5Doors Monthly — JD Rudometkin

5 Doors* is a monthly online magazine/gallery featuring new music, cinema, art, and writing from artist JD RUDOMETKIN and guest artists. It is also a communal space where monthly rituals are curated. * This gallery is best experienced on a desktop/laptop computer.

LIMINAL RITUAL with beads

Descending shadow mountain in late March with the temperatures rising and the hound veering off the trail behind me, I felt rattlesnakes crawling around my mind. The rains this year have been heavy and now the tall grass is growing thick between the stones. An ideal haven for serpents.

Moving quickly down the mountain along a winding trail, I rounded a tight bend and took a large step to avoid a sharp rock on the path—and as I did so my boot landed near a coiled rattler—poised and ready to strike. I jumped back, and looked to make sure the dog was safe. When I turned back around to face the rattler, it had suddenly disappeared.

In its place was a rather small opuntia basilaris. More commonly referred to as a beavertail pricklypear. The rattlesnake in my mind had become a small, native cactus of the Mojave Desert. My fear had materialized.

In that moment, it became clear to me that my obsessive thoughts about rattlesnakes had influenced my perception of reality. Our thoughts create our world. Science continues to provide evidence for what the mystics have always known:

“As a womxn thinketh in her heart, so is she.”

When I got back down to my cabin, a series of questions followed:

Where does my mind tend to wander?
Why does it go down that path?
Am I protected or harmed by these thoughts?
Do I want to create a different reality?

For the month of April I invite you to create a ritual that will help you begin to create a new reality. Even as snakes shed their skin, we can slough off our old ways of being.

Some will enter this ritual as innocent children who possess an innate faith. Others choose to doubt such enterprises. Either way, the mind goes on creating our world out of thin air. So, why not give it 30 days of your sweet time.

Perhaps you have notice a thought pattern that tends toward fear: “I am not good enough to create this project.” Or, “I am always struggling to meet new friends.” Another one might be, “I am afraid to get too close to people because I have been hurt before.”

Observe the mind with care. And without judgement. Simply notice where the mind goes. And how often it goes down a similar path. Spend an entire day simply observing your mind. Then ask yourself: “Do I like what I think about?” And then ask, “How does it make me feel?”

Perhaps you realize that many of your thoughts are obsessive and based in fear and are not helping you at all. This is true of much of humanity. And the ability to gently observe ourselves is also an amazing ability that humans possess. And it is a skill we can improve. And as we begin to notice our tendencies, we can then begin to create a new way of being.

It's best to begin this process by creating one simple, new thought pattern. Here’s an example: “I am deeply connected with my loved ones.” Or, “I am supported by my friends and I support them.” Still another might be, “I receive and welcome pure love.” Create this phrase in the present tense. Feel into what it feels like to know this new truth in your body and in your mind.

It's up to you to spend part of your day sussing out what you want most at this particular time in your life. And it is helpful to realize this process is not about being perfect, its simply about finding a phrase that’s close to your heart. You can always change the phrase if you need to.

Once you have your phrase, it's very helpful to add repetition and a physical component to the ritual. In this case we will be using a chain of beads or a rosary. And if you don’t have one of those handy you can simply tie 30-40 knots in a piece of twine. We will move through the beads using our thumb and finger, while repeating the phrase for each bead or knot. We will do this twice a day.

And finally, this phrase is to be repeated in the liminal state before going to sleep and again in the morning as you wake up. I keep my beads on a small night stand beside my bed. The last thing I do before I go to sleep is repeat my phrase. And this is also the first thing I do as I am waking up in the morning. Creating new thought patterns while the mind is in the liminal state of openness is a way of working with the subtle parts of our imagination. This allows change to occur in a more natural way.

If you will be participating in this ritual let me know via email (jdrudo@gmail.com) and I will send you a mid-month check in notification for a group zoom call in which we will discuss how our liminal rituals are proceeding.

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