In the Temple we are developing certain rituals, study hours, perspective discussions, and Knighting rituals. For a religion /way of life that is so young we are well on our way to forming rituals that give our members something to look forward to. One of the discussions that occurred touched on the fact that some (or many) of us are developing Force related rituals like memorizing the Doctrine with help of bead chains, meditating to clear our minds to find direction and guidance and zoom meetings to bond with each other and meditate. There are many ways of finding your own way in how you create your own rituals at home and here. But let's dig a bit deeper into what a ritual is:
Research identifies three elements of a ritual. First, it consists of behaviors that occur in fixed succession – one after another – and are typified by formality and repetition. Repetition being the key to obtain visibility as a group activity or on your own.
Secondly, the behaviors have symbolic meaning. The Knighting ceremony is created to let everyone know the milestone you have reached. The post in the forum is about a person finishing their Associates, Bachelors or Master's degree in Divinity signifies a milestone of completion.
Lastly, these ritualized behaviors generally have no obvious useful purpose. Meditating seems especially useless in some people's eyes because the results are nearly not visible, and yet i have seen people calm down, be more reasonable after being consistent in taking this time for themselves to reflect. I have felt more included after a Zoom meeting, people have felt a connection through the Force making prayer beads. So even if it's not obvious, rituals can add joy to our life. And their sense of security.
When the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski visited the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea in the early 20th Century, he noted the elaborate preparations fishermen would make before setting out to sea. They would carefully paint their canoes with black, red and white paint, chanting spells as they did so. The vessel would be struck with wooden sticks; the bows stained with red ochre and crew members would adorn their arms with shells.
Malinowski recorded a long list of ceremonies and rituals the islanders would perform before venturing out onto the open sea. But when the fishermen went out into the nearby calm lagoon, they did not use these rites. Malinowski concluded that the "magic" rituals performed by the islanders were a response to help them cope with the unpredictable might of the Pacific Ocean.
People pray and meditate because it comforts them, because life is unpredictable, scary and you can feel alone. Rituals can add to the feeling of belonging to something bigger than you, to each other, to the presence of the Force. You are not alone.
What rituals do you have in your life? Do they bring you comfort?
