Ceremony

I awake this morning aware that it is Sunday, the designated day of rest in Christian tradition - although the "rest" part, at least, is not so much in currency these days.

Later today, I'm going to join my Arica community for a Black Earth, which is a ceremony to honor the life of someone who has died, and support them in their journey through the Bardo. My dear friend Emmet has just passed through that veil and I know it will give me comfort to celebrate his extraordinary spirit with others who love him.

I'm lying here in bed thinking about how important it is to give the time and create the space for ceremony in our lives.

Some speak of "Life as Ceremony", and a few bold souls even of "Work as Ceremony", meaning living a life of conscious intent, a desire to keep love for all of Life at the center of who we are and what we do. Sue Blondell, aka Lightning Dove, speaks about life as ceremony in terms of Beauty:

"Living Life as Ceremony means bringing our full awareness to the beauty and blessings that are offered to us in every moment of every day.  It means choosing to have the eyes to see,  the ears to hear, and the willingness to open all our senses to the voice of Spirit and Mother Earth with the intention of living as our Highest Selves and taking actions that support Life versus diminish Life."

I share Dove's passion and as part of my own practice of "giving back" to Life, I have been hosting monthly online Elemental Ceremonies through Digital+ Earth Wisdom with my friends and colleagues FireHawk and Pele.

On September 1st, FireHawk and I are taking what we have been learning to host a 2 1/2 hour online practicum for those who share our conscious intent to honor Life and Beauty in our lives and work. It's called (Co)Creating Ceremony in the Digital Realm: A Practicum. It will be a ceremony in itself, but also a practicum, because we are inviting the wisdom and knowledge of the group to show up; to inform and deepen our collective understanding of ceremony and how to evoke it for ourselves and each other, online and off. I'm very excited about what we are planning, and if the invitation resonates with you, you are most welcome to join us (see the above link for more information and registration).