{"id":1289,"date":"2012-06-19T06:30:15","date_gmt":"2012-06-19T10:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/awakeintheworld\/?p=1289"},"modified":"2012-06-17T10:26:18","modified_gmt":"2012-06-17T14:26:18","slug":"rituals-for-letting-go-of-ties-that-bind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/06\/rituals-for-letting-go-of-ties-that-bind.html","title":{"rendered":"Rituals for Letting Go of Ties that Bind"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Almost no words can soothe an aching heart during a break up.\u00a0But rituals can help make the transition easier.\u00a0Though intellectual, Western culture often denigrates rituals as meaningless, they are powerful tools to help in transitions and mend broken hearts.\u00a0They can help not only to heal the wounds and move the psyche into a place of deep peace; they can also fortify the spirit and affirm that you\u2019re ready to move into a new stage of life with courage.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/59A671CE9C6842ABB516FEC3C17AE157.ashx?w=400&amp;h=300\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/59A671CE9C6842ABB516FEC3C17AE157.ashx?w=400&amp;h=300\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Often just the sight of photos or things that the beloved gave us can cause a relapse of remorse and pain.\u00a0My favorite ritual to help ease the change into the single life brings in the element of fire.\u00a0Fire burns away the old, destroys pain and makes way for the new to grow.\u00a0Burning significant items like a photo or letters attached to a broken relationship can invite in transformation.\u00a0 The fire ritual can be done in a safe place like on a sandy beach or at an outdoor fireplace or fire pit where there\u2019s no risk of embers popping to create a hazard.\u00a0I like the beach with the wind and waves to accompany the ceremony.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left\">\n<p>To begin, say a prayer of protection and call in light to surround and envelop you during the ritual.\u00a0Prepare matches and the symbolic items you\u2019d like to use to dissolve the ties that represented your relationship. \u00a0Be careful and wise in the things and place chosen.\u00a0 Only one or two symbolic objects like photos will be enough.\u00a0Take a candle with a steady flame and let the items catch fire and burn until only ash remains.\u00a0A prayer of release may accompany the ritual along with a sincere desire to let go of any chains that bind.\u00a0It\u2019s said that chords of attachment grow up between partners as they become connected.\u00a0Consciously envision the chords that have grown between you and the ex-partner and let them dissolve and burn away in the flames along with the other items. \u00a0If possible recall some aspect of the relationship to be grateful for and consider what you have learned.\u00a0 Remember the phoenix, a mystical bird of antiquity\u00a0went up in\u00a0flames and was reborn from the ashes.<\/p>\n<p>Once the ritual is completed, ask for help in curing the pain.\u00a0Picture any wounds as bandaged and healing quickly.\u00a0You may also be inspired to create your own ritual uniquely adapted to your situation.\u00a0May your wounds heal and blessings descend as life lessons are learned that will open new doors to better relationships.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is the award winning author of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Awake-World-Practices-Divinely-Inspired\/dp\/0738727229\" target=\"_blank\">Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. More at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com\">http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a> and on Facebook at: <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DebraMoffittAwakeintheWorld\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DebraMoffittAwakeintheWorld<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Almost no words can soothe an aching heart during a break up.\u00a0But rituals can help make the transition easier.\u00a0Though intellectual, Western culture often denigrates rituals as meaningless, they are powerful tools to help in transitions and mend broken hearts.\u00a0They can help not only to heal the wounds and move the psyche into a place&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4,26,125,17,3],"tags":[346,345,131,799,800],"class_list":["post-1289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-meditation","category-oneness","category-sacrifice","category-spiritual-practice","tag-awake-in-the-world","tag-debra-moffitt","tag-healing-rituals","tag-letting-go-of-attachments","tag-ways-to-release-pain"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - 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