Rituals are intentional, symbolic, elevated acts.
Whether personal or professional, silly or serious, individual or communal, secular or spiritual, rituals are simple yet powerful tools for deepening the experience of life.
Slow Down
Rituals disrupt the automatic and habitual, slowing us down to be more conscious, present, and grateful.
Embody values
Rituals make the intangible tangible, creating spaces for the shared experience and expression of our values.
Connect to others
Rituals combat loneliness by connecting us to ideas and communities bigger than ourselves.
Connect across time
Rituals connect us with the past, root us in the present, and help us vision the future.
⏤ Dacher Keltner / Professor of Psychology UC Berkeley & Co-Director of the Greater Good Science Center
Rituals are fundamental building blocks for community & culture.
And yet, they’ve been left mostly unexamined in our secular lives. Meanwhile, social isolation and hyper-individualism are increasing. Communal, consumer, and employment landscapes are shifting. Our cultural institutions are in jeopardy, our civic institutions are under siege, and the natural earth is in full-blown crisis. Better rituals would help. Science agrees.
Studies have shown that rituals increase:
Stable feelings of social connection
Motivation, engagement, and bonding
Feelings of control in times of uncertainty
Pleasure and satisfaction (aka gratitude)
Performance ability by decreasing anxiety
But if you scrolled past all of the above, here’s the whole page in 13 words:
⏤Dr. Isabel Behncke / evolutionary & behavioral scientist, TED Fellow
A more connected, conscious, compassionate world is possible.
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