Classroom Ritual for Beginning a Day of Good Work
A ritual operates in levels below conscious awareness and language in all of us. A ritual helps us rearrange our insides, so that our outer experience and actions may be empowered. Because so many rituals have to do with the realm of the unseen within us, it is easy to make the assumption that most rituals feel religious, in some way. However, very empowering shifts can be made without any reference to a religion. This ritual enables a teacher to establish a wonderful environment for learning and kindness in a classroom.
Because we all share this earth, there are some ideas that are deeply ingrained in us about very basic experiences that we all share, such as “the sun will rise and set” and “the weather will get warmer and colder as we progress through the year.” These statements seem almost too basic to express, but their subconscious truth allows us to empower ourselves in some simple, yet profound ways.
The energy of the cardinal directions is specific for each direction. The archetypes for each of the directions are examples of inner wisdom that is so basic that all any of us need is a small reminder that support is available to us from east, south, west, and north. *
Materials:
A group of yellow objects for East
A group of red objects for South
A group of blue objects for West
A group of black and white objects for North
Think of a classroom of small children with four small piles of significant items in the four corners of the room. In a sacred setting these piles would be called altars, but in a public classroom they become groups of objects that remind the young students of the power of the directions, each of which is alive in them. An environment conducive for learning can be established each morning with the teacher’s help.
Students are encouraged to add to the group of objects as their conscious understanding of each direction deepens.
Ritual
First the students stand and face the group of objects in the east. These objects are yellow or perhaps the direction contains just a picture of the sun. The teacher or a student says, “Today I honor the direction of the sun rise. As the sun gives me a new day each morning I remind myself that I have a new beginning so that I can be a better person each day.”
Then everyone faces the southern pile that contains red items and perhaps a candle or a picture of red flames. The teacher or a student says, “Today I honor the direction of the equator and the heat of the land that is to our south. Today I can give to others just like life gives to me. Right now I remember things and people that I love.”
Everyone then faces the western pile that contains blue items and perhaps a container of water. The teacher or a student says, “Today I honor my feelings and other people’s feelings. I am kind and I expect good things to happen.”
All the students face the northern pile that contains black and white objects, including some special stones and bones. The teacher or one of the students says, “Today I honor the earth and those people who have come before me, in my own family and in the history of the world. I take care of our earth today.”
After a morning ritual of this kind, any classroom would be ready for a day of receptive learning because of the environment that has been established.
* More information and a more complete explanation of the directions, their meanings, and energies, click here (to book and Celtic Stone Prayer Kit.) |
