Ritual as a Statement of Unity

“A primordial image is determined as to its content only when it has become conscious and is therefore filled out with the material and conscious experience.” - C.G. Jung

It is important for a writer to work from a place where thinking is clear, incisive & practical. No one wishes to waste time generating a torrent of manic expression, self-indulgent tangents which have no chance of fitting together to compose a coherent story. A lucid, focused through-line is a necessity for an effective story teller yet how to trust a form of inspiration which distracts from a mode of consciousness typically responsible for determining this clarity?

Is it possible to preserve creative awareness through ritual? I find myself enjoying the small things in daily writing, discovering a sense of comfort & confidence in this systematic approach. It may be akin to taking the same path along a familiar journey & in moving through informal rituals, I perceive a shift in consciousness—a honing of concentration.

Can we consider the presence of true inspiration an entrance to a sacred paradigm? Writing which discusses this greatly-sought after relationship commands language that denotes an aura of mystery, reverence & a form of possession. It is as though the writer is controlled by external force. Perception widens yet concentrates; there is a strong force of emotionalism which accompanies these elevated states.

Is ritual itself a form of worship? If when writing, we rely on a regular method of approach to our work, designed to focus the mind & heighten powers of concentration, can we say this happens in earnest expectation of making a sacred connection?

Can this relationship be willed on command or is it subject to a form of mystical whimsy & arbitrary application?

{Photographs by Paul Strand}