Honoring Yourself – An End of the Year Ceremony

In these modern and scientific times we often forget about the importance, power and benefit of ceremony in our lives. Ceremony connects us to who we really are, our earth, and our hearts. They’ve been around since humans have existed as far as historians can determine – and for good reason. They satisfy something in our souls, something that has nothing to do with our ego-minds.

It’s so easy for us to defer to our minds for advice in life since we’ve been trained to rely on our mental processes. But it’s a lot more challenging for us to look deeply into our hearts and feelings. That’s where ceremony comes into play. Through ceremony we bypass the mind and travel to a deeper, more profound place in our being. It allows us to focus our intent and desires and can be used to fortify our faith in ourselves and spirit.

Although the holidays we currently celebrate were originally ceremonial in nature, they have unfortunately become more like commercial events than expressions of gratitude. As a result, many of these ceremonies have lost their power and beauty. Even prayer can become rote and bereft of meaning if not constantly renewed. That’s why it’s important to get creative in your ceremony to make it enjoyable, meaningful and powerful.

I have personally used ceremony in my life to celebrate many important turning points, especially since I have been on my spiritual path – and this is why. Normally we are quick to berate ourselves for the things that have gone wrong in our lives according to our judgment. But how often do we celebrate the things that we feel are a blessing? Rarely! For example, maybe you quit smoking, which is wonderful – but perhaps you gained a few pounds. So instead of being happy for your accomplishments, you insult yourself for gaining weight. Wouldn’t it be nicer to create a ceremony for yourself in honor of ending one unhealthy habit – rather than supporting your other unhealthy habit of self-depreciation?

Let’s say you were finally able to forgive your ex-partner for having an affair. Wouldn’t it be nice to create a ceremony around how much you learned and grew within that relationship now that your focus is off feeling victimized? The idea is to allow your ceremony to focus on the blessings of your time together, rather than your judgment of their behavior. One way to do this would be to burn a picture of you and your partner symbolizing you moving on, or by burying something that represents what you are letting go of or forgiving.

Another example could be – creating an altar in your home to place important items upon which represent where you want to focus your intent and attention. But whatever you decide to do, do it in your honor with love, respect and kindness. This is my year-end ritual: At the end of every year, I light a 7-day religious candle on my altar to celebrate all I learned, all the love I have given and received, and for my gratitude of all I have. And that is simply glorious.

With all my blessings & love, Sheri
Toltec Teachings & Toltec Wisdom based on don Miguel Ruiz & The Four Agreements®: Sheri Rosenthal