The Empowerment of Everyday Rituals

Taking Away The Taboo: The Empowerment of Everyday Rituals

by Andrew Pacholyk, MS L.Ac

A ritual is a set of actions, performed for their symbolic value or to reach an outcome. Brushing your teeth or eating breakfast is a ritual. We do them everyday. Some rituals are done monthly, like paying our bills or paying the rent. We do seasonal rituals like planting the garden, harvesting the fields or once a year rituals like celebrating a birthday or a holiday.

Rituals give us the opportunity to start anew, refresh and reboot our lives, our intentions or goals. Rituals can be done with simple words (like a prayer or affirmation) other rituals use tools such as incense, water, candles or oils.

Since the start of the New Year, I have participated in several rituals that many people experience… the countdown to New Years, the cleaning and sweeping of our home after the holidays and the family ritual of lighting a candle on New Year’s day.

In year’s past, I have always had the privilege of working with and studying from Ecuadorian Shamans in the upcountry outside of Quito. This year I had the great honor of working with a spiritualist/psychic, Sylvia Mendez, who privileged me with a sacred “spiritual” cleansing, called “Levantamento” (to wake or rise up). It is basically done with prayers, candles, meditation and a cleansing bath with a special castille soap and a dowsing of a prepared herbal bath used for clearing and refreshing the mind/body/spirit.

There is not necessarily any religious or denominational beliefs one needs to do a cleansing. I do feel that a belief in a higher or Universal power is important. To realize that we are not always in control of our lives, is a humbling and moving experience. I think your own belief system can make your rituals that much more powerful!

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