Meditation Creates Awareness – Awareness Creates Rituals – 2 Of 2

There are also myriad of unconscious rituals – some of which are ‘not-so-healthy’ rituals. Most of us have had the experience of sitting in front of the T.V. and eating a bag of chips (or a tub of ice cream), and then all of a sudden the bag (or tub) is empty and we don’t have a memory of the the experience or even the flavour of what we were eating.

Other rituals could be superstitious in nature; I remember one of my Jr. hockey teammates would throw up before every game. Mike Palmater, a Toronto Maple Leafs goalie, used to eat a bag of popcorn before every game. And who hasn’t seen the endless unshaven faces during playoffs?

In essence, a ritual that you add to your daily routine such as a meditation practice can enable you to be more aware. When you are more aware, or more conscious, a shift begins to happen as you can’t continue on your regular path without noticing things about it that might start to make you question that path. This could include being more mindful of what you eat – noticing the flavour, the texture, the feeling of fullness it gives you, and even how it makes you feel afterwards leading to a possible change in diet. Perhaps adding a regular routine of exercise will make you more aware of your body and how your muscles respond to both exercise and stress. Noticing these things will enable you to gain more clarity in your decisions and therefore more control over your life – you can become the master of your life and make it what you want it to be.

As they say, “Shift Happens”…