Forgetting who we are and our own basic goodness is part of the human experience.
Life erupts. We react.
Things don’t go our way. We resist how life is.
We feel enmeshed in chaos and seek control.
Separated from our true nature, we react in ways that don’t reflect our truth.
Think about what happens when someone famous makes the news for a transgression they committed.
What do they inevitably say in their apology statement?
Often, there’s a sentence that sounds like this:
That’s not who I am.
Translation:
That action that I did impulsively doesn’t represent my values and my true character. It was a reaction, sparked by the circumstances.
That’s not who I am.
So this is what we do. We act out. We separate from our true nature.
This can happen on a weekly basis — if not daily. It often occurs as a habit — an automatic response to a trigger than happens below the level of our conscious thought.
Reactions are not rational; they are habitual.
The question is: how do we return to our true nature?
If you’re Jewish, the high holidays — Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur — offer an annual moment to turn from your reactive, habitual ways. But they come only once a year.
We need methods and processes that can help us return to ourselves in any place and time.
The Role of Ritual
This is where rituals play a big role.
One of the functions of a ritual is to stop time.
Ritual create space in time. They slow us down enough to see ourselves in our reactions. Through ritual, we introduce a pause in the hustle of daily life. Rituals help us create awareness of what we are doing and how we are being, so that we can change.
Awareness is the first step to change. Once we have awareness, ritual helps us bring intention to our actions.
3 Rituals to Return to Yourself
Here are three of my favorite rituals to return to myself:
(1) Music
There’s a reason why movies have soundtracks, why television shows have theme songs, and why almost every fitness class has a playlist: everything we do goes better to music.
Music has the power to move our emotions and change our state. The right song at the right time can transport us into another world, and help us come back to our true identity.
Tip: Create a playlist that reminds you of who you are in your truth, and play it as necessary.
(2) Movement
It’s likely that once you start to play your favorite songs, you’ll naturally start to move. Sometimes, the movement comes first. Either way, they go together like peanut butter and chocolate.
Movement takes me out of my head, where thoughts want to keep me trapped in a limiting identity, and into my body.
The movement can be formal, like a yoga practice. Or it can be spontaneous, like dancing or shaking out your body. It can be a walk or a run or a weight-lifting session. You can skip around the room.
Just as long as you’re getting into your body and out of your mind.
(3) Meditation
Meditation can come through many forms — and need not involve sitting still. Here are 3 different types of meditation practice:
- *Movement*: A practice like yoga is a moving meditation.
- *Sound*: sound baths are an easy access point for meditation for people who “can’t sit still.”
- *Guided*: a form of meditation where you can react to commands from someone else, taking you out of your thoughts.
After some time in any one of these rituals, or in any other ritual, my fight-or-flight response shuts off, and I remember who I am.
What ritual or space helps you return to your truth?
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