Creating Ceremony in your own home can sound daunting, but it doesn’t need to be! Simple ceremonies can be really supportive and a great way to connect more deeply to the Divine, goddess, source, or whatever you call this mind blowing universal intelligence we have little capacity to comprehend!
As we are in the middle of our cold Tasmanian winter, ceremony using delicious warm and nourishing drinks is the first thing that has sprung to mind. So here we go:
A Simple Home Practice – Creating your own Ceremony
Firstly, you don’t need to be a Sharman or Priest to perform simple and beautiful ceremonies. I want you to know that YOU have what is needed WITHIN YOU to open your heart space and enter the realm of sacred. Yes, working with others can be really supportive and powerful, but I want to also remind you that you were designed for connection. You can use simple ceremony to magnify your connectedness of all things, enter sacred space and open your heart in gratitude to the divine. You can invite inner stillness and gratitude into our heart center without the assistance of a spiritual teacher.
Lets look at two ancient ceremonies for a minute to gain a tiny little insight and background.
Cacao Ceremony
Native to the Amazon rainforest, the Cacoa tree was domesticated about 5,300 years ago by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in South America. Cacao is a plant medicines that has been used for centuries. Over 4,000 years ago Cacao was being used by Maya and Yucatan cultures in spiritual ceremonies, believing the plant to be a gift from the gods. This ancient culture used Cacao to open gateways into the realm of spirit. This practice is still used today and has spread way beyond the rainforests of the Amazon.
Within various spiritual circles, this practice has been rebirthed and the marketing of Cacao has really taken off too. While Cacao is known as a powerful plant medicine, I do wonder how it’s potency is impacted when taken within our standard diet and lifestyle. I wonder just how the ancient people incorporated this medicine plant into their ceremonies? Was fasting involved for example? What sort of preparations were required and so on……
I do see great benefit today, in keeping it simple and using Cacao as way to move into the body, deepen the heart connection, connect to spirit and journey inward, all while enjoying a delicious warm chocolate tasting drink. Because the bean is sooo bitter, I love to add spices, milk and a little coconut sugar. This is one example of how we can mix up the old and new and create something for now that supports our expansion.
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Influenced by Zen Buddhism and Shinto, the Japanese Tea Ceremony supports purification (hand washing and cleansing rituals), inward reflection (meditation), connection (to environment, self and others) and inner peace. Beautifully creative, deeply meditative and meaningful.
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” Thich Nhat Hahn
And now for today we can incorporate tea into our tool kit for better living and self healing. We don’t need to know or stick to the beautiful ancient rituals and ways of practicing tea ceremonies in Japan to experience the many benefits available within a simple ceremony that we can create ourselves!
My friend has a beautiful view from her kitchen and we enjoy tea together. Sometimes we intentionally make it a sacred time of stillness and reflection. Slowing down. Immersing ourselves in the experience rather than chatting to each other. Sitting together, our hearts open with gratitude for life itself. This small yet simple practice can bring with it tears of bliss as our hearts overflow with joy for no particular reason. These are truly special times shared.
Alone, or with friends………give it a go!
Here are some tips for your own Home Practice:
Create a time and space where you won’t be interrupted. Support yourself by intentionally stepping out of the everyday and into the sacred.
Maybe light a candle, or lay a flower symbolizing this is a special time for inner reflection. Maybe use your favorite napkin or special cup. Set your intention, open your heart to source.
Immerse yourself in the experience of it all, noticing everything about it. Use your drink of choice as a doorway to your mindfulness practice, inner stillness and gratitude. Use this as a portal out of the everyday and into the realm of spirit. Embody, enjoy and give thanks.
If you want to join friends for ceremony and don’t know where to start, I can help as your facilitator. I invite you to contact me for more details. Karen 🫖
