I have an annual ritual (it is surely evolving into one). Every year, I sign up to hike in the remote mountains. I sign up for untried terrains to experience the unexplored. I have come to see this as my period of creative incubation. It is also when I am no one in particular, not a mom, daughter, wife, writer or coach. If anything, I am student-like, seeking the softening that surrender brings, free to wonder at things that elude me in daily life. I travel mostly with unknown people, never in-charge of choosing my travelling tribe, I fumble and flourish among strangers, I note my reaction to surprises that emerge at the core of these expeditions and I revel in them in entirety. At a physical level, these adventures come with testing terrains and hardships that I can have no prior experience of, certainly never enough training to pre-empt nature’s true nature, retiring exhausted to an unknown bed each night for days. It is exhilarating and brings me an uncommon sense of freedom.
Exhilaration (joy) and freedom are sensations that we do not experience ordinarily. In our numerous roles and the multitude of tasks, turns and bends of a day, we are, at best, able to achieve a satisfactory or fulfilling day. Being caught up as we are is far from the freedom that I allude to. My preoccupations make me want to find periods of incubation beyond this big annual ritual. What if I am able to create a few hours of that bliss daily, weekly? What kind of a ritual can I develop that can generate an hour of timeless joy, frequently?
In a blessed way, I recognised flashes of that ‘realm of experience’ even on ordinary days. These are moments that evoke silent smiles and sighs, as I would retire to bed at a day’s end. I assume such moments exist for most of us.
Timeless
These are fleeting, ephemeral moments that pass us by as we go about our daily life. We do not expect joy, so it remains intangible. But when joy occurs, it softens the impact of a day. The expression of being-in-the-zone, periods of timeless connectedness are such moments.
Joseph Campbell, one of 20th century’s most influential thinkers, alludes to a ‘sacred place’ — a space for uninterrupted reflection and unrushed creative work that each of us can ritualise to make room for joy. He talks of a ‘bliss station: a room, or a certain hour or so in a day’ into which we ought to root ourselves inviting the experience of bliss.
By doing so we are committing to being in the moment, we are signing up to a process that leads to joy.
As I said, my ritual in the mountains is annual. And I have a simpler daily ritual — that timeless period of self-connection — when I retreat to my desk, certainly once a day, to nurture and connect to the ideas bubbling at the surface of my consciousness. I write, make notes, build on thoughts or just stay with the stillness within. These moments are crystal sharp, at the exclusion of everything else, vitally connected to the life within me. They give me grounding and nourish me.
I’m thankful for my rituals that rejuvenate. I recommend you find yours to retreat into.
The author is a freelance writer, blogger, and life coach. nivedita@lifealigncoaching.com
