Why do we have rituals such as weddings, baby namings and funerals?

Rituals are a way to mark significant touchpoints in our lives. Rituals unite us in a common experience and confirm our shared interest in the outcome. This is no more important than in a marriage ceremony.

Rituals help us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, to celebrate what otherwise goes unmentioned, to close the door on the past or open to the future.

Walter Wink, Theologian

1. Rituals serve as a bridge between our outer and inner worlds, and between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

2. Rituals provide us a sense of belonging.

3. Rituals connect us with nature and the seasons.

4. Rituals provide us with a sense of renewal.

5. Rituals provide an ongoing way to structure our lives.

6. Rituals give us a way to connect to family, past and present.

7. Rituals remove us from the ordinary flow of life and place us in symbolic space.

8. Rituals help us access our authentic selves by carrying us to deeper levels of consciousness.

9. Rituals provide the essential tools for co‐creating our own lives.

10. Rituals give our lives a sense of meaning and purpose.

11. Rituals that mark “rites of passage” – major turning points – help us connect the dots.

Rituals are a great part of our life. They express feelings that we have that would be beyond words to express. Human beings have used rituals as a means of meeting the most frightening, the most joyous moments of their lives, probably ever since they have been humans.

James Dillet Freeman, Poet & Author