Rituals of the Water
Return (fall)
Description:
Return honors the process of Complete Information with a daylong ceremony, held within each Community’s Lower-Ordered Body Spheres, ideally in groups of between 8–20 participants. For a Community with LOB Spheres either larger or smaller than this range, temporary Spheres may be created for the event. As a Community-based ceremony, those members of standalone Spheres who do not belong to a Community may be invited by any Community to join them, otherwise, they may attempt the ceremony on their own, with or without a Sage present. The day begins with reflection over the previous year / decade. Members dig through old memories, albeit photo albums, social media sites, storage boxes, and the like. This both symbolizes the Concert Hall’s return of Earthly information, but also spurs the members to consider the events of the previous year / decade, and who they might wish to reveal some previously unknown information to.
Members gather to hear a summation of the previous year’s Lunar Quorums. A circle is formed, and music played. In turn, each member jumps into the circle, performs a short dance movement, jumps out, and the entire circle parrots the move. This heart-pounding moment is designed to both create vulnerability, while also loosening members up. When the circle is complete and the music ends, each member again enters the circle, and stands at its center. Symbolizing the Novel Universe Model’s function of Quantum Transience, each member relays a story, describing positive, negative, and / or neutral valence, in other words, some “yum, yuck, or blah” event from their life. These stories are meant to be humorous, touching, uplifting, or otherwise inspiring.
The circle breaks apart, and a buffet / picnic is enjoyed and games are played. Meanwhile, the ceremony takes a serious turn as members cluster together, revealing something unknown to each other. There is no limit to how many of these “secrets” are revealed, only that, at minimum, one is heavy or difficult. These revelations represent the core of Return, a spiritual parallel signifying our Ripples returning with both harsh and wonderful information unavailable to us on Earth. The food and games function to counter this potentially stressful process, helping soothe the membership as they release and accept that novel information.
Once a member is satiated, played out, and said what they have to say, they gather a pen, paper, and secret container(s). Returning to the circle, they await the rest of their Sphere. As members slowly return, each sits, writes more secrets they may wish to privately reveal to another, seal the container, then wait in silence for the remaining discussions to finish. Once the last member has returned and sealed their last container(s), they call the Sphere to stand and close their eyes in silent prayer. When all prayers are completed and eyes reopened, one-by-one, Citizens reenter the circle, comment on things they are willing to share about what they’ve experienced throughout the day, and finish with a single-subject prayer, such as, “Thank you, Love for my father who, today, recognized and apologized for a traumatic childhood event,” or “Thank you, Love for my mom who revealed those early doubts and vulnerabilities as a mother, and made me feel more confident with my own children,” or something mundane, like “Thank you, Love for my sister who reminded me why straightening up after a shower is important to the whole family!”
Lastly, the exchange of written secrets. As the Sphere breaks up, those containers are given to their intended recipients, whether that be the subject of the secret or simply a trusted member they wish to confide in. For those secrets still too sensitive to yet be revealed, the container is either buried or burned, depending on whether the member feels they may one day be ready to reveal it (buried), or may never reveal it (burned). The spot where those secretes are buried should be documented by the member / Sage(s), in order that they might one day be dug up.
Practices:
During the morning of Return, members forgo breakfast, and instead, prepare for the day by digging into their memories, both reminiscences and physical reminders.
Before the sun’s zenith (near noon), LOB Spheres within the Community join together in some previously designated spot and prepare a large picnic.
Once the meal is set, they hear from the Community’s Sages. A special, Community newsletter, summarizing the previous year’s Lunar Quorums, is read by the oldest, capable member of the group.
Music begins to play, cuing the members to join in a circle. With the most recently confirmed Sage going first, each takes a turn, jumping into the circle to perform a dance move everyone will parrot. The order circles counter-clockwise, in other words, a member dances, and the one to their right goes next.
The music ends, and again, each takes their turn stepping into the circle, only this time, at its center, and relays one positive, negative, and / or neutral event from their life that occurred over the last year / decade. The youngest member of the Community goes first, and the order circles clockwise, to the youngster’s left side.
The circle breaks up, and the picnic is enjoyed. Games are played while communal “therapy,” or group exchange of hard truths, takes place– each member relays some unknown information to another member.
One-by-one, members gather their pen, paper, and containers, return to the circle, sit on the ground with shoes off in front of them (as is practical), and begin writing their secrets. Once finished, they seal their containers, set them in front of their shoes in the circle to signal they are done, and wait in silence for the rest of the group to complete their writings.
The last member to finish, calls the group to stand, eyes closed, in silent prayer.
After all eyes have reopened, members again enter the circle to share special experiences of Return, and give a single-subject prayer. The first to go will be the oldest Sage in the Community, with the order circling counter-clockwise.
With shoes back on, the group breaks up, and works together to clean up the picnic and games. During this time, they exchange those written secrets in sealed containers, or burn / bury the sealed secrets if there is no trusted other to share them with.
The day ends with the cleanup completed.
Dancing Day (the day after Return)
Description:
Venerating the function of the Concert Hall, this celebration begins with a communal breakfast under the late sunrise of fall, where members of the body celebrate their pillars. Again, Dancing Day is a Community-based celebration, and those members of Spheres who do not belong to a Community may be invited by any Community to join them, otherwise, they may celebrate on their own, with or without a Sage present. The Day is filled with creating handmade treats and gifts to symbolize the unique nature of Signature-Frequency Sets sharing with each other; meantime, Citizens virtually / physically connect with Citizens of other bodies, either one-on-one or in group chats. Overall, Dancing Day is about connecting with as many loved ones as possible, and although in general, in-person connections are preferential, during this period of the celebration, virtual ones are to be prioritized.
To initiate the day’s end, members exchange their creations like Sets swapping information, and join together in dance as a feast is prepared and set by the Performers– an honored group chosen by the body’s Citizens throughout the previous year. While serving the meal, Performers are dressed in special costumes reflecting the Community’s POP. The Performers symbolize the difference in the beyond-life between the audience, those who passively enjoy the plays and games of the Concert Hall, and the players, those have incarnated in the Novel Universe to gain the experience– trials / joys of life– that garner the perspectives necessary to actively create the complex characters featured in these games and stories.
During the meal, everyone is invited to stand and publicly retell highlights of their day. After the meal, those who nominated each Performer honors them with a story expressing their reason(s) behind the nomination. The event concludes with a grand finale– a movie, show, light display, or some shared experience reflecting their POP– meant to focus the membership into a single moment of unity.
Practices:
Throughout the year, members submit nominations for fellow members to be Performers in the coming Dancing Day.
Performers are selected based on the number of slots and nominations. Those with the most nominations fill the slots first. Should there be open slots prior to Dancing Day, the Community’s Sage(s) fill those slots with those members deemed to deserve the honor, and will act as the person(s) who nominated the Performer(s) for the end-of-day activities. Otherwise, Sages do not nominate members.
During the Lunar Quorum preceding Dancing Day, the Performers are announced, and those nominees are alerted that they have also been chosen to testify at the end of the Day as to why the Performer was nominated.
Long before sunrise, the Sages and Performers arrive at the Community Center to co-create a scrumptious breakfast for the entire Community.
Once prepared, the Sages and Performers eat breakfast together, and then dress in simple Community-POP-based attire, akin to uniforms servers wear at restaurants.
With the rising sun, the Community gathers at their Community Center, and is welcomed by the Performers and Sages for breakfast.
While the Performers manage the breakfast buffet etc., the Community Sages give speeches noting the progress and state of the Community’s pillars.
While the Performers clean up breakfast, members create handmade treats / gifts, and virtually / physically contact other Cult members of other Communities to reminisce over the events of the previous year / decade. This takes place from the end of breakfast into the late afternoon. The Performers change out of their uniforms into comfortable attire, and join the membership in these reminiscences. Although members are encouraged not to overeat– to “save room” for the end-of-day feast– snacks are still provided at the Community Center by the Sages, but a lunch is not formally held, allowing the membership flexibility in their pursuit of social connections.
When practical, the Performers announce the preparation of the feast at some point in the late afternoon, and members return to the Community Center for a dance. Between songs, Citizens are encouraged to stand onstage, giving short speeches / relaying highlights from the day’s contacts with other members.
Once they have prepared the feast, Performers change into elaborate costumes, and call the body to gather. The Performers serve the meal for the Community, with the Sages eating as well.
After the feast, those chosen members who nominated the Performers are called upon to testify as to why they believe the member deserved to be highlighted that year for their direct contributions to the Community’s progress / well-being. Following their speeches, any member who wishes to add a story is welcome to do so. Next, the Performers exit the stage, change back into comfortable attire, and eat their portion of the feast as a group. Sages and Community members act as servers for the Performers.
While the Performers eat, the rest of the Community works together to clean up, while the Eldest Sages oversee the setup / final preparations for the grand finale. Once the finale is ready and the Performs have eaten, the entire Community comes together to clean up after the Performers– a reflection of the work the Performers did throughout the day returning to them through the Community’s efforts. Performers are encouraged to be mindful of the mess they make, understanding the additional work for the Community they might create, but in that same breath, not overly focused on it. A major part of Dancing Day is the ritualized opportunity to actively care for and connect with fellow members.
With the membership gathered, the grand finale takes place, and again, afterward, the whole Community, including the Performers, works in cooperation to complete the day’s cleanup.