Humans love ritual. If you've any doubt about this just look around. Not just religious rituals, but those of celebration, those of remembrance, and even rituals whose original meaning has faded in the mists of time (anybody here touch wood?).Following on from my post in February 09 regarding becoming a Taoist I've come to realise that for many people the act of formally "becoming" a Taoist is something that may need to be marked by some form of ritual to feel "real." So if you feel you want to have some kind of ceremony or ritual, what sort of ceremony or ritual should you have?
I'd recommend that you come up with your own, but if you're short of inspiration or you'd like something prepared in the spirit of what it is to be a Taoist, how about the following?....
Take a bottle of water (water is after all a recurring symbol in Taoism, and of course relates to the name of this site!) and something to eat and find a quiet place to sit surrounded by nature - maybe a wood or a park. If you think it's important to take some friends, do it; if you don't think it's necessary, don't bother.
- Say "from this point on I am a Taoist and I seek to achieve harmony with the Tao."
- Sit and listen to the sounds around you.
- See nature all around.
- Smell the scent on the air.
- Feel the wind, sun or rain on your skin.
- When you feel thirsty, take a drink.
- When you feel hungry, eat the food.
- When you tire of sitting & experiencing nature - get up and do something else.
2 comments:
It's almost not that you become a Taoist- it's more you seetle into what's right.
At least that's how I see it.
Yes it's strange isn't it. More like a coming home. The strangest thing for me about becoming a Taoist was that I already was one, but just didn't know it.
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