ritual
the power of rituals
Sarah Drinkwater and
ritual
We still instinctively long for this kind of belonging, as our sacrifices to sports teams, fraternities, or churches demonstrate.
Sarah Perry • Gardens Need Walls: On Boundaries, Ritual, and Beauty
when you create a social reality with no connection to a deeper divine essence, and not alignment to a value greater than itself, you get lost in a maze where essential human values and relationships are mimicked endlessly and blindly in a chaos of hollow repetition. Then, as now, the only way out is to connect to the sacred; to an experience that... See more
Alexander Beiner • Myth and Metrics: How Social Media Robs Us of Ritual, and How to Revive It
In an effort to slow you down mid-scroll, the only metric we check on social is the “total number of saves.” Here are our top six from the year. 🦥 🐌 🦦
On a related note, one of our most frequently asked questions is, “what app do you use to make these?” You might LOL at the answer but we actually print them out, hand draw the logo and... See more
instagram.comandrea and
In a survey of 1,000 adults, it was found that 30% of people were eating dinner on the couch, and 17% of people were eating it in their bedrooms—two places where there is likely a screen and likely no conversation or interpersonal gathering. Remember that rooms have rules, and when we change the room, we create a vacuum of norms.
Jasmine Bina • A Time to Build Tight Brands in the Chaos of Loose Cultures
Insights from Byung-Chul Han:
The rise of narcissism, the emphasis on authenticity, and shallow technological experiences are eroding essential societal bonds
We need daily and lifelong rituals to help bring narrative structure into our lives
In the past,... See more
In an overly digitized world, people embrace with intensity the few remaining ritualistic activities available to them. Halloween gets turned into something extravagant—not just for children anymore, but adults too. The same is true of Valentine’s Day or Mardi Gras and other ritualized occasions. They are pushed to extremes because people have so... See more
Ted Gioia • 13 Observations on Ritual
Rituals are how we make meaning, personally and together.
In games studies, these worlds-within-a-world are called magic circles. A magic circle is the space where the game takes place.
We need ritual technology. Technology designed for ritual use.
Why? Most of the software we use daily is designed to engagement-max. Social media feeds, loot boxes, compulsion loops, gang gang yes yes yes ice cream so good. You’re caught in a feedback loop with the algorithm, and you are the squishiest part of that loop.
Where social media is compulsive, tools for thought are reflective. Where social media is here and now, tools for thought dwell in the long now. Tools for thought slowly build compounding momentum through low, slow feedback loops that point us in the directions we want to develop.
That, I think, is the power of ceremony: it marries the mundane to the sacred.
Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer