Ceremony as therapy Formal ceremonies seem to be universal in human experience, addressing something very deep and basic in the human psyche. They tap into that vast subconscious reservoir of wisdom and strength that every human being possesses. To these qualities ceremonies add their own understandings of life and of God. They emphasize the presence of God in all things. The important transitions in our lives inevitably create anxietyeven happy transitions, such as weddings. We move from the familiar to the unknown. Our role in the community may change, which means that we will be treated differently. Sometimes it is our own sense of who we are that changes. We seek to live differently. All of these changes have an anxiety of their own. Ceremonies use the languages of the heartmetaphor, poetry, meditation, music, liturgy, and dramato address those anxieties. Bypassing the sterility of logic and analysis, a ceremony evokes the power to affirm and to heal that straightforward rational communication cannot touch. A ceremony has the quality of set-apartness. Something special is happening! Words spoken in a ceremony will have much more impact than those same words would have in a more ordinary context. A ceremony brings new perspective to things with which we struggle. Many ceremonies enlist the support of one’s community. The leader often represents one’s spiritual tradition, and other members of the community may be present. Even if the ceremony is done in the privacy of one’s home or of a therapist’s or pastor’s office, others are present in the participant’s imagination. Ceremonies also involve God, whose presence is acknowledged and whose blessing and support are assured. The ceremonies presented here are down-to-earth and practical. They can easily be adapted to many situations, and can stimulate the reader to create his/her own ceremonies to meet the unique needs of the persons to whom he/she ministers. Some of the ceremonies in this book are for use in a public place: weddings funerals a ceremony for grieving Others are more private, for use in a pastor’s/therapist’s office or in one’s home: adoption funeral for an aborted baby support for a rape survivor the commitment to stop smoking addressing children’s phobias leaving home forgiving another person forgiving oneself and more This book is a first! Not just a discussion about ceremonies, but a collection of ceremonies addressing a wide variety of situations! It will be innovative and insightful reading for pastors, therapists, and others for whom the languages of analysis and logic are not enough.

Meditations and Ceremonies for Healing provides its readers with easy-to-follow templates for personal growth. The meditations are based on mindfulness practices combined with general psychotherapy. This combination allows the reader to find insight into the core causes of the beliefs that you have made yourself and how these impact your everyday life. By engaging in these meditations, you will be able to heal some of the negative beliefs that you took on and gain clarity about your path and how to live a more authentic and more fulfilling life. The ceremonies portion of the book provides you with a way to mark and commemorate the events of your life whether they be actual events or changes in personal attitudes, perceptions, and insights. Many are also geared to offering ideas to bring about healing to those parts of yourself that have been hurt, that grieve, and that you wish to acknowledge and celebrate. These ceremonies are simple to execute and easy to adapt to your particular needs and spiritual path.

Steven Farmer is a best selling author, teacher, shamanic practitioner, and Soul Healer. Sacred Ceremony gives you clear and simple guidelines for designing and performing ceremonies for any purpose—from healing emotional or physical wounds to honoring important life passages and celebrating seasonal cycles. Whatever your spiritual background or experience with ceremonies, this is a book you’ll want to refer to again and again! "Sacred Ceremony is the most through, thoughtful, and accesible book on ritual ceremony that exists today. It is a treaure that can help you connect to the Source of Life, renew in times of transition, find healing and guidance, celebrate the cycles of life, and maintain a vibrant cnnection to the Sacred every day. Thank you, Steven, for compiling such a meaningful and practical guide." - Joan Borysenko, PhD.

Sacred living for each season Celebrate life: What is sacred living? It is aligning our living with the rhythms of the Earth and recognizing that those rhythms are deeply meaningful. It is living in the knowledge that we are part of something larger than ourselves. It is being grateful for life while we live it. The key to celebrating the abundance of life lies in the recognition that we are surrounded by all that is sacred. Organized by season, Rituals for Magic and Meaning offers a suggested ceremony for each day of the year and includes hundreds of simple rites, suggestions, meditations, and holiday celebrations that can make the ordinary extraordinary. Personalize your scared rituals: The culmination of a life’s work, author Cerridwen Greenleaf has poured her years of study into this guide to creating meaning in daily life. Rituals for Magic and Meaning fully explores the hows and whys behind ritual ─ allowing readers to truly master the art of creating personalized rituals. The author provides readers with a clear understanding of what makes up a ritual as well as detailed instruction on how to actually create rituals for personal growth. This book also gives readers a deeper awareness of the uses and applications of the art of rituals. Rituals for Magic and Meaning includes detailed information on: holiday rituals; seasonal rituals; designing original rituals; rites of passage and even life events such as birth, baby-naming, healing circles before surgery, “letting go” divorce rituals, graduation and weddings. Rituals for Magic and Meaning is an empowering and thought-provoking book that guides readers to the next level of their journey towards personal and spiritual growth.

An original and insightful guide to acknowledging personal change amd coping with life in transition through ritual and ceremony. Includes a set of 24 removable ceremonial cards with detailed instructions for their use. These convenient cards make it easy to create uniquely personal ceremonies for life's special occasions and trying times.

These spiritual lessons are based on Native American shamanism but fit a wide range of interests from yoga and alternative medicine to Bible study and nature hiking. Hands-on exercises, step-by-step instructions for ceremonies, and sketches by the author's wife explain how to clear spaces of unwanted energy, create simple ceremonies, connect with spirit guides and angels, and interpret symbols. An extended discussion tells how to make a medicine wheel that resembles a labyrinth and use it as an engine for distance healing. Additional ceremonies for daily living, healing the earth, and soul retrieval are also described, and the spiritual quest itself is shown to follow the process of choosing a sacred place in nature, finding a sacred place within oneself, and connecting to the inner and outer worlds. Readers are encouraged to keep a notebook about their spiritual growth and refer to the key words and suggestions for internet research that are included.

Describing various types of rituals, their myths and symbolism, and ways to create ceremonies for healing, growth, and change, this book will inspire you to honor each rite of passage in a truly personal way.

Rituals mark life'¬?s momentous and symbolic events: from special birthdays and holidays to personal affairs such as a child'¬?s first day of school or the death of a beloved pet. Over time, and as people and circumstances change, some rituals become merely habitual, losing their significance and creating a hunger for more meaningful methods of celebration. In THE ART OF RITUAL, Renee Beck and Sydney Barbara Metrick explain the power, relevance, and need for ritual, describing the various types of rituals and their myths, symbols, and history, as well as how to:Prepare, perform, and complete rituals.Integrate the five elements into ritual practice.Craft and consecrate ritual tools.Make and use altars.This revised and updated edition also includes a new healing ritual for small groups and a series of self-exploration exercises that assist with the integration of ritual into daily life. Presenting a multitude of ways to create ceremonies for healing, growth, and change, Beck and Metrick will inspire you to honor each rite of passage in a truly personal way.A guide to creating rituals, vows, and affirmations to celebrate important events, promote healing and growth, or affect change.Includes guidelines for creating personal, family, or group rituals as well as advice for crafting and consecrating tools, making an altar, and using the five elements to balance your rites.

• Marketing activity is focused on visibility in-store and online • Pre-publication mailings to special interest media, national and regional magazines, • Major focus on gift, travel, tourist sector • Mailings and promotion to Museums and galleries and local exhibitions. Shamanism is a spiritual practice that has persisted since ancient times in Siberian, Mongolian, Indian, Native American, South American, Australian and other cultures around the world. Originally shamanism developed from our tribal ancestors’ ways of exploring and working with the universal forces of the spirit worlds and interacting with them to achieve healing and balance for their communities and its members, reaching a higher state of consciousness and remarkable spiritual knowledge and skills in the process. Today, people from any walk of life can choose to follow a shamanic path to open up their life to natural healing,expansion of consciousness and personal growth. This new book is divided into two parts: first learn what shamanism is – discover the origins, background, cosmology and practices of historical shamanism, as well as the forms contemporary shamanism can take, from pure traditional uninterrupted practices to non-indigenous and urban practitioners and teachers. The world-view of shamanism is explained, along with how the spirit world is seen as existing in three tiers (lower, upper and middle), all of which have their own spirit allies (power animals, guides and teachers, and nature spirits), and the four directions of the wheel of life. Key practices such as the shamanic journey, ceremony and ritual, trance dancing, dreaming, plant medicines and working with nature energies are also described. Then, in the second part of the book, you will be introduced to the first steps in your own shamanic path: the basics of how to start; altars and daily ceremonies; exercises for connecting with your spirit guides, ancestors and nature; and transformative and healing journeys.

Every day, more people around the world are hearing about ayahuasca and awakening to transform their lives. What about you?Are you drinking ayahuasca, or thinking of drinking? Your first ceremony may be confusing, exciting, nauseating, surprising, scary, boring, or joyous. Whatever it is, every time will differ as part of a larger ongoing process. The plants, or La Medicina, are therapeutic and can stimulate an intense psychological and life-shifting spiritual journey for most people.In this practical guide, you will find must-know key details about ayahuasca. The arc of responsible use covers preparation, ceremony, and integration. You'll find best-practices and insights on:- archetypes.- relationships.- energy work.- sexuality.- related healing approaches.- the community.- what it takes to serve medicine.There is also a glossary, list of books and films to explore, and handy before/after checklists when drinking ayahuasca.This guide is by and for non-indigenous persons and modern challenges. It is the perfect companion for those who have taken one journey or twenty with ayahuasca and wish to make the most of their experiences.