Creating Rituals - Reverb14 - Day 11

Dear friends,

Today's prompt is one that sings to my soul!  Rituals.
 
What tiny rituals: signal that your day is starting; help you ease into a creative project; give you closure from an intensive task; or mark other significant milestones in your day? What new rituals would you like to create in the new year?

One of my favorite morning rituals to start my day is my 1st cup of tea.  It's usually English Breakfast with a tsp. of local raw honey.  I put it in my favorite mug - one that my friend Ellen who's a master potter gave me for my birthday.  I sit down with my cup when I start writing my morning pages and it is usually still with me as I type on my blog and take a peek at Facebook.  I love tea!  I love the first cup and the clarity caffeine provides.  I love holding a warm cup in my hand.  

This picture was taken Oct. 17th

 Before sunrise as the new day is dawning I pop outside on my back deck and sometimes walk down into my back yard to say my morning prayers.  This is my time to connect with Mother Earth and all those in the web of creation.  I have belonged to a women's group and prayer web for over 16 years and this practice gives me such a feeling of connection with God/Great Spirit and I feel the difference it makes in my day when I skip this step.


Rituals I like to use to ease into creative projects include hooking up my mind, body and spirit with InterPlay!

I usually do a warm up which includes getting in touch with my body spirit and then I do a quick dance to loosen me up (as a recovering serious person this is often needed before a project) and get my creative juices flowing :)  I love using Karen Drucker's music for this!

If I'm closing up an intensive task I usually "shake it out."  It's a way to exform that InterPlay taught me (not Taylor Swift but her song is super fun)- super simple - I literally shake it out of my body with a hand shake, leg shake and maybe even a bootie shake to shake out what I was sitting on!

I use deep breathing in and breathing out (allowing noises with a sigh) as a simple but moment taking ritual to mark significant steps during the day.

What new rituals do I want to create in the new year?

This year at our new home and in our "secret" back yard I want to create/build a Labyrinth.  I want to have a place where we can do walking meditations and prayers.  Even as I type this I am getting that flurry of excitement that builds.   I want to add the ritual of walking the Labyrinth once a day to my routine in 2015.

What rituals do you want to create this year?  I'd love to hear about them.

Wrapping you around with infinite love and the sacred,

Christine

P.S.

Here is the bottle of wine we could afford when we visited the Silver Oak Winery in Napa Valley :)  This ornament reminds me of a beautiful trip to visit my sister with the whole family (including my Papa & Nanny) the Christmas of  1999.