As humans, we are the species that operates on symbols. Other animals use familiar signs, landmarks, and gestures that we give them, or they act purely on instinct. Like humans, they too have rituals of gathering food, procreation, and even rituals of death. Our normal day-to-day rituals include showering, combing our hair, brushing our teeth, and getting ready for work.
Early in the morning, take ten deep breaths in gratitude for waking up to a new day, under a whole new sky with opportunities to start over with a different attitude: one of gratitude. Every action you take in the ritual has profound meaning and impact. Even if you don’t perceive it on a physical level, it has astral power. There are many invisible forces, whether earthly or angelic, who participate with you by invitation and invocation. They are there, always watching and participating when the intention is correct. I always invoke the forces or angels of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
The subconscious mind understands and accepts symbols and ritual as very real and will reflect that reality on the physical level in its experience. The purpose of the ritual is to achieve a balance in spiritual achievement, be it psychic development or the attainment of Christ or Cosmic Consciousness. Only you can achieve and master the perfection of your spiritual goals. Prayer, chanting, meditation, and ritual are ultimately performed to achieve oneness with the Divine.
For true spiritual growth, practice is the key and so is perseverance. If you are a Christian this week and a Wiccan next, then “Houston, we have a problem.” Why? Because the rituals and symbols fed with actions and beliefs must be consistent so that they are actualized.
If you read the sacred text of the Bible, you will find that Jesus frequently declared: “Let it be done to you according to your faith.” What a tremendous example of divine conduct, discipline, and unconditional love Jesus was, through the use of rituals, symbols, and prayer. When ritual and symbols became too theological and extreme, he rejected the priests of the time and attached importance to the correct action: the supreme ritual.
Unfortunately, many well-meaning “religious” people in traditional beliefs have spiritually shipwrecked by one-sided belief systems “my way.”
Prayer is a ritual and a “link” with the Divine. Buddha also rejected the fussy and intensely cerebral ritual of the Hindus during his time, replacing them with his EIGHT-fold PATH to enlightenment:
1. Right view
2. Correct objective
3. Correct speech
4. Correct action
5. Right livelihoods
6. Right effort
7. Right thinking
8. Right contemplation
Find the religion and ritual that you feel most comfortable with. Don’t judge yourself. God knows who you are and will help you in your search. No religion works for personal growth unless it is intended to act correctly. You cannot love God and hate your neighbor. Divided kingdoms don’t last. You cannot hate the sinner and love the sin or judge anyone. Unconditional love is the key.
In my studies of Wicca, or “Crafts” of the sages, I discovered that it is an amazing belief system, that out of reverential respect for the beauty, consistency and color of nature – in the light of the sun, the moon, the storms, stars and rivers – -Evolved in the various aspects of God (gods), or Divine aspects of God. God could not have existed without the Goddess or the Great Mother. Many of the great religions of the earth have been greatly influenced by Wicca, including Christianity. For example, there is a statement in the Bible that states “As above, so below.” That is an old Wiccan saying. I saw a bumper sticker and repeated it to several Wiccan clients that said, “Christianity has pagan DNA.” Wicca is a peaceful religion that respects life and nature. Anything that does not promote peace, balance, love, and respect for all sentient beings and oneself is not good practice.
The ritual is necessary to awaken deeper levels of your own consciousness. You use everything: sense, visions, chants, fragrances or any number of signals that you evoke to deepen your own awareness and contact your levels of awareness to make change happen in you and in your world. Rituals are not unconscious exercises of the mother to effect change. You must be aware and disciplined for change to occur. There is a thin veil or membrane between physical life as we know it and spiritual reality.
It should be our common goal that despite our differences and affiliations, we must provide positive, combined sources of spiritual energy and inspiration to renew our lives on the planet for all, despite our differences. From an esoteric perspective, the ritual is designed to successfully impact spiritual growth, understanding, and commitment to God while in your body on the planet. The ritual is to remind you of your integral part in the mysterious continuum of life that is much larger than this reality. Your organic self-observation of who you are allows you to participate in the ritual only on that level. However, you will bridge and accelerate reality on the astral plane, with practice, to remove the barrier or restrictive falsehood between you and what we call God. God loves you whether the ritual is a simple prayer or an advanced exercise in magic or Wicca. It is your intention. As a human being, it is difficult to achieve mastery in all aspects of your life. But please master the daily ritual of a grateful heart, a loving smile, a greeting to a neighbor, and a song to the Universe.
The ritual aligns us with the power of God, the supreme consciousness. Once alignment is achieved, there is a breakthrough in understanding on all levels and it will evoke material transformation in your character. We all have that ability and we are linked on the Path of Energy to who God is, whether through salvation, mediumship, meditation or telepathy; It is up to you to find it, and you will.