Ritual

The Museum On Site And WaterFire's 'A Thousand Ships' Was A Unique Event, Now Commemorated In A Book

Andrew Losowsky | Posted 05.17.2012

Read More: Museum on Site, Installation Art, Transatlantic Slave Trade, Freedom Festival, Ritual, Slavery, American Slavery, A Thousand Ships, Rhode Island, American Slave Trade, Slideexpand, 200th Anniversary Slave Trade, Waterfire, Providence, Arts News
Andrew Losowsky

'A Thousand Ships' was a unique, participatory event that commemorated Rhode Island's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

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Leap Year Lesson: What Is a Year, Anyway?

Donna Henes | Posted 04.28.2012

Read More: Stars, Seasons, Time, Leap Year, Ritual, Time Keeping, Calendar, Mathematics, Sun, Moon, Religious Calendars, Ceremonial Time, Mindfulness, Healthy Living News
Donna Henes

Creating an accurate and practical calendar is an astonishingly complicated challenge, which has plagued our calendrical tendencies since people first attempted to create some logical and consistent order for themselves from a universe that can be so chaotic and confusing in its complexity.

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Why Rituals Matter After Disaster

Rev. Earl E. Johnson | Posted 04.08.2012

Read More: Disaster, Chaplain, Ritual, Spirituality, Emotional Health, Religion and Recovery, Trauma, Disaster Chaplain, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Religion News
Rev. Earl E. Johnson

Emotional and spiritual care is just about celebration as much is it is about mourning loss and change.

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The Power Of Ritual In The 'Hunger Games' Trilogy

Rev. Amy Ziettlow | Posted 03.24.2012

Read More: Dying, Ritual, Hope, Death & Dying, Grief, Dealing With Grief, HUnger Games, Loss, The Hunger Games, Death, Religion News
Rev. Amy Ziettlow

As I neared the last pages, I found myself fatigued; exhausted by her story of loss and death. I struggled with how to make sense of it all.

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New Year: Here We Go Again!

Donna Henes | Posted 02.29.2012

Read More: Seasons, Ritual, Spiritual, Calendar, New-Years-2012, New Start, New Year, New Beginnings, Holiday Season, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Mindfulness, Healthy Living News
Donna Henes

A year, no matter how it is determined, is simply a complete cycle. The transition, the precise turning point, between the end of one cyclical period and the start of another designates a new year.

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Birthing New Life in the Midst of Despair

Dr. Cara Barker | Posted 02.20.2012

Read More: Dreams, Year's End, Ritual, Call to Action, Collective Angst, Augustus, Nativity, Mary, The Story Symbolically, Redemption, Grinch Thoughts, Buddha, Handling the Bad Stuff, Mindfulness, Its a Wonderful Life, Healthy Living News
Dr. Cara Barker

Our redemption comes from another direction. The first step is to look within, to recognize our own interior "Grinch thoughts" that act as a thief in the night. These self-critical, self-doubting beliefs end up robbing us of our birthright to live freely as we are.

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Doing Death Before it Does Us

Donna Henes | Posted 12.28.2011

Read More: Holiday, Day of the Dead, Celebration, Graveyard, Cemetery, Spirit, Ceremony, Ritual, Dia De Los Muertos, Ghosts, Halloween, Trick or Treat, Spirituality, Healthy Living Spirit, Mindfulness, Healthy Living News
Donna Henes

Halloween descends from Samhain, the most significant holiday of the Celtic calendar.

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Just for Men: Slow Tea and Slow Shaving in 10 Steps

Jesse Jacobs | Posted 12.27.2011

Read More: Healthy Living Body, Hygiene, Ritual, Slow Food Movement, Shaving, Healthy Living Spirit, Tea, Spirituality, Productivity, Slow Shaving, San Francisco News
Jesse Jacobs

There's something delightful and dangerous about sliding a thin blade of cold steel across your face.

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Tea and the Art of Distraction -- 4 Simple Steps

Jesse Jacobs | Posted 12.17.2011

Read More: Add, Mental Health, Daydreaming, Focus, Ritual, Distraction, Samovar, Adha, Tea, Gtd, Cell Phone, Productivity, Healthy Living Spirit, San Francisco News
Jesse Jacobs

Whether it's tea or anything else you can find to wake up, I believe that we need all the weapons available to fight distraction. Distraction keeps us from living fully and making a real difference in the world.

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Why Rituals Matter: My Daily Tea Ritual

Jesse Jacobs | Posted 12.12.2011

Read More: Being Present, Ritual, Tea Making, Samovar Tea Lounge, Healthy Living Spirit, Tea Ritual, Tea, Relaxation, San Francisco, San Francisco News
Jesse Jacobs

Rituals slow us down, and get us present, both of which make life better. I love using tea as a ritual because it covers so many bases. Here's my regular tea ritual that I use to start my day.

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15 Ways To Keep The Sabbath In The Time Famine

Donna Schaper | Posted 12.03.2011

Read More: Keeping Sabbath in the Time Famine, Religion, Sabbath, Rest, Ritual, Religion News
Donna Schaper

If you can keep a full day on Saturday or Sunday for nothing but worship and quiet, please do. But if you can't keep Sabbath the way your ancestors did, figure out something new.

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The New Years In Autumn

Donna Henes | Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: Harvest Festivals, Seasons, Celebration, Ceremony, Ritual, Calendar, Celebrations, Autumn Equinox, Autumn, Harvest, Fall, New Year, Year, Rosh Hashanah, Religion News
Donna Henes

The fall, when the long hard labor of the growing and reaping seasons is finally finished and when the storehouses are as full as they will ever be, is an especially appropriate time to begin the year.

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Throttle Up

Zoe P. Strassfield | Posted 10.15.2011

Read More: Internship, History, Nasa, Space Shuttle Challenger, Ritual, Space Shuttle Atlantis, Memory, Space Shuttle, Space Shuttle Launch, College News
Zoe P. Strassfield

At two minutes to launch (T-minus-two) everyone started cheering and clapping. Atlantis was really going to go!

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A Blessing Of The Motorcycles

Rev. Susan Sparks | Posted 07.21.2011

Read More: Motorcycle Blessing, Sacred Space, Christianity, Motorcycles, Madison Avenue Baptist Church, Ritual, Spirituality, Religion News
Rev. Susan Sparks

The sacred can be found in the most unexpected of places: at work, at home, or on a 2005 black cherry Harley Davidson Road King with bored out cylinders and custom pipes. It's all holy.

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Ash Wednesday And The Value Of Tradition

Christopher Cocca | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ritual, Sacrament, Lent Ash Wednesday, Ash Wednesday 2011, Christian Tradition, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Imposition of Ashes, Christianity, Religion News
Christopher Cocca

Not all who find themselves moved to religious ritual are finished seeking. Those who will bear the mark of Christ's cross on Ash Wednesday do so for different, even disparate reasons.

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Remember You Will Die (It Helps You To Be Alive)

Kent Annan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Earthquake, Kent Annan, Lent, Ash Wednesday, Christianity, Gravedigging, Ritual, Death and Dying, Haiti Earthquake, Christian Calendar, Life and Death, Religion News
Kent Annan

Each Ash Wednesday, if you go to a church that does this sort of thing, a version of "memento mori" happens when you go to your knees and a cross of ashes is marked on your forehead.

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Whom Can I Trust?

Matt J. Rossano | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Roy Rappaport, Anthropology, Costly Signals, Richard Sosis, Trust, Ritual, Adaptation, Haredim, Community, Judaism, Religion News
Matt J. Rossano

Trust, cemented by ritual, is the indispensible ingredient of human community and research indicates that nothing builds trust quite like religious ritual.

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Vision 2011: Presence And Connectedness Through Ritual

Jennifer La Lima-Ortmuller | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: The Balanced Life, Life Satisfaction, Ritual, Vision, Presence, Spirituality, Happiness, Happiness Tips, Daily Ritual, Rituals, Importance of Rituals, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Jennifer La Lima-Ortmuller

Rituals become something to look forward to, a source of peace and connectedness. Making ritual a part of our daily lives also gives us perspective on our place in the scheme of the universe.

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Don't Blame the Song, Blame the Packaging

Susan Deily-Swearingen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: History, Football, Star Spangled Banner, Cher, Jessica Simpson, American History, Ritual, AOL News, Kevin Blackistone, Military, American, Christina Aguilera, Sports, America, National Anthem, Super Bowl, Entertainment News
Susan Deily-Swearingen

On the home page of AOL News last week I encountered this opinion piece by Kevin Blackistone, "Time to Turn Off National Anthem Before Sports Events,"...

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The Pope, The Environment And Religiously Inspired Self-Restraint

Matt J. Rossano | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ritual, Climate Change, Conservation, Water Temple System, Morality, Self-Restraint, Pope Benedict XVI, Salmon Fishing, Environment, Religion News
Matt J. Rossano

The deepest roots of our ecological crisis lie in a narrow, secularized understanding of progress.

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Making Male Circumcision Humane: A Jewish Moral Imperative

Joshua Stanton | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Circumcision, Human Rights, Babies, Ritual, Judaism, Torah, Ethics, Jewish Circumcision, Circumcision Anesthesia, Male Circumcision, Lifestyle, Health, Living News, Living, Religion News
Joshua Stanton

Human rights start at home. We must defend them for children in the Jewish community as much as adults in others. Day eight in the life of Jewish boys should be no exception.

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Get the Christmas Cards Ready

Peter Y. Sussman | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Tradition, Christmas, Christmas Cards, Ritual, Teacher, Healthy Living News
Peter Y. Sussman

It's not a moment too soon to be thinking of sending Christmas cards -- next year's Christmas cards.

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Dealing With Grief Through The Holidays

Judith Johnson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Holiday, Emotional Grief, Living News, Mental Health, Holiday Rituals, Holiday Grieving, Ritual, Holiday Grief Ritual, Christmas, Death and Dying, Love, Holiday Grief, Death, Death & Dying, Video, Healthy Living News
Judith Johnson

While grief is an exquisitely private matter, in order to move on, most of us need someone to bear witness to our truth in grieving.

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The Ritual Season

Paul Stoller | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Holidays, Holiday Season, Holiday Rituals, Ritual, Politics News
Paul Stoller

Those who seek power have understood the political punch of myth and ritual. They have always manipulated these central components of social life to further their interests -- and none of this changes during the Holidays.

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How The Celestially Auspicious Occasions Of The Past Are The Holidays Of Today

Donna Henes | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Seasons, Ceremony, Tradition, Spirituality, Holiday, Time, Ritual, Time Ritual, Passing Time, Holiday Ritual, Healthy Living News
Donna Henes

Though few people in our crowded cacophonous urban world live in focused alignment with the earth, the holidays we celebrate are the living legacy of the oldest seasonal observances.

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