Ritual

When a sharper focus is needed or a challenge needs to be met, humans often indulge in ritual. Rituals are dangerous because they so easily become a deliberate and grim routine but they can also be comforting and surprisingly effective. The bad side of ritual can be observed in the career of Mike Hargrove. Dubbed “the human rain delay,” Hargrove went through a routine/ritual before every pitch. Wikipedia describes it step by step: “it consisted of 1) adjusting his helmet, 2) adjusting his batting glove, making sure it was tight on his hand and especially the thumb, 3) pulling each sleeve on his uniform up about an inch and 4) wiping each hand on his uniform pants …and then repeating the whole process again.”

It is clear that rituals can become absurd very quickly and become a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder in an instant. Ironically most people need them to be happy.

As a young man I was buried in rituals. Ritual prayer and readings and prescribed, time based activities were the order of the day. In the ensuing years, I have combatively resisted anything that even looked like a ritual. Lately things have changed.

I have come to need a certain element of ritual to give context and a sense of well-being. I agree with novelist Pat Conroy who observed, ” the human soul can always use a new tradition. ” I have tried on a few new rituals and have adopted a few that were tested. The first is the morning 10 minute sit. For ten minutes before I subject my wife-and the world- to my glorious presence, I breathe quietly as an entering device. I also scrub the sleep from my eyes and dedicate the day to peace. I add a seven word mantra.

A second ritual is the ten minute cool off. When upset or anxious I will spend ten minutes thinking about the dynamics of the situation and my role in the event.

I am still shopping for other rituals that may be sustaining …always aware of the fact that too many rituals will slow up the game. A further benefit is the fact that rituals of this type are active and I do not get to sleep in a cloud of incense as sutras are read.

Ritual can surely be an ally on a spiritual quest. Hopefully I will pick good ones that don’t delay the game.