anxiety and establish a greater sense of community.  In these ways, rituals can contribute to our ability to lead a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

Rituals:

• Develop Awareness
• Build Community
• Add Structure
• Reduce Anxiety

References:

Aman, J. (2017, December 27). Five benefits of rituals. Jodi Aman Earth Wisdom for Higher Consciousness. https://jodiaman.com/blog/five-benefits-of-ritual/

Burnett, E. (2021, February 22). Mental wellbeing: How rituals and routines can help. Wellbeing in Your Office. https://wellbeinginyouroffice.com/mental-wellbeing-how-rituals-and-routines-can-help/