FAQs about Rites of Change:
1. What are the benefits of ritual?
2. What is the process of creating a ritual?
3. What are examples of rites of passage rituals for individuals, couples, and families?
4. What’s the difference between a party and a ritual?
5. How do organizations make use of ritual?
6. Are the words “ritual,” “ceremony,” and “events” used interchangeably on this site?

1. What are the benefits of ritual?

• During times of transition in our lives, rituals help us close one door so we can open the next door fully. Rites of Change designs and facilitates rituals, ceremonies, and events which help our clients:
• Move more quickly through life transitions with deeper meaning and clarity
• Celebrate achievements
• Acknowledge, express, and resolve strong emotions
• Let go of self-limiting beliefs and whatever else is no longer needed
• Open up to what is ahead with excitement and positive anticipation

2. What is the process of creating a ritual?
At Rites of Change, we begin by talking about the circumstances of the change the client wants to honor. We listen deeply for the essence of what is important. Together with the client, we design a highly personalized ritual to match the client’s values and style. We conduct most rituals in a community of the client’s
friends, family, or co-workers.

3. What are examples of rites of passage rituals for individuals, couples, and families?
Rites of passage rituals are symbolic events that acknowledge the transition from one stage of life to another. For example, weddings are a communal celebration of a special relationship; and seasonal celebrations align us with the natural cycle of the year. The applications for ritual seem limitless. Rites of Change facilitates rituals for many life transitions, including:

• Moving from Adolescence into Adulthood
• Weddings & Commitment Ceremonies
• Welcoming Babies
• Career or Job Change
• Birthdays, Anniversaries & Other Special Occasions
• Seasonal Celebrations
• Relationship Separation & Divorce
• Personal Empowerment
• Complement to Psychotherapy
• Healings & Pre-surgery
• Releasing Anger
• Mid-life Adjustments
• Retirement, Croning & Sagings
• Death & Dying
• Grief
• Home Funerals
• Workplace Transitions

For more information, visit Rites of Passage.

4. What’s the difference between a party and a ritual?
Intention!

At a party, people gather to have a good time. At a ritual, people gather to express a shared intention by collectively focusing on a symbolic action. Rituals have planned form and structure.

A toast is an example of a ritual within the context of a party. The toast is a moment of ritual because everyone expresses a shared intention (to honor someone or something) by collectively focusing on a single symbolic action (the clinking of the glasses).

5. How do organizations make use of ritual?
Organizations go through life cycle changes such as expansions, opening new offices, mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and change in strategic direction that can eliminate positions or frustrate employees. Meaningful events that mark these transitions can alleviate or prevent low morale. Workplace transition rituals have the power to respond to employee emotions effectively and get everyone working together.

6. Are the words “ritual,” “ceremony,” and “event” used interchangeably on this site?
Yes. Individuals have different associations with these terms. At Rites of Change we want our clients to be comfortable, so we invite them to use the language they prefer.

Who Is Ellen Hufschmidt?

Ellen is the founder and director of Rites of Change.
As a ritualist for over 20 years, she has guided hundreds of individuals, families, small groups, and organizations through challenging and timely passages. Ellen helps her clients navigate change by developing symbolic acts that incorporate the whole self – body, mind, and spirit. She is a founding member of Stone Women Dancing, a consortium of women teachers dedicated to moving feminine spiritual leadership forward in the world.

Ellen’s work was born from her desire to find a language to express a deep connection to the living world. This desire led her to investigate the ancient stories and rituals of her own Celtic roots. She went on to study with shamans and spiritual leaders from Africa, Central America, and North America. These relationships confirmed her intuitive understanding of how we connect with the numinous by creating ritual acts that engage our senses.

"Each of our senses is a gateway to a place where separation melts.
Our sense gates open when:
we see something beautiful – a landscape or an altar…
we speak poetic phrases – “a time before time” or “your soft animal body”…
we smell something fragrant – orange peel, lavender, or pine boughs…
we touch something sensual – a soft rose petal, a stone, or another human being…
we taste the food and water of life – a feast with friends or a thirst - quenching drink…
we hear something real – the wind rustling in the trees or honest feelings…"

"When I interview clients I want to know what is beautiful to them: what words touch them or what music inspires them; what gateways open their hearts; what melts their separation. Because everyone’s way is different, there is no formula for the work I do, and no two rituals look alike."
- Ellen Hufschmidt

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In addition to her consulting work with individuals and small organizations,
Ellen creates large-scale ritual events that touch many communities.

• An annual ceremony for cancer caregivers sponsored by 17 health care organizations (Honoring Caregivers)
• A workplace ritual for staff morale during an unpopular internal corporate merger (Southern California Edison of Los Angeles)
• Opening and closing ceremonies for an international conference with 2000 participants (International Association of Facilitators)
• A dramatic five-day outdoor celebration of female deities from around the world with Heart Of the Beast Theater attended by over 2000 people (Illuminations)
• A year-long Rites of Passage performance program for teens from five high schools (through the Perpich Center for Arts Education)

Formal Education

• Currently enrolled in a master’s program in Human Development with a focus on ritual practices, alternative rites for death and dying, and chaplaincy certification
• The Home Funeral Accreditation Program of the Natural Death Care Project of Sebastopol, California
• Certification in Process Work Psychology from the Process Work Institute in Portland, Oregon (two-year training program)
• BA degrees in child development and business from Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Professional Teaching Experience

• Ritual as a Complementary Resource for Health Professionals
  Century College
• Healing Without Fear: Enhancing Compassion in Health Care (Accredited by the Holistic Nurses Association) Metropolitan State University
• Integrative Therapies (guest instructor)
  University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Social Work

Additional Conference Presentations

• Hospice MN (Presenter, 2005)
• Occupational Therapy Association (Presenter 2003)
• LifeDeathAfterDeath (Presenter, 1999)
• MAARCH (Minnesota Association for Alcoholism Rehabilitation and Chemical Health Annual State Convention Opening, 1997)
• Spirituality & Social Work Society (Annual Conference Opening, 1997)
• The Inner Life of Business Conference (Closing, 1996 and Opening, 1997)
• Minnesota Council on Family Relations (Presenter, 1996)

Teaching Colleagues & Project Collaborators:

• CathyAnn Beaty, Minister, InterPlay Movement and Dance Teacher
• Jan Dehler, MA, Body, Mind Therapist, Bereavement Counselor
• Diane Elliot, MA, RMT™, Dancer, Choreographer, and Rabbi
• Nancy Evechild, Psychic, teacher
• Rafala Green, Sculptor, and Public Artist
• Marilyn Habermas-Scher, Singer, Zen Priest, and Stone Women Dancing
• Marylee Hardenbergh, MA, Choreographer and Dance Therapist
• Mari Harris, Songwriter and Soloist
• Therese Jacobs-Stewart, MA, Psychologist, Author, and Stone Women Dancing
• Laura Lucas, MA, Transpersonal Psychotherapist
• Edie Meissner, MA, Organizational Consultant, and Graphic Recorder
• Karen Miller, Opera, Music and Theater Director
• Wendy Morris, MA, Community Arts Consultant
• Craig Neal, Director of Heartland Institute
• Martin Rutte, Consultant and Co-Editor of Chicken Soup for the Corporate Soul
• Martha Sanbower, MA, Psychotherapist, and Process Work Facilitator
• Judith Ragir, Zen Priest, and Stone Women Dancing
• Laurel Reinhardt, PhD, Author, Radio Show Host, and Quilt Artist
• Ellen Schultz, PhD, RN, Associate Nursing Professor
• Anna Stanley, MA, Ritual Mask Maker, and Sculptor
• Kaia Svien, MA, Special Education Teacher, Ceremonialist, and Author
• Merra Young, MSW, LICSW, Integrative Psychotherapist, Meditation Teacher, and Stone Women Dancing
• Fran Zimmerman, MA, Licensed Psychologist, and Spiritual Director

Client List

• American Red Cross, Minneapolis, MN
• CenterPoint Massage & Shiatsu School and Clinic, Minneapolis, MN
• Community Health Clinics, St. Paul, MN
• Fairview Hospital Chaplaincy Training Program, Edina, MN
• MELD: ParentingTthat Works, Minneapolis, MN
• Minnesota Waldorf School
• Pathways: A Health Crisis Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Powderhorn Phillips Cultural Wellness Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Shoreview, MN
• Southern California Edison, Los Angeles, CA
• Sustainable Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN
• TREND enterprises, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
• Women’s Cancer Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN
• WomenWell, St. Paul, MN

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Contact: ellen@ritesofchange.com for further information

Ellen Hufschmidt, Director
Rites of Change: Honoring Life Transitions
3937 21st. Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612.729.6817