Enrol & Me: A Ritual Union
Enrolling Myself
It was a chilly, blustery February this year, and I was in the final stretch of completing an intensive massage course in Brighton when I received a text from a friend. He was inviting me to apply for an opportunity to host an Enrol Yourself Learning Marathon in Bristol. Enrol Yourself? Learning Marathon? Confused? Intrigued? Me too.
In a nut shell, Enrol Yourself is an organisation that endorses lifelong learning, bringing adults from a multitude of backgrounds together to grow and meet professional, personal and societal challenges within a six month incubation period. The more I learned about the organisation, the more I liked what I heard.
Six months down the line and here I am hosting a learning journey with ten fellow Bristolians. All of whom come from different backgrounds and disciplines, all of whom have different questions that they want to find answers and solutions to. We are just over halfway through our six-month Learning Marathon and everyone has been exploring their questions and the myriad pathways and possibilities that have emerged, whilst sharing networks, ideas and skills with one another along the way. It’s incredible what can happen when adults who have had rich and varied life experiences come together and cross-pollinate in this way. Learning is multiplied, inspiration is exponential and the results can be totally unexpected.
“How can I promote well-being and connection in myself and my communities?”
This is my learning question. Although the question has remained the same since the start of the journey, my focus has shifted dramatically. You see, I’m pregnant, and when the group first came together I was 13 weeks into my pregnancy. This is my first baby and in May when everything was kicking off with Enrol I hadn’t really registered what being “with child” actually meant for me. I was preoccupied with finding employment, recruiting for Enrol and setting out as a rookie massage therapist. As my professional life settled into some semblance of a rhythm, my true journey with Enrol started to emerge like the baby in my belly.
Called to Ritual
I have been drawn to ritual and storytelling over the last few years, when changes have arisen, such as my engagement and the welcoming in of a new year. My mind seemed to magnetise to rituals when considering such life events, even though my upbringing was absent of more “earthly” traditions. And now, facing arguably the most significant transformation of my life, ritual has been quietly beckoning me in again. So, in my initial brainstorming sessions for my learning question I decided to explore this area of interest.
This was really the beginning of a journey that has been unique, sacred and deeply personal. I have found myself embracing a new-found awareness of the transformational changes that are occurring in my body and my spirit. My identity as a woman, as a mother-to-be, and as an energetic being capable of bringing forth new life have been thrown into sharp relief. I have become acutely aware that something more than just physical is taking place within me, something deeper and more magical than I have ever experienced before. I am also aware that I am departing from a previous identity and entering into a new one. These insights have been sparked by reading texts by anthropologists such as Arnold Van Gennep as well as through connections with fascinating spiritual thinkers and practitioners, people who have an innate and fervent belief of the invisible forces that exist all around us.
“Human transitions have, among some peoples, been linked to the celestial passage, the revolutions of the planets and the phases of the moon. It is indeed a cosmic conception that relates to the stages of human existence to those of plant and animal life and, by a sort of pre-scientific divination, joins them to the great rhythms of the universe.” Arnold Van Gennep
Now, I am by no means going to be launching myself into a new career as a shamanic healer, but I have been totally enthralled by the rich tapestry of ancient wisdom and universal divinity unfolding before my eyes. The possibilities to connect with myself and my communities now seem endless! I have gone on a pilgrimage to find the homes and connect with the earth of my Welsh ancestors; I have started writing messages to my baby every evening; I am meditating and stretching regularly next to a small altar I constructed for the babe; and I have designed and conducted a few mini rituals for loved ones. But importantly, I understand now that opportunities for ritual and meaningful connection are everywhere, it’s simply about dropping into the frequency and creating intentions around your actions. The earth feels like she has opened up to me, or should I say, I have opened up to her.
Over the next few months I will be continuing to delve into the world of ritual and my own humble rite of passage (and blogging about the process, of course). I hope to create my own ritual resources with the aim of supporting myself and my communities to find increased strength, energy and comfort when transitioning through life’s various experiences, as well as to seek the transcendent in our every day. This is the purpose of creative ritual — increasing balance and connection in ourselves, with one another, the world, and with the larger rhythms and energies that bring stability and light to our lives.
“The psyche is not of today. Its ancestry goes back many millions of years. Individual consciousness is only the flower and fruit of a season, sprung from the perennial root beneath the earth.” Carl Jung
My mind wonders then, as I tread further and further along my transitional pathway that perhaps I was called to this journey. Perhaps I have been called to the learning marathon to guide me through my rite of passage towards motherhood. Perhaps I have been called by my Celtic ancestors to embrace the ritual and ceremony that is so rich in their ancient traditions, to support and nourish me through this transformation. Perhaps I have been called by my unborn baby, to be its guardian and to nurture it with consciousness, awareness and soul. I guess I’ll never know for sure, but I can wonder.
