To be conscious is to be aware. To not merely be surviving or existing but to be deeply aware of what is around us, to perhaps feel that larger forces are at play, whatever that may mean to us. To be conscious is to be authentic and live a life full of meaning—at times, transcending words – to be conscious of all the emotions and complexity of these times in life and to process these times of passage completely.
Our lives are a series of transitions.
We go to school and graduate, many of us enter into committed relationships and perhaps marry. We may have children of our own, adopt, or create a blended family. We create homes, build businesses. Sometimes, we leave relationships and create separate lives. We leave careers, perhaps retiring or reinventing ourselves. Eventually, for all of us, we leave the physical form and move on to whatever is next.
Take a moment and consider all the transitions you have gone through in your time on earth. Do they feel complete to you? How often do you revisit a period in your life for closure, or for deeper meaning or understanding? It is never too late to complete a transition, but during the transition, we also have an opportunity to acknowledge, honor, and contemplate all the complexity of the moment.
For many of us, rituals are an important part of lives – they are a way to celebrate events that have deep, personal meaning to us, that help define who we are physically, mentally, and spiritually. They allow us to embrace and take ownership of the path we’re current on, the path we’ve moved on from, or the path we’ve moved on to, in a conscious, joyful, purposeful way. Rituals of celebration move us from the usual minutiae of our everyday lives and allow us to enter a sacred space through the magical and mystical symbolism of these spiritual events.
These events can merely be blips on our life path. But they are also opportunities for deep awareness, for conscious reflection in sacred energy. We can bring deeper meaning to these times by marking them in special ways, in large groups and families, or in more intimate settings. These are opportunities to honor, to integrate new, and to release old, marking special events in the ceremony of life.
- Conscious Weddings and Commitments: Weddings are a joyous occasion, yes! But they also change the identity of the people entering the marriage. Each now takes on an identity as the partner of another, their parents’ identity changes, and the wedding ceremony marks the creation of a new couple, with a new way of being in the world. To honor the joy of a wedding is easy, but to also honor and be present for the myriad of emotions that can be part of these changes is to honor being human.
- Family Changes: Adding family members, moving homes, uncoupling, and co-parenting are times of great stress, sadness, joy, love, and excitement, sometimes all at the same time. Awareness and honoring of all these emotions in ways that allow us to consciously complete and move on to what is next.
- Personal Growth: Birthdays, job and career changes, retirement or reinvention, relocation, and times of uncertainty when we are on the edge of the unknown are all opportunities to honor with grace and compassion.
- Loss and Life Celebration: The one event we all experience is loss. Whether honoring the loss of a loved one or preparing for our own transition from this life, doing so consciously, with deep awareness, affords the opportunity to process the complexity of emotions and feelings that accompany this time.
Ultimately, can we show up to everyday life with the same intention, reverence, and presence as we do special events in our lives? To do so, we open opportunities to deepen our consciousness, to see the miracles and gifts in the everyday moment. Imagine bringing the sacred—in whatever way that means to you—into each moment, each milestone, honoring this journey that is life and all it offers us.
Ordained by One Spirit Interfaith Seminary and certified as an Interspiritual Counselor, Lauri offers spiritual counseling in person in her Bethany location, The Liminal Studio, as well as by phone and Zoom. Grounded in mindful practices and with a lengthy corporate career, Lauri is uniquely qualified to companion others as they navigate careers while searching to live authentically. She creates and officiates life event ceremonies, including weddings, partnership commitments, and celebrations of life.
You can learn more about her at: www.lauriingram.com, email her at: [email protected], or call 203.435.5650.