What Ritual Makes Possible
May 18, 2026 | 4 CommentsAudio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 11:54
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are finding steadiness and connection wherever you are.
Before today’s sit, I share some thoughts about ritual and why I believe it matters so much in spiritual practice. Meditation can certainly help us sleep better, reduce stress, or become more patient. Those things are real and valuable. But when practice becomes only another item on the self-improvement list, something important can disappear.
Ritual changes the atmosphere. It reminds us that practice is not only about accomplishing something. It is also about relating to mystery, wisdom, and what I call liminal space, the space between our ordinary habits of mind and something larger.
This week, I talk about creating a personal ritual, whether that means a shrine table, lighting a candle, chanting, saying a prayer, or simply pausing. I also share details about my own daily practice and the rituals that help me feel connected and tethered to what matters most.
I would love to hear what rituals, gestures, or practices help support your own meditation life.
With love,
Susan
PS: This is also a principle I discuss in my upcoming book, Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics. Coming in June!
categorized in: meditation, open heart project
4 Comments
ThNk you for this suggestion. I have a ritual of breathwork and a stretch I do every morning before I meditate. Sometimes I forget to pay attention though. Today’s message from you will help me to remember. I have alters around my room but scattered among other collectibles. I think I will rearrange them to feel more sacred.
Ritual connects me to the sacred in this world that I forget is present. When I do a ritual I feel reconnected to the liminal. I like to engage symbols in my empty bowl ritual. I have a small ceramic empty bowl on my altar in which I place an object that symbolizes something I am worried or focused upon. I leave it there all day imagining the bowl carefully and tenderly holding space for that worry. When my attention turns to the worry, I take a deep breath and try to make that same space in myself that the bowl on my altar does. Thanks Susan for sharing this ritual passion.
Thank you that is a great idea!
Jane 🙏
Thank you so much. You remind me to complete the altar which is dispersed in two rooms. My practice could be more consistent.