The Power of Ritual

Finding peace in daily rituals

People often don’t believe me when I say I enjoy doing the dishes. I genuinely do enjoy it though. It is the ritual, the routine of clearing up a mess at the end of the day. It always makes me feel good.

I like getting my hands in the soapy water and the feeling of washing away the mess off the dirty dishes. It reminds me of the Zen Koan;

“Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.” — Zen Kōan(Source)

This Koan speaks of mindfulness, of enlightenment being achieved through being present in a moment. Of being aware and grounded in the action of the moment. To feel great joy in doing what you’re doing.

Definition of koan: a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into gaining sudden intuitive enlightenment. — Source

How doing this daily ritual helps me

The ritual of doing the dishes helps me to feel calm and purposeful. It helps to ground me in reality. I don’t feel this way about all household chores, but washing the dishes is a chore I enjoy. A ritual I am grateful for.

My favorite definition of the word ritual I could find was this one.

“Ritual: a ceremonial act or action.” — Source

I like this definition because I feel doing the dishes to many people wouldn’t be typically classed as a ritual. To me the task is very ceremonial though, it helps me to close off the day with a feeling of accomplishment and purpose. It allows me to gather my thoughts and wind down, connect to my senses and be present.

I have had moments of enlightenment too whilst doing the dishes. Breakthroughs and realizations when I have been completely present in the practice, completely immersed in the task at hand.

So what does this have to do with gentleness?

When I was thinking about the way I integrate gentleness into my life I realized one way is through mindful discipline and engaging in rituals.

Whether that be the unconventional ritual of washing the dishes or some of the more conventional rituals I like to practice such as morning journaling, Learning tarot and using oracle decks or simply lighting candles or incense.

The rituals I use are all very personal and meaningful to me and they help me find joy in the simplest of actions or activities. Many of these actions are my version of meditation too.

They enable me to be present and clear the endless stream of thoughts and ideas flowing through my mind.

The rituals I engage in allow me to integrate the energy of gentleness more into my life. They help me to get into a state of flow.

What rituals do you practice in your life?

The great thing about rituals is that they are all unique to each of us. We can choose to bring more of the rituals we enjoy into our everyday lives and they often have the power to make the mundane incredibly powerful and even magical.

It also got me thinking about what other things in my life whether they be conventional or unconventional could be looked at as rituals, classed as ceremonial acts and mindfulness exercises.

What rituals do you practice in your life and how do they allow more gentleness to seep into your reality?

Please feel free to share more about your rituals and any thoughts about this in the comments below.