Anamchara - The Value of Ritual

Let me explain my approach to the practice of ritual. For me ritual is an act of presence. It is presenting myself fully in this moment. It is bringing focused attention to what is now. This is assisted by symbols and representations that I imbue with meaning. This is a feeling engagement with what is of real value in this life.

In my Home I have an altar.

On this altar I place various things of import to me. These are representations of energies I value greatly. There is a representation of a Buddha. There is a representation of Quan Yin. Quan Yin is a representation of the Goddess of Infinite Mercy. There is also incense and there is a candle. None of these are the real flow of wisdom and compassion. To feel this flow one needs a human body. These symbols are there to serve as an aid to remind me to awake from the sleep of unawareness.

This altar is there to remind me of the experience of alteration.

This is not because "I am" needs altering but that "me" who feels separate from LOVE needs to come Home. When I gaze upon this altar these representations of energies remind me to drop judgement. They remind me to drop the discursive mind. They remind me to be in this body and to breathe in and out. They remind me that I am gifted the experience of eternity in the ever flowing present.

My main ritual of the day is writing.

This is sometimes engaged in when propped up in bed. This happens during spring and summer. In the wintertime I go to the small living room to sit before the fire. This sitting is done with full attention. As I engage with this exercise a reverence falls and quietude descends. I am making preparation for entering that other room. This is the room of presence. This is the room of flow.

The practice of ritual offers you many things. When beginning a ritual practice it is common for us to grasp. We enter the practice of ritual with the idea of achievement or we may engage with it with the possibility of atonement for something termed sin.

We are told if we dutifully practice our daily ritual we can have presence, we can have flow, and we can have joy. "Me thinks," this is great. "Me" thinks this is something to have. Just think of all the benefits. More friends. More sex. More success and of course more money. This is the focus that "me" brings to the experience of reverence. This is you and "me." We all do it. I do it.

Ritual is like learning to ride a bike. We do it by learning how not to do it. Then one time the knack happens.

When we are told not to grasp at presence or flow we often feel confused. Some of us feel guilt. We want this experience and yet we cannot have it because we want it. You have to let go of wanting it for you. When you are looking for it you get over anxious. Just practice the ritual without attachment to results. Just be in love with the action. This will be the way into the other room.

Ours is a results orientated society.

We are all seeking to gain this or gain that. We are all collectors. Mostly we collect other people's ideas, beliefs and opinions. This is what we call our life. We collect our experience and we collect our memories. This is who we then believe we are.

We then become an accumulation of experience we call "me." This "me" writing this page is named "Tony Cuckson." I often think that this name and the fifty-three years experience of life is who I am. I am a collector of all the thoughts and feelings I have accumulated. I have those attributes that I like and those I do not. This then becomes the package named Tony Cuckson. Some people like this package and others do not. In between there seem to be myriad possibilities.

We all want results for our efforts. However, you cannot make God a result. You cannot make love a result. You cannot make the eternal a result. Once y