TDC #10: C is for… Ceremony

Ceremonies play an important role in our lives and in our healing. Today’s episode is about great benefits, insights and healing we get from ceremonies and rituals. Ceremonies are a collection of rituals that are intentionally and mindfully done. I talk about how rituals remind us of what is important and provide a sense of stability and continuity in our lives. You can also use rituals to work more effectively and stay focused on your goals and healing.

Listen to the full episode here:

What You’ll Learn From this Episode:

+   The value and role of ceremonies in our healing.

+   Difference between rituals and habits, and importance of the symbols in ceremonies.

+   How to create a simple ceremony and the value of committing to it for 30 days.

+   Truth & Dare Quote: The symbolism of the ritualized actions is imprinted in our subconscious mind, and as such plays an important role in healing.

Listen to the Full Episode:

Featured on the Show:

+   TDC #01: C is for… Choice

+   TDC #05: C is for… Change

+   Join the Truth & Dare Cancer Facebook group. It’s a safe space where I and lots of other like-minded women with cancer hang out and share our stories, struggles, tips, and support

+   To stop identifying with your cancer, take three empowering steps outlined in the free You Are Not Your Cancer guide.

+   If you’re looking for a way to use your cancer as a powerful catalyst for change, let’s get on a brief call and explore how we can achieve that together. To book a free call, click here.

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 Full Episode Transcript:

Welcome to Truth & Dare Cancer, the only podcast that teaches you how to supercharge your self-healer, navigate fear, and recalibrate your life by using cancer as a powerful catalyst for change. On this show we get real about all things cancer. And now here’s your host, cancer survivor, mathematician and certified life coach, Ceca Mijatovic.

Hello and welcome back! You are listening to the episode number 10 of the Truth & Dare Cancer Podcast. If you have not yet done so please subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcast, and like us on Facebook.

I’m your host Ceca Mijatovic and today I’m talking about importance of ceremonies in our lives and our healing.

It’s a holiday season and there is so much to celebrate and be grateful for! It’s usually the time for reflecting back on the past year and also looking forward to the new year head. While it’s a wonderfully festive time of the year, in our culture we don’t seem to take time to celebrate nearly as much as in other traditions nor as frequently as our ancestors have done.

Native Americans, for example, aligned their beliefs and practices to their daily rituals of acquiring food, anything from hunting to agriculture. They also embraced ceremonies and rituals that provided power to conquer the difficulties of life, as wells as various events and milestones.

Take Green Corn Festival, for instance, also called the Green Corn Ceremony, which was both a celebration and religious ceremony, typically took place in the late summer and is tied to the ripening of the corn crops. Marked with dancing, feasting, fasting and religious observations, the ceremony usually lasts for three days. During the event, tribal members give thanks for the corn, rain, sun, and a good harvest. Some tribes even believe that they were made from corn by the Great Spirits.

In some cultures when people used to build a home, every stone or brick would be blessed and put through a ritual that would bring happiness and peace to the family that will soon live in the newly built house.

And all over the world people celebrate through ceremony, with many ceremonies having cultural or religious significance. Ceremonies are held for various milestones in our lives: to celebrate a new life or, entering adolescence, birthdays, graduation, marriage, retirement, various commitments, and passing.

Rituals play an important role in society. Rituals remind us of what is important and provide a sense of stability and continuity in our lives. You can also use rituals to work more effectively and stay focused on your goals and your healing.

Ceremonies are a collection of rituals that are intentionally and mindfully done, and that’s how they differ from habits. But if we become intentional and symbolic about our daily habits, they can become our daily rituals, beyond traditions and customs. In addition to intention, the symbols play a key role in a ceremony. The symbolism of the ritualized actions and behaviors is imprinted in our subconscious mind, and as such plays an important role in the holistic healing process.

When I was in india over a decade ago, colleague and I crashed very elaborate Indian wedding at our fancy hotel! We were at an after work cocktail hour in the hotel bar when the bride arrived on an elephant, and groom on a horse. We joined this huge group of guests, and were told this was the third day of their wedding! What an elaborate ceremony, and tons of traditional activities, along with amazing music, dancers, food and cheerful crowed. We told them that we were fascinated by the tradition and customs, and the next thing we know we were learning how to make bangles from liquid silver and gold, and I was getting henna tattoos on my hands.

But ceremonies don’t need to be that festive to be effective. In some ways a simple yet mindful ritual or ceremony is even more powerful and more direct. So here is a simple ceremony anyone can participate in, -- and by the way,

To discuss further the importance of ceremonies and what they bring to our own healing along with many other insights join my free closed Facebook group at truthanddarecancer.com/facebook. Also feel free to email me with any questions, comments or topics you would like me to cover. My email is [email protected], that’s [email protected].

For this ceremony, we’ll engage three elements: fire, water and air. And remember, symbols and intention play the key role so engage both as you pursue this simple ceremony.

In this example you can light a candle with the intention to burn the toxins in your body. Then place a glass of water next to the candle so water can be encoded with the burning process, and can also symbolize the powerful life-force energy, so when consumed it flows throughout our body, spreading the invigorating and revitalizing energy throughout. The air can help defuse the dense and heavy energy of negative emotions and help you feel lighter. So after you hold these intentions and symbols in your mind, observe the candle light, drink the water slowly visualizing its effect, and take a few number of breaths imagining each breath bursting through the dense and heavy emotions. Once done send gratitude to all three elements. This ceremony only take 5-10 mins, and if you do it daily for 30-days it will significantly help with your anxiety and keep you more open to receiving other treatments.

So I say be mindful and intentional with your rituals and celebrate often. If you got value from this episode and know someone else that would get value from it as well, please share it with them. And in the meantime, I dare you to find the truth in your cancer!

Thanks for tuning in. If you want to stop identifying with your cancer, you can download a free “You Are Not Your Cancer” guide at www.truthanddarecancer.com/podcastfreeguide.