The Meaning Of Rituals And How They Help Us On A Daily Basis
Whether conscious or unconscious, our day to day is full of small rituals or ceremonies. They are also commonly applied in the health field.
In my grandparents ‘and parents’ house, when someone got sick and the doctor was called, the sick person was changed his clothes and bedding, and the doctor was offered water, soap and clean towels to wash.
The best was expected from his visit: finding a way to solve the problem, and that deserved a certain ritual and ceremony.
Rituals and ceremonies separate the ordinary from the extraordinary. The ceremony offers the possibility of feeling and perceiving “whatever God wants”.
We are in the hands of the doctor, but also in those of divinity, in those of nature: the best that can happen will happen. Even so, all of us, doctor and patient, will do our best.
What are rituals?
Rituals are repetitive processes. We all do various things throughout the day, like brushing our teeth or commuting to work.
They are usually performed under what some call “reverie,” an altered mental state that can be accompanied by time distortion and amnesia, as in hypnotic states. For a few moments the tensions of the day are suspended and it is disconnected.
Ceremonies are reserved for special occasions, have a specific purpose, and are consciously designed for their beneficial effect.
A space is created in which extraordinary things can happen, at least for a time.
It is possible to calmly say things that, in other contexts, could be embarrassing. Connections can be established that would not occur on a day-to-day basis.
In the blink of an eye, powerful introspection can take place during a ceremony.
What is the relationship between rituals and healing?
The human need for ceremony in relation to healing is so strong that it is, of course, part of more conventional medicine.
There is a time and a space to connect with the inner truth, restructure, change, reinvent, orient and explain life, to seek self-confidence.
Access to the world of faith and the human spirit is sought , reminding us that we are small and the universe great.
The opportunity is offered to control the situation in the event of a serious diagnosis or at risk of death, to unite family and friends in the face of the situation.
The consultation, the hospital and the operating room sometimes raise a great question about our mission in life.
The ritual and the ceremony do not imply in these cases recharges or gestures of magic, only strong traces of reality itself.
Suffering, illness and death mark and give meaning to life and health.
Faced with a serious illness, the patient needs to identify the important things that he has lost as a result of the diagnosis, and what he can gain for each of them.
It is important to get to the root of the problem, to know the medical history well and at the same time look for a way out, but it is the patient who must understand and take control.
