Ceremony & Ritual

Ceremony and ritual matter to the brain because they give change a shape.   Our brains are pattern-making machines. We don’t transition smoothly from one state to another; we need markers—before and after, here and there. Ritual provides those markers. When we engage in a deliberate act with meaning, the brain registers that something has ended or something has begun. This helps close open emotional loops that otherwise linger as rumination, anxiety, or unresolved grief.   Ce