Nov 27, 2023

Rituals are the formulas by which harmony is restored. --Terry Tempest Williams

How Rituals Support Us
"I dont know if I could have survived seven years of my childhood without the soul-saving rituals of my Persian culture. I grew up amid the Iran-Iraq War, which killed a million people. Besides the horrors of the war, freedom of thought and expression were severely restricted in Iran after the Islamic revolution. Women bore the brunt of this as, in a matter of months, we were forced to ditch our previous lifestyle and observe a strict Islamic attire, which covered our bodies and hair. We lost the right to jog, ride a bicycle, or sing in public. Life seemed unbearable at times, but we learned to bring meaning into uncertainty and chaos by maintaining grounding practices and developing new ones..." Research demonstrates that rituals can reduce anxiety, enhance performance-- and even benefit those who don't believe in them. Ari Honorvar shares more... [more...]

Take Action:What are the rituals embedded in your own life? Take a moment to reflect on what they are, and the meaning they hold for you.