As long as people have walked this Earth, there have been ceremonies to mark the passage of a life from one stage to another and to acknowledge the different phases of the year. Ceremony has always been part of human life. It confirms the human ability to take a happening and consciously make it important by acknowledging its significance in our life and within the scheme of things.
A wedding is one of the most important moments in a person’s life. Making it unique and special can be a memorable experience—a journey of discovery and development, leading up to an event that is one of its kind.
A ceremony is also an attempt to pay respect and homage to the world of the spirit and the unseen forces of nature that accompany us on our earthly journey.
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Conducting a birth ceremony
2008
These ceremonies mark, for example, the natural occurrence of the four major points of the year—the two equinoxes and the two solstices. The saying of grace before a meal and the setting aside of a day for the giving of thanks can be seen as a mark against familiarity and an attempt to pay back to nature and the Earth for the many gifts we receive within a lifetime. Spring rites are a celebration of the return of natural growth after the dormancy of winter; Thanksgiving is a mark of appreciation for the gifts of the harvest, and Christmas, adopted by Christianity, but celebrated for eons, is a welcoming of the light, once the shortest day has passed.
There are many different customs and ceremonies, expressed throughout history and discovered as one travels across the world. People perform many different acts to invoke the spirits and to ensure there is safety along the way.
Many rites of passage have involved pain and tests of endurance, many might seem cruel and unnecessary by our today western standards. But as we move from one stage of life to another, from childhood to adolescence and from puberty to adulthood, from middle age to old age and on towards death, marking the milestones of our history can make each stage acquire significance. If a ceremony is witnessed by others, there are many pairs of eyes adding their strength, support and power to what we are experiencing and many brains registering our struggles through the ages. Our journey through life is not a lonely one. We formed up in our mother’s womb, nurtured by her every moment of those first nine months, and later into childhood we continued to be supported by our mother and father or foster parents. We were possibly surrounded by family, friends, teachers and mentors, who shared our time, our ideas and our dreams. And even in death, which is a lonely experience, there are those who will mourn us and bury us and grieve, as we leave them behind to fulfill their own journey.
So a ceremony is an invocation and a petition, bringing people together to celebrate the passing stages of life, the time of year, or an important event. Originally these celebrations were an attempt to bring together the human and the world of the spirit, allowing them to merge and communicate for a brief time, thus initiating an enhancement and elevation that would support the human on his quest for experience, wisdom or food. Thus there are spring rites and harvest celebrations, the blessing of the crops and prayers for rain. The spirits can help us in our struggles or prevent us from fulfilling our dreams.
Spring rites are a celebration of the return of natural growth after the dormancy of winter; Thanksgiving is a mark of appreciation for the gifts of the harvest, and Christmas, adopted by Christianity, but celebrated for eons, is a welcoming of the light, once the shortest day has passed.
Throughout history humans have been accompanied on their journey by spirits and forces of nature that live in the unseen but have a major part to play in our lives. Rites of passage were designed to petition for help or to appease these forces, so that a person could enter the next stage of their journey as best equipped as possible to tackle what was to come. Elders would act as guides and advisors, accompanying and helping the young along the way, having been through the same experiences before and knowing what lies ahead. No one can live our lives for us or tell us what to do; but there is assistance available as we move through the years. So no matter what you are going through in your time, there have been millions of people who have experienced the same emotions, sensations and feelings before you. The m As ix has been different and unique, but the ingredients have been the same.
There are many different customs and ceremonies, expressed throughout history and discovered as one travels across the world. People perform many different acts to invoke the spirits and to ensure there is safety along the way.
Many rites of passage have involved pain and tests of endurance, many might seem cruel and unnecessary by our today western standards. But as we move from one stage of life to another, from childhood to adolescence and from puberty to adulthood, from middle age to old age and on towards death, marking the milestones of our history can make each stage acquire significance. If a ceremony is witnessed by others, there are many pairs of eyes adding their strength, support and power to what we are experiencing and many brains registering our struggles through the ages. Our journey through life is not a lonely one. We formed up in our mother’s womb, nurtured by her every moment of those first nine months, and later into childhood we continued to be supported by our mother and father or foster parents. We were possibly surrounded by family, friends, teachers and mentors, who shared our time, our ideas and our dreams. And even in death, which is a lonely experience, there are those who will mourn us and bury us and grieve, as we leave them behind to fulfill their own journey.
So a ceremony is an invocation and a petition, bringing people together to celebrate the passing stages of life, the time of year, or an important event. Originally these celebrations were an attempt to bring together the human and the world of the spirit, allowing them to merge and communicate for a brief time, thus initiating an enhancement and elevation that would support the human on his quest for experience, wisdom or food. Thus there are spring rites and harvest celebrations, the blessing of the crops and prayers for rain. The spirits can help us in our struggles or prevent us from fulfilling our dreams.
CEREMONIES WITH MEAING
Throughout history humans have been accompanied on their journey by spirits and forces of nature that live in the unseen but have a major part to play in our lives. Rites of passage were designed to petition for help or to appease these forces, so that a person could enter the next stage of their journey as best equipped as possible to tackle what was to come. Elders would act as guides and advisors, accompanying and helping the young along the way, having been through the same experiences before and knowing what lies ahead. No one can live our lives for us or tell us what to do; but there is assistance available as we move through the years. So no matter what you are going through in your time, there have been millions of people who have experienced the same emotions, sensations and feelings before you. The mix has been different and unique, but the ingredients have been the same.