WEBVTT

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(upbeat music)

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- So, when I say the word ritual, what comes to your mind?

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Maybe a scene from a movie

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where somebody's trying to sacrifice another person

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to awaken an evil entity?

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(hissing)

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No, what I'm talking about is a series of actions,

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and sometimes words, that we do from time to time,

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things that allow us to be centered.

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We may or may not realize it,

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but we all have rituals.

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We have individual rituals.

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We have rituals with family.

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We have rituals with friends.

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They're part of our existence.

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You see, we live in an ever-changing environment

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and rituals allow us to have a constant.

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They give us the space to digest our experiences,

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so that we can make it part of ourselves.

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In other words, it helps us grow.

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Rituals need to have meaning to us.

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That is the difference between a ritual

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and a tradition.

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A tradition are practices we do to remember things

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and to pass knowledge to the next generation,

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but rituals have the added benefit of allowing us

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to grow internally, to be better than we were before.

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Examples of rituals could be meditation,

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walking in the park, intentional moments of silence,

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you name it.

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If we spend a lot of time without practicing our rituals,

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we start to lose our balance.

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(cracking)

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Remember, even in a deployed location,

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you can practice your ritual.

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Take that as an opportunity

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to develop a new ritual,

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something that will allow you to capitalize

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on the uniqueness of the place where you are,

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something that will keep you center.

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The important thing to remember

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is that rituals are an integral part

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of our physical, emotional, spiritual,

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^and intellectual growth.

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So, practice your rituals.

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(squeaking)