Ritual and life

Let's talk about ritual. In 2015 I trained with Daan van Kampenhout in Systemic Ritual – a method that brings together shamanism and family constellations. Since then I have created and ran multiple rituals on a variety of topics. Because this is so much part of my life it also sipped into all other areas of it. Adding ritual aspect to anything you do creates meaning and depth contributing to your wellbeing. It changes the way you see life. 
We do ritual in a sacred space, working with the environment around us, so we are always aware of our surroundings. We do ritual with an intention and prayer – intention is something that guides the movement of the ritual, that gives it direction and forms the outcome. Prayer, like poetry, changes the way our brain works and perceives the world, it also invokes the spiritual resources we don’t even know we have.

​Link to a conversation on ritual 

This year we will do monthly rituals that would be structured around the wheel of the year and the wheel of four directions. Every season on the wheel has its energy, and the themes of the rituals will follow it. Spring has the energy of new beginning and rebirth – we will work with our inner child, abundance and trusting the world. Summer has the energy of feelings and community – we will work with the themes of relationships with our families, partners and community. Autumn holds the energy of introspection, intuition and release – so we will work with trusting and developing our intuition, releasing what is unfinished and learning to listen to our body. Winter is about our connection with the spiritual, about rest and stillness – we will work with stepping into our power, connecting to our lineage and the spirits of the four directions. 
Throughout the year in most rituals we will be in close touch with our ancestors as this is the primary relationship for healing the present, and we will be constantly connecting with nature, with the land we are in, with local other-than-human beings, doing small rituals outside. Working with inner child we will then take them with us into the rest of the year, including them in most rituals.
So, to summarise, in Becoming a Good Ancestor journey this year we will have twelve themes, do twelve monthly rituals aiming to bring harmony to our lives, feel more rooted and connected to ourselves, our lineages and nature. Each month, besides a live ritual on zoom, you will also receive a guided meditation to do during the month as many times as feels right to deepen the experience. And I will send you small rituals to do on your own out in nature or inside to connect with the theme of the month more.
You can find more information on BaGA here                                          
In the video above I walk you through a short ritual to set the intention for this year being supported by well-wishing ancestors. I hope you find it inspiring. When you set up the representative for the Intention be specific in formulating it. Let me know how it goes for you. See you in the programme!
      
Wishing you a flowing week, 
Aleksandra Shymina