Rites
of Passage |
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Rites
of Passage: Moving From Here to There
Life is made up of constant change and some change is more significant
than
others. Ritual is a way that we can acknowledge the significant
changes in our
lives. A rite of passage is an intentional process that moves us
from where we
are to where we are headed.
Rites of Change creates these ritual rites of passage to mark transitions
of significant change.
What
happens when we honor our transitions with ritual?
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- We move
through transitions more quickly.
- We deepen
their meaning.
- We reflect.
- We learn.
- We bring
others along with us.
- And we
prepare ourselves for the next new stage of life’s journey.
Sample
Rites of Passage
Moving from
Adolescence into Adulthood
Adolescents have a biological need to discover their strengths
and find community acceptance in order to mature into healthy
adult roles. This biological impulse drives young people to test
themselves to discover their inner resources, strengths and talents.
Without adult guidance this impulse can manifest as high-risk
behavior.
When youth
participate in structured rites of passage, with adult guidance,
they discover their own resources at an appropriate risk level.
The youths’ passage is complete when the adult community
witnesses and celebrates the youths’ self-discovery. |
 Rites
of Change consulting service
Rites of Change consults with parents, schools, churches,
and community centers to design rites of passage processes. These
rites of passage both satisfy young peoples’ need for self-challenge
and allow the community to recognize and appreciate its youth.
Rites of Change for eleven-year old girls and
their mothers
New Moon Magic -- For Girls on the Verge of Womanhood
retreats celebrate the richness of childhood and the transition
of puberty. A mother/daughter pair hosts these retreats. For more
information on New Moon Magic retreats visit Events
& Ceremonies
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 Weddings
and Commitment Ceremonies
Rites of Change creates highly personal ceremonies that
reflect the unique circumstances and values of each couple
- A couple
with children from previous marriages wanted to consciously
blend their families, so we designed a ceremony that involved
and honored their children
- A couple
cleared the way for a successful marriage by symbolically letting
go of past mistakes
- A young
lesbian couple considered themselves, “social change in
action,” yet they wanted to meet their parents’
wish for a traditional wedding. We created a ceremony that balanced
these different desires
- Other
couples have created personalized ceremonies that reflect their
own spiritual values.
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| Welcoming
a baby through a Fairy Arbor |
Welcoming
Babies
When
a baby is about to be born in the Dagara Tribe of Burkina Faso,
the community gathers in the birthing room on the other side of
a curtain. At the sound of the baby’s first cry, the community
begins to sing to let the baby know it has arrived at the right
place.
A welcoming
ceremony to bless a baby is one of the first ways we provide emotional
stability and security for our children. Rites of Change weaves
together a welcoming ceremony for the newborn that honors all
the faith traditions, cultural heritages, and spiritual beliefs
in the family. This ceremony creates a beautiful, strong fabric
to hold the sanctity of the child for years to come. |
Career or Job
Change
A career or job change can be a time of soul searching, sacrifice,
and patience. Sometimes we leave a career in order to align ourselves
with our life purpose. Sometimes we leave a career when it was
not our choice. Rites of Change creates symbolic events to acknowledge
the importance of a career change. These rituals help us grow
in understanding ourselves, our responsibilities, and our relationship
to the environment and the world.
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| Leading
a procession for a special occasion |
Birthdays,
Anniversaries & Other Special Occasions
Birthdays
and anniversaries can be wonderful times to initiate or reflect
on change.
- A birthday
ritual can be a time for family and friends to let us know how
much we are loved and appreciated.
- Special
occasions are times of leaping into new adventures, celebrating
accomplishments, or looking forward into the future.
- Anniversaries
can be a time to renew vows, review history, or value the past
in order to add meaning to the present.
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| Making
Animal rattles for a New Year’s celebration |
Seasonal
Celebrations
Each
season has a unique magic and meaning. The agrarian roots of seasonal
meaning pre-date our contemporary religious holidays. We experience
stress when our lives are cut-off from nature’s rhythms
and the cycle of the seasons.
We reduce stress when we participate in seasonal celebrations
that connect us to nature’s rhythms, align us with the seasonal
flow of energy, and attune us to the cycle of the year.
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Relationship
Separation & Divorce
When a relationship is ending, we feel the pain of break-up even
more intensely without a structure to respectfully say good-bye.
We are often clouded with resentment, hurt, guilt or anger. When
we use a ceremony to create a clean parting, we open the way for
healing ourselves. Rites of Change facilitates uncoupling
ceremonies for both couples and individuals. |
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Personal
Empowerment
We
can feel both excited and reluctant when we open ourselves up
to more personal power in our lives.
- Ritual
energizes our intention to empower ourselves.
- Ritual
affirms the hard work that leads to our empowerment.
- Ritual
deepens our ability to flourish in our newfound power.
Rites
of Change conducts personal empowerment ceremonies to help
our clients let go of old beliefs and old identitiesand to invite
and claim the beauty of true personal power.
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Complement
to Psychotherapy
Ritual works on a symbolic level that transcends words and talk.
Rites of Change helps individuals create symbolic actions
to support therapeutic work.
- Ritual
makes a client’s therapeutic work more concrete and real.
- Ritual
can help a client resolve grief.
- Ritual
is a safe way for a client to express and release the energy
that accompanies deep feelings and insights.
- Ritual
can bring forth a client’s spirituality and provides a
long sought after transcendence.
- Ritual
can help a client with the transition to end therapy.
Rites
of Change provides direct services for individual psychotherapy
clients and therapy groups. We also consult with therapists on
therapeutic applications of ritual for clients.
Healings &
Pre-surgery
People facing surgery, medical procedures, emotional difficulties,
or life threatening illnesses use healing ceremonies and rituals
to:
- Create
an optimum environment for love and goodwill to penetrate whatever
dis-ease is at hand.
- Prepare
the patient to receive medical treatments in a positive way.
- Generate
a field of support for patients and their community of loved
ones before, during and after surgery.
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Releasing Anger
We all experience anger. Sometimes we can’t get past the
anger and we find ourselves stuck in our lives. At other times
the anger may be so strong that it starts to fold in on us and
creates depression or self-hate. Through ritual, we can let go
of our anger and feel the release in safe and contained ways.
When we intentionally release anger through symbolic actions,
we feel empowered.
Rites of Change has led anger release rituals at conferences,
for chaplaincy programs, with psychotherapy groups, and in family
homes.
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Mid-life
Adjustments
Sometimes
in mid-life we experience a subtle shift inside of us that we
hardly have words for and, yet, we are hungry to express what
seems indescribable. This is the raw material from which rituals
are created.
During such
“mid-life course corrections,” past wounds may arise
and old dreams may resurface. We may yearn to replace something
in our lives, but not be clear what that something is. Through
a mid-life adjustment ritual we can challenge old beliefs about
ourselves and stimulate new awareness about what is possible.
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| Nuns
gather to recognize their own worth, beauty and healing |
Retirement,
Croning & Saging
Retirement,
croning and saging ceremonies are for people who want to celebrate
the arrival into their wisdom years. Clients use rituals to reclaim
old dreams and to honor their life experiences and insights. People
who step forward to claim this stage in life inspire those around
them.
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Death & Dying
Ritual can help us be more comfortable being present to death.
Rites of Change guides families through
end-of- life transitions. Services include:
- Family-directed,
home-based funerals
- Sacred
body washing following death
- Celebrations
of life
- Memorial
services
For more
information, visit After
Hospice.
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Grief
Ritual transforms grief into renewed life force and energy in
a powerful symbolic and spiritual way. Sources of grief may be:
- The loss
of a dream
- The loss
of a loved one
- An emotional
wounding
- A physical
wounding or illness
Rites
of Change helps people heal with safe and meaningful ceremonies
that allow our clients to acknowledge, feel, and resolve their
grief.
Home Funerals
Death is not an emergency; there is no need to rush.
A family
may experience a great gift when a loved one dies at home. With
a home, funeral the family has a relaxed period of time to move
past the shock of death and grieve while the body is still present.
As the body lays in honor at home, the family may be deeply inspired
while planning a memorial service or decorate a casket. Many cultural
traditions believe a deceased body should initially remain undisturbed,
in familiar surroundings, to allow the soul to peacefully leave
the body.
Rites
of Change guides our client families as they:
- Secure
a death certificate
- Make
arrangements for cremation or burial
- Wash
and prepare the body
For more
information, visit After
Hospice.
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| An
office celebration to acknowledge a team accomplishment |
WorkplaceTransitions
During times
of workplace transition, employees’ emotional reactions
may challenge an organization’s health and effectiveness.
Rites of Change carefully designs and facilitates workplace
events that provide an efficient and constructive opportunity
for employees to acknowledge, express and resolve their feelings
about organizational change. The result is a workforce that is
more free to embrace change and, consequently, more productive.
Workplace transition events complement other business and consulting
strategies.
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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
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