Today is the start of a 4-day long weekend. There are a number of ceremonies connected to this weekend. Some ceremonies come from ancient observations of the full moon following the equinox.
Some refer to ancient texts of God, the Passover, Jesus and the Cross.
Some ceremonies are connected with Northern Hemisphere change of season with flowers, bunnies, and eggs. Some of our Australian ceremonies include camping, family gatherings, time on the water and changing of seasons to dry or cold.
This month’s reflections have been about Sacred Ground. It included testing our loyalty stories and the idea of ‘Sacred Grounding’ as an action. We also explored how ‘Everywhere is Somewhere’ and how ‘We Can Make Our Spaces Sacred’.
This weekend, as part of the culmination of Sacred Ground, and in relation to ceremonies, I encourage you to take a moment to pause at a place and conduct a ceremony.
Use these 3 elements to reconnect with land
Using these three elements, I invite you to reconnect with land through a simple act of ceremony.
1. A moment
Take a moment of your time that suits you to be focused and intentional. It should be a moment when you are not likely to be distracted. Be intentional.
2. A place
Choose a place that has meaning or connection for you. It should be a place that you have an existing sense of connection and makes you feel like you’re welcome and comfortable to be there. Place matters.
3. A ceremony
Use the soles of your feet or the palms of your hands to make contact to the land with meaning and purpose. Be still.
Take some deep breaths and think about why and how this place is special to you. Appreciate that you have freedom and opportunity to be there. Reflect on how you can be more intention and responsible for the care of the land and waters that you feel so connected to.
By acting with intention to take a moment to pause at a place and conduct a ceremony, we are creating neural pathways. Our brain sets a pathway to ‘remember’ this moment and place through the senses activated in ceremony. The more we repeat this ceremony, the deeper the neural pathways.
In the spirit of my dad’s tendency to casually drop pearls of wisdom, he would say that science has discovered sacred grounding.
We believe the country needs to ‘know’ you. It is important to make connection and be intentional about our care and responsibility for places that are special.
Through this simple ceremony, we can make a special connection to places that are special to us and enter into an ancient ceremony together in our modern times.
I hope you can take something from this to help you feel more ‘at home’ this weekend.
Be encouraged and encourage others.