This is part 2 of 4 in our Wizardly Wisdom series.
Ritual spells in D&D and other roleplaying games are unique. Typically they take additional time, but don’t use up the same amount of resources as casting them on demand. The very feel of these spells seems to be different. “Detect Magic” and “Find Familiar” at early levels have a feeling of contemplation around them as much as they do summoning new friends to join you on your adventure.
For wizards, these ritual spells bring a lot of utility to their adventure and having them prepared in advance can make a lot of tricky situations easier to manage. What we’ve found at Coaches & Dragons is that real-life rituals can do the same thing. Learning from our wizard heroes, we can find ways to integrate rituals into our daily lives that allow us to bring mindfulness, intention, and restoration of our wellbeing for those times when an unexpected challenge presents itself.
The problem is, for many of us, time is the biggest barrier to rituals. There are only so many hours in the day and the pressure to be productive makes it hard to justify these rituals…
You have a right to rituals. AND you have the time to make it happen. Here’s how:
Go for a swap or deduction BEFORE you go for an addition. Instead of trying to add in that extra time at the gym, find what you will swap it with. Instead of reading for 30 minutes, swap it with a workout. Or, schedule your gym time and say no to any new invitations that conflict with it.
Integrate it into something you already do. If you drink coffee every day, is there a way to incorporate a ritual? Instead of grabbing your coffee to go, you could combine it with a journaling practice.
Do it YOUR way There are a lot of offers out there to improve your wellbeing that you can take off the shelf and use, with the hopes of the promised benefit. Sometimes, those pre-designed offerings just don’t fit your life right now: take what’s useful and make it your own. Can’t do 15 minutes of meditation sitting down? Try meditating while going for a walk.
Remember that wellbeing is internally driven, NOT externally driven. The world out there has no problem setting expectations for you, but you get to decide what works for you and your holistic wellbeing (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health). And this month, while we are focusing on reflection, see where you might be able to slow down and add some time for reflection and contemplation.
In the stillness, you might have a chance to observe the life that is swirling all around you.
In just a few minutes, you might be able to summon all kinds of magical things into your adventure.
In a ritual, you can do just as much as you could on-demand - without the same cost.
The ritual you create is up to you and is 100% yours for the taking.
See you in ten minutes!
Sincerely,
Autumn & Jerod