RITUAL ECSTACY

The escalating rise of issue-driven people movements is cause for celebration. Though many movements have existed over the past century, the past couple of years have seen a groundswell of everyday people who yearn to belong to something with a conscience.

From slow food and slow thought to Big O’s, clearly, the intensely human need to experience the bond of community, shared values and common identity is mounting in the wake of the global energy shift.

As we heed the call to wear authentic hearts on our sleeves, the common threads that unite humanity are woven through joyous giving. What better way ignite a renewed sense of purpose and to build our new earth?

Let’s give kudos to the pioneers who lead by creating the space for others to grow as they tread softly in the brave new world. Willing to play their part with quiet tenacity, they’re banking on the prospect of creating a bliss-filled world – the ultimate luxury.

I’m excited by the endless possibilities that arise when I claim joy as a mantra.
As I look around, I see many people who are always so serious. Sure, life throws a curved ball now and then but where has all the laughter gone? Between swine flu paranoia and talk of the last days, it’s easy to ride on somber smiles and get lost in a world where big old belly laughs are sadly, a rarity.

Recently, I was unwittingly thrown into a laughter zone when an old university friend flew through Joburg for a weekend. Over 48 hours, with little sleep in-between, we retraced steps, rekindled old memories and celebrated life’s milestones.
In the six years since we last met, life has brought joy, love, pain, sacrifice and measures of accomplishment that we used to dream about. Undoubtedly, we’re both stronger and well, more textured human beings for it. Now, on the verge of our 40s, we made a pact to recapture and live by the carefree bliss that governed our lives two decades ago.

Back then, it was Jazzi B’s Soul II Soul movement that rocked our world. On Thursday nights at a cavernous club called The Fridge in Brixton, London, we danced till we literally dropped; spirits high on bottled water, good music and fidelity to a philosophy of unity of purpose, love and peace. Our Thursday night ritual at The Fridge was an expression of pure ecstasy.

As dusk fell softly that Sunday evening, I had reclaimed that high. The laughter and the memories had nourished my soul. It was cleansing, healing and restorative.
I can see why the laughter movement is gaining momentum all over the globe. A short decade ago, who could have imagined paying someone to coach us in doing what is probably the most natural thing in the world – laugh? Laughter clinics are workshops designed to help us regain a sense of self and life balance.

Last year, as far afield as Jamaica, I picked up a book called Free & Laughing by Marguerite Orane. Written just ahead of the laughter workshop boom, her book is a series of anecdotes of everyday happenings. Her perspective invites a Free & Laughing world view seen through the spiritual insights in everyday moments.
No surprises to learn that her workshops are a hit across the water in L.A., Miami and other parts of the US. But it is surprising to learn that even in sunny Jamaica, where the cool breeze rustles palm trees on pristine sands, Orane is in demand for her quirky approach to making sense of life.

Her life philosophy is a salve part of what is evidently a global thirst for joyful living. Raise the bar from joy to bliss and we’re in headrush zone. What then of creating natural ecstatic highs on a regular basis?

In some spaces, ecstacy conjures up salacious winks or visions of blue pills. Scratch below the surface and we see how we’ve inadvertently co-created an anti-ecstatic culture where we are compelled to make decisions about deciding to be ecstatic as a collective meditation.

A couple of notches up from happy, bliss or ecstasy is a tall order. Luxury purchases and holidays can be blissful no doubt! But bonafide ecstatic living calls for a deeper commitment to ritual, hi-frequency life choices. It takes work!
June this year saw The Big O Day, a day dedicated to ‘uniting the world in pleasure’. Delete visions of mass orgies and returns to free-love hedonism. The Big O Day comes from another movement created to reawaken the divine feminine energy in the earth by inviting its followers to consciously engage in at least 15 minutes of pleasure every day. Though sex is not ruled out, the intention is to recognize and evoke the joy that comes from simple pleasures in life. It’s about bliss. In short, ecstasy!

In a perfect world, ecstatic living will move past buzzword status to being an integral, deeply ingrained part of our soul tapestry nurtured from inside to full blast expression on the outside. Ritual is the key.