The power of ritual

Philosophy Forums
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Habits can be like rituals. Do you honor yourself with your rituals? Have you considered who or what your rituals may affect?

One might say much of a person’s actual power, and almost certainly his well-being, consist in his rituals. Power, for an old Neitzschean seems to become something more akin to Spinoza’s conception of power. Expression and creativity are indeed among the noblest pusuits, but what noble quality does not bear with it a necessity for refinement, for discipline? Virtue refines. However, even the purest, strongest things break down and lose pieces of themselves bearing constant refinement. We refine our thinking through action, not the other way around. This is where we can almost interact with the will, conditioning and exercising it. Neitzsche thought a true philosopher who understood this interplay might be something like a dancer. I always loved that idea, though a dancer requires a dance, the expression of which can only be noble in its refinement. After all, without the practice, - the rituals - could you honestly say you were ever really dancing?

Virtue is not in the ideal. We emulate others - exemplars - who possess qualities we admire. A quality is only as good as the manner in which it is expressed. Virtue is in the action. An act is a representation of virtue insofar as it is a striving toward improvement or refinement.

Moreover, what do your rituals say about what is sacred? What do you consider profane? Are either of the two inherently goof or bad?

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There’s a lot of meaning in that sentence I think.

When you talk about rituals, my mind immediately jumped to coffee and cigarettes. Then I thought “They’re not rituals, just bad habits.” So I went off to search for what a personal ritual might entail. I just accepted what the search engine gave me.

:cross_mark: Mindfulness : Sitting quietly for 10 minutes, focusing on breath, and setting an intention for the day.

—No, I don’t do that.

:cross_mark: Self-Care : A nightly skincare routine paired with a moment of reflection or journaling.

—Does posting count as journaling? No specific skincare ever takes place, at all.

:white_check_mark: Creativity : Dedicating 15 minutes daily to coloring, writing, or dancing as a form of emotional release.

—This one I do, I love to write. It’s more than 15 minutes, much more. And not just posting

:white_check_mark: Gratitude Practice : Mentally listing five things you’re grateful for upon waking.

—Not specifically on waking, but when cool things happen I like to thank the Universe, and enough cool things seem to happen to make it worth it. Also, you notice the cool things more that way.

:cross_mark: Affirmations : Repeating empowering statements like “I am capable” or “I deserve this” to reinforce self-worth.

—Never saw the point. Either I am, or I’m not. I’m sure that will always become clear. I might not be capable, so I’m not going to lie to myself. I definitely sometimes don’t deserve things, so another lie would potentially be told.

Creativity and being grateful in general, it looks like. That’ll do me just fine. I didn’t mention sacrificing a goat every hallows eve, of course, but it wasn’t on the list.

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Remember that virtuous acts can be applied to vices as well. Creating rituals of moderation is so important. There is a difference between the time we knowingly give away and that which we squander. Sometimes we lose a little piece of ourselves in refinement, but only when we can let it go.

Your small rituals inform your larger ones, so we build from the inside out. That Confucius fella was onto something. Shopenhauer saw it, but he advocated very ascetic rituals. A rather stern attitude for a dance, in my opinion.

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But are these rituals something someone can just write as a list for another? I can see Confucius advocated for some pretty sensible rituals, but trying to live up to all that is going to be quite hard for most people. It doesn’t seem that far removed from “love thy neighbour”, or “turn the other cheek”, which can be nigh-on impossible sometimes.

Maybe if they said “try to be a bit more like that..”, then it all wouldn’t seem so lofty and hard to reach. Do you get what I mean? Those words like righteousness, kindness, sincerity, they sound great, but realistically, in day-to-day life, they’re probably going to be a bit hard to maintain on a constant basis for most.

I think it’s fine just to say “do as little harm as possible”. It’s not possible to be a part of the world and do no harm, so it’s something that can really be striven for. Might as well be realistic.

Id like to have been a fly on the wall and been there to witness Schopenhauer not honouring his own rituals, because I bet that happened.

The rituals of moderation, well, I guess you highlighted my own personal flaw there, cigs, coffee and way to many hours in front of the screen. That is squandered time, fair enough, maybe I do need a few rituals to sort all that out.

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Of course it happened! We impart our wisdom so others can do better by themselves, for their own sake. This is not about becoming perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The best I think we can do is to act ourselves into better thinking. Let your rituals paint a picture that you’re proud of. That’s all I am advocating.That is where you exercise power.

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You have a balanced view, and a sensible take. But that’s my point, many who preach the correct rituals, especially in this day and age of self-help gurus and wise internet sages, seem to preach on high, recording themselves in their perfect kitchens eating super-foods. That seems to be the level of dedication required to wear that badge.

The goals are just too lofty, that’s my point, because when people really do need rituals to sort some of their life out, it’s probably because their life is in a bit of a mess. I’d like to see a guru (or philosopher) that was just average, so their followers could strive for the average, because it’s still better than where they are now, and easier to maintain. If they want to go for level 2 at some point, then it’s there. I’m sure they exist, but you certainly don’t come across many of them.

Not sure if I’m making sense, but I guess my take is, as long as the rituals are relevant to the person and realistically achievable, then they are more likely to be kept.

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But that’s the thing, I am not preaching anything. I am just suggesting we look at our behaviors as indicators of our character, rather than our intentions. People tend to get so wrapped up in good intentions and expectations that we miss the mark in terms of practical efforts. None of the philosophers I’ve mentioned were perfect, though I do admire some a great deal. I am an old fuck, still bumbling through life. But sometimes a step in the right direction.

In any case, stagnation and cognitive dissonance require discipline to remedy. Cognitive dissonance arises when you believe what you claim to know, but act as if you don’t. Eastern philosophy introduced me to the idea that knowledge consists in action. I find this to be true, albeit difficult to accept at times.

In other words, I don’t think a person can claim to “know” something unless he behaves as if it’s true. We don’t commit acts when we “know better”, as parents seem so fond of saying. People can make mistakes, forget, or be misled at times. I can know something by my own definition, yet act in direct contradiction due to a lapse in memory, or a misunderstanding. However, consistency is what separates an isolated act from a habit, or ritual. Change without consistency is a promise without legs.

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There’s another one. If you keep coming out with sentences like that, then you don’t have to preach anything.

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Language - we use words to carry our inner dialogues and construct our narratives. We also use words to lie to ourselves. We cannot lie to ourselves in action. By taking action on a lie, we force it to become truth.