[little*rhino]

i'm planning for another tattoo - a rhino It's very meaningful for me and holds a lot of positive imagery that helps me stay focused in hard times, and provides a lot of comfort in sadness and fear

i'm interested in what positive rituals or symbols others have that they use to stay well or to get healthier. i've always been a big believer in surrounding myself with lots of meaningful objects and symbols, and i believe also in the nurturing aspect of it... that's why various religions have so much imagery and ritual things, because human beings draw some sort of healing from those sorts of things.

Joseph Campbell's book Myths of Light talks a lot about the loss of mythology(in various forms) as being a big part of the sort of modern problem... he even talks about the comparison between various psych schools of thought and the path of the kundalini as believed by yogi's thousands of years ago. That particular mention of "swimming the abyss" as how people go insane is fascinating.

anyway.. sorry for the diversion into nerd-alert territory.... the point i am interested in is what sort of public or private things do use practice as a sort of ritual that brings you strength? what symbols bring meaning for you?

i am super excited about the tattoo... need to save up. My T will be excited too. He was really impressed with the lotus i got last time. A lotus symbolizes the emergence from a difficult journey and after leaving my abusive ex, i decided at some point i was free and i got the lotus tattoo.

many peoples around the world integrate their symbology into body work... i wanted to have my most powerful symbols become a part of me and i wanted to carry them where i could see them.

interested in what helps others

[Okami]

You're brave. ;] Tattoos sound like a major pain. Literally. I'm excited for you though. It'll be fun. An experience. And rhinos are awesome, so it all works out. You should say how it goes. I'm curious. Haha.

As for me, I have a real thing for Ancient Egyptian symbols and the like.
They really represent a lot for me.
If I'm going to enter new territory or a major change in my life, I always wear my silver ankh necklace that my girlfriend got for me. I also have a golden Bastet statue that sits in my window sill. Seriously, if it isn't there every night when I go to sleep, I ain't sleeping. ;]

I also have tons of little nick nacks and the like I got from Egypt.
My major goal is to go visit and really bask in the presence. It'll mean a whole lot to me. Maybe someday, eh?

Anyway. Best of luck with your tattoo. : D WHOOO!
<3

[madisgram]

i use nature to be a symbol for me that i'm part of a greater plan. i also meditate to gain serenity in my life.
good luck with the new tattoo, rhino. is your screen name symbolic too?

[Onward2wards]

Fascinating post! I have for a long time had the concept of "sacred space" ... a time, a place, an activity that calms me and connects me with very positive, empowering emotions. Arranging my workspace carefully, as if I were about to do something important, and then approaching my personal art there in a very focused frame of mind, for example, is sacred space ... it creates a feeling of flow and being connected with my own source, for lack of a better term. I think doing anything of personal significance mindfully and without distractions tends to do this for many people.

As for symbols ... water, trees and infinity I find to be very powerful.

[Rhiannonsmoon]

Originally Posted by little*rhino

i'm planning for another tattoo - a rhino It's very meaningful for me and holds a lot of positive imagery that helps me stay focused in hard times, and provides a lot of comfort in sadness and fear

i am super excited about the tattoo... need to save up. My T will be excited too. He was really impressed with the lotus i got last time. A lotus symbolizes the emergence from a difficult journey and after leaving my abusive ex, i decided at some point i was free and i got the lotus tattoo.

many peoples around the world integrate their symbology into body work... i wanted to have my most powerful symbols become a part of me and i wanted to carry them where i could see them.

interested in what helps others

I have a lotus with wings emanating from it across my shoulders (I fell asleep while having it done now that I know I have ms I figure the numbness is what made me so brave and state that I felt no pain at all).

I have a signature Archangel Raphaella on my right shoulder and the cadaceous staff of the healer on the other. On my right front shoulder I have a butterfly and on the front left a damselfly (female dragonfly). Tattoos are addictive. Oh and I have the crescent moon on my forehead which is a symbol of the path I live.

Thanks for bringing this up it's something positive at a difficult time

[little*rhino]

Rhiannonsmoon reconnecting with those symbols is what makes them so powerful i think... campbells whole idea was how our culture has lost its connection to something potent by losing its connection to myth and ritual. So for me, sometimes spending time looking at my two "journey" tattoos reconnects me, you know? i am happy this brought you something positive i have had people make claims about tattoos being negative and wrong, etc, but that negates thousands of years of the deep importance of both personal symbology and body art as a form of spiritual and cultural expression.

i will tell you that many people fall asleep for back tattoos as there is something sedating that happens... um... i think it has to do with endorphine release and the stimulation of the surface nerves that radiate out across the back... but i forget

yes, madi... my screen name is deeply meaningful to me. Last year i made a brave step at a bad time. i didn't choose the event, it chose me! SOmething in me wanted to tell my T about my childhood sexual abuse... and i did, but he was going on vacation just a few weeks later. He was concerned for me and i was worried/distressed so he lent me a small rhino carving to help me through. i had to give it back but that was ok... he lent it to me even though he was attached to it and was afraid it would get broken or lost. It really meant a lot that he did that.... and i took it everywhere, kept it by my bed so it could watch over me while i slept.

oh yes On2, a sacred space is veyr much a ritual sort of practice... there is something almost meditative in taking the time to create or honour those spaces. And true, almost anything can stand in for this kind of practice... but from what i gather from reading i am of the opinion that attaching significance to specific actions or objects is important to the sense of continuity... meaning, we give them power by creating a specialness about them.

Nah okami... the pain from a tattoo isnt so bad, depends on your own pain tolerance levels and where the tatt is, the size of the needles, etc... but it doesn't hold a candle to the physical pain i live with all the time. And i find it stops hurting so much within a few minutes anyway. i certainly dont seek it for the pain More like i endure the pain because it makes the parts of me i CHOOSE to be become more integrated with the parts of me i was born with.

thanks for joining in this

[Rhiannonsmoon]

Originally Posted by little*rhino

Rhiannonsmoon reconnecting with those symbols is what makes them so powerful i think... campbells whole idea was how our culture has lost its connection to something potent by losing its connection to myth and ritual. So for me, sometimes spending time looking at my two "journey" tattoos reconnects me, you know? i am happy this brought you something positive i have had people make claims about tattoos being negative and wrong, etc, but that negates thousands of years of the deep importance of both personal symbology and body art as a form of spiritual and cultural expression.

i will tell you that many people fall asleep for back tattoos as there is something sedating that happens... um... i think it has to do with endorphine release and the stimulation of the surface nerves that radiate out across the back... but i forget

I totally agree with Campbell, my forehead tattoo is one that has been passed on down through my family for generation upon generation, and is very important. I am having a star placed above it soon.

I've seen a couple fall asleep; mine was a 4 hour tattoo (not including breaks), and stretches from the left shoulder to the right and is up onto my neck.

I understand about the EDR but I couldn't feel the needles at all from the start, my skin there has been null of sensation for quite some time now. I have to face on in the shower so that I can feel how hot the water is to ensure I don't scald myself, thats happened before.

But It would be a good idea to start a thread on why an image is symbolic and why we actually got the tattoos. I love to read how others are uplifted and happy with the actual meaning, what it signifies for them.

[Elana05]

I love nerd-alert territory!

I know this isn't that odd but the ritual that always makes me feel better is that of making a hot-drink. Especially if it is a proper cup of tea (in a pot) or a well made cup of coffee. And especially if it is at 4:00 (the right time for coffee or tea for me). Anyway this ritual sometimes is the one thing that keeps me going. The time spent in preparation - I know I will not get it wrong, then sitting down to think and breathe... for a moment world seems to be OK.

[splitimage]

I have an amythest & bead bracelet that says "Just for Today" on it, that I wear all the time. It reminds me to live in the now, and that I can handle anything for one day.

--splitimage

[little*rhino]

Any action or object can become part of the ritual no matter how simple... the key component is meaning, what these things mean. In my mind a couple of Tea can hold quite a lot of meaning after all just look at the Japanese tea ceremonies... and same goes for simple objects that become meaningful symbols for us. The power is in the process of attaching meaning, discovering meaning, and then ultimately, in reconnecting to that meaning when we need it.

This is great! thank you for participating

peace
little*rhino/big nerd

[Princess_Obsidian]

Greetings,

I need nothing, other than myself, to lift my spirit. After all, depending on something/someone else to always turn one's frown upside, seems to take away from the trust/belief of one's own self, in the first place. In my own personal opinion, of course.

Nonetheless, I admire the fact that even there are many who turn to outside sources for a hug, that they, at least, believe there are positive outside sources out there to do so.

Have a good one.

[Fresia]

I really needed to consider this post; sad but true and it came at a good time. There are a lot of things that are uplifting and soothing to me, like others, tea: preparing and drinking a nice cup, and getting back to my place with some specific paintings to look at and mementos from friends, family, and travels always brings me up and grounds me as does meditation in this safe, comfortable place. Being out in nature and taking note of it, especially while walking with the dogs and playing with them brings immense comfort to my spirit. I look forward to these times and need them. There are other things I now realize that are also uplifting rituals that have fallen to the wayside that I need to bring back into my life; thank you so much for this thread!

[little*rhino]

you're welcome Fresia i am glad the discussion gives you something to think about

Princess... what we are discussing is actually very much integrated into being able to do things yourself for yourself - that's what these rituals and objects do. Yuo might want to check out Myths of Light by Campbell or Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl. Both give some very good discussion as to the importance of meaning. The things we are discussing are about specific modes of achieving meaning... connection to life and the world. ANother good book that has a good chapter on that is Full Catastrophe Living.

People need meaningful connection to the world through some means... be that objects, events, people, animals - something. WIthout that we suffer immeasurably and we die younger. The last book I mention discusses some of the science studies behind that.

There is a difference between connecting to meaning, and uplifting one's self through rituals and objects and the idea of being dependent on an external source of internal power. If one cannot survive without a specific object or ritual, that isn't what we are talking about here. This is about deepening the experience of life through the non-tangible power within our own sense of meaning.

peace

[azuloctobre]

I ritually cleanse my home when a time of turmoil/lots of problems are present. I get a bundle of Indian sage and light it, then walk from room to room wafting the smoke into each room. It clears the home of negative energy and the fallout energies that are left over after there have been many arguments and disagreements.

[kliveadam]

good post

[hippiebea]

hi lil rhino!! i too hve incorporated my personal images of "power" into body work re:tats. i have my right and left totem animals on my l shoulder(eagle sitting on a medicin wheel) and r ankle (bear claw). i also have a sun/moon at the base of my neck/top of my spine which represents the balance of the heavens. im very big on the symbols and teachings/riituals that i have been taught by many traditional elders & shamans of various nat. amer indian tribes that i met out west. i even offer to teach what i have learned to interested people. i pray with my prayer pipe,have been in many sweat lodges and even attended a native american church ceremony- wakan (holy)peyote ceremony. that was the beginning of my concentrated journey to heal my personal demons. the very physical aspects of these rituals appeals to me on so many levels. havent been in a sweat lodge in years- i NEED a sweat!! wonder if there any here in tennessee? hmmm ill have to start putting that energy out there. peace

[hippiebea]

be sure to open a window/door to let the neg energy out. (in case u didnt know) i smudge too. just the smell is calming. sage is a very powerful plant. also gr8 4 breaking up mucus when used as tea. cedar is another cleanser and sweetgrass invites "sweet" spirits/energy.

[Muser]

Sometimes and object....seemingly unimportant will hold significance. For me it will just be a feel or a touch....the way it fits in my hand....and I will have to hold on to it forever.

One funny one...I had confetti in my hand that I was supposed to throw when my sister exited the church after her nuptials. I was a little kid and excited so I forgot to throw it. I saved it as well as a piece of the wedding cake. She passed away a few months later.

I still have them...along with a few other things of her's stored in a little shoebox.

[little*rhino]

ahhh... that is a GREAT point - symbolism and memory. Even elephants will delicately touch the bones of another elephant... it's moving to watch if you haven't seen a video of that btw.

mementos are an excellent example of a way most people use symbolism... and to be honest, i think our value placed on our photos is another. A photo is not a person or an event but in our hearts and minds it is. We hold our photos as our most precious possessions.... but they are just symbols... nothing is truly lost or gained by having or not having them...

i like to look at my tattoos as what i have done to make this "home" my own. My body was left up to me to decorate as i choose... i added some temporary items - like hair colour and piercings, and i added some more permanent elements that make this residence my own.

[Muser]

make this "home" my own...

Interesting I guess we sometimes modify our outward appearance to celebrate... rather than just express our inner attitude.

[Junerain]

The ritual of church means everything to me...I finally found one...that doesnt judge me, accepts me for me..and that is so powerful.....the services are so interactive, funny, and beautiful......I don't know what I would do without it....