Self-Care as Ritual
Self-care for Americans is often considered a luxury. Due to our technological demands and addictions (Demons as they are), and the slow slipping of our economic structures, we are often at the mercy of the bottom line at work. Over-paid CEOs and CFOs and their many assistants eat up so, so much of workplace finances. Rush! Rush! Rush! In the 2017 American Psychological Association survey on stress in America, workplace stress and financial worries were major causes of increased emotional reactivity for Americans. Add to this our enormous addiction problems 
(drugs of abuse, alcohol, nicotine, opioids, cell phones, and “conspicuous consumption” as anormal process). So instead of healthy self-care many American take the path of least resistance and self-medicate. To improve psychological and physical health, we need to ritualize self-care practices. We need to make them one of our most important priorities on a regular basis. You may want to note that you must care for your child within. The list below provides some starting points for you to consider. Try as many of these practices as you can, and adopt as ritual a few you really like. Remember effective self-care is bio-psycho-social-spiritual. Ritualize it!
- You are transforming at the cellular level – every second some part dies and some part is born, arising and falling
- Hot stone massage
- Early morning walks
- Daily mindfulness, meditation, and yoga
- Pray
- Mindful movement stretches
- A Reiki session
- Long warm baths with aroma therapy, oils, and candles
- Tea drinking ceremonies
- Hot oil foot massage, or whole body hot oil massage
- Practice Mindfulness-Based Stress Reductions
- Sit with your pet and pet it
- Plan for an enjoy one whole day of silence
- Un plug everything – TV, computer, cell phones (especially), etc.
- Take a break from the evening news
- Write brief entries in a happiness journal
- Locate a “wisdom mentor” and pay for your time with her/him
- Apologize to a person you harmed, make amends
- Do your own personal spiritual practices
- Write or recite gratitude lists
- Hug a lot – with emotional meaning
- Walk in a labyrinth
- Recycle – reduce your personal carbon footprint
- Walk in nature
- Have a conversation with your inner self-helper, that part of you that tries to help you be well
- Use helpful mantras – “I an ok the way I am.” ” I have enough right now in my life.” ” All things change.”
- Practice deep, slow, calm abdominal breathing often during the day – take a breathing break
- Practice active kindness and compassion
- Practice self-compassion
- Love a lot – with emotional meaning
- Radically accept yourself, and stop being self-critical
For more information refer to The Little Book of Self-Care…(2017). New York: Adams Media/Simon and Schuster. See also Thich Nhat Hanh (2017). The Art of Living. New York: Harper Collins.
Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC
From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton Sangha
Author of Mindful Happiness
