Power vs. powerless seems to be a huge theme right now.
Who has the power? What do we have power over? What can we control, and what is completely outside of our control?
These questions seem to be underneath so much of what we are experiencing.
I can't tell you what to do. But I do know that when the world feels uncertain, ritual can help us move from feeling powerless to becoming more proactive.
A Ritual Can Change Your Relationship to What Is Happening
There is a story I often tell in my workshops about the wife of an Alaskan gold prospector in the 1920s.
The story goes that she was alone on an island while her husband was away searching for gold when an avalanche struck. Pregnant and wounded, she somehow made her way back to her cabin.
Rather than simply waiting for something to happen, she began creating rituals that helped her focus on what she could do.
She started a journal for her unborn child. She prepared for the birth. She turned an otter skin into a baby wrap. Eventually, she delivered her own child.
After the baby was born, she created a baptism ceremony and called in the local deer to witness it.
Whether every detail of the story is true or not, I love what it represents.
When we create ritual, we are not pretending that we can control everything. We are creating a way to participate in our own lives.
Ritual gives the mind, body and spirit something to do with uncertainty.
It can help us move from reactive to proactive, from scattered to focused, and from helplessness toward hope.
A SIMPLE RESET YOU CAN USE NOW
If you notice yourself slipping into negative or repetitive thinking, try this:
✦ Put your attention between your eyebrows.
✦ Tap around your third-eye area three times with your ring finger.
✦ Then say: “Cancel. Clear.”
✦ Take a breath and consciously choose where you want to place your attention next.
The point isn't to pretend the difficult thing isn't happening.
It's to remind yourself: I may not control what is happening around me, but I can participate in how I meet it.
And that is one of the reasons I created Heart Like a Feather. A Four-Week Ritual Journey to Release, Reconnect & Reimagine. Click Here to Learn More!
With love,
Barbara