I turned 32! Here Is What I Did For My Birthday Ritual

Happiness

Jun 2

It was my birthday on 11 May and it was beautiful!

I have learned that in my adult life I need to plan my birthdays with more care if I want the day to be – which I do.

So, this year was the second time that I set aside some time for an entire ritual morning!

Rituals are incredibly grounding. They help you to really savour a moment, they help you to create memories, and they make what you are doing incredibly meaningful.

Nina Gruenewald, life coach, happiness coach, somatic coach, embodiment coach

So, because a few people asked me what it means when I say I did a birthday ritual morning, I am sharing with you here what I did:

1) Prepare the space

I placed a cosy blanket on the floor, put some inspiring and grounding music on, I lit a candle, put up various photos of myself as a child and as a teenager. I also put up photos of my grandpa who sadly passed away last year. A few years ago, two friends gave me a beautiful wooden carved box which I now use as my ritual box. I placed that on the floor as well and took out a rose quartz crystal, some white sage and Palo Santo wood (I know now that these last two products are not exactly a good choice, ethically). I usually don’t use such spiritual elements a lot but I have collected them over the years and now I like to use them occasionally simply to enrich the moment.

2) Journal what I achieved this past year

Then, the first thing I did was journal about my past year. 2020 itself was quite intense for me and the New Year meant a whole new beginning for me and my life. I wrote about that for a while - only in positive terms. When difficult times entered my mind, I wrote down how I handled them well or how I became stronger because of them. My achievements ranged from relationship achievements (I believe the relationship with my partner has become a lot stronger despite (or because?) of the ups and downs), personal achievements (I started this blog!, I got more (and visible) tattoos, I started seeing a counsellor and saw a life coach), travel achievements (I travelled on my own to the coast by car which was my first long-distance drive ever!), work-related achievements (discovering my new dream work area and letting go of what no longer served me) to community achievements (I started meeting more people, going to networking events, trying out a new movement studio…). When I listed them all down, I tried to just bathe in that and to just feel a sense of pride, gratitude and contentment in my body. It wasn’t a bad (albeit tough) year!

3) Letting go ritual

I came up with this little ritual for myself where I write down on a large piece of paper a few things that I promise myself I will let go of in the next year. I then cut out the separate phrases and burn each of them slowly over my candle. Fire safety assured! While the little piece of paper burns, I just speak out my promise and what this means to me. I didn’t think about this ritual logically. I just do it in a way that my soul desires. Keep it fun!

Then, I also write down the things I now invite into my life for the next year. It is beautiful to collect all of this in your notebook because when you read back to it you get a pretty good sense of where you were at that time.

4) Sage my space and myself

Let me start out by saying that I am using California White Sage and that there are some ethical and cultural implications with using it. Plus, it is a protected plant and it is at risk. To be honest, I was not aware of this before and now I use mine very sparingly and I will not purchase another one when mine is finished. I think it is important to be a little aware of these facts so that you don’t begin to sage your space every day and require a lot of it or so that you don’t accidentally combine it with inappropriate cultural elements. That also means, that you want to “buy high-quality, ethically cultivated sage.”

I’ve begun to really enjoy sageing my place. The smell gives it a sense of newness and rebirth. Especially being a part of my little ritual, it feels to me like it is manifesting my work around what I am letting go of and what I am inviting in.

But you can also use another beautiful object to create a ritual. Like a candle, shells or small natural objects that you picked up on your adventures.

5) Meditation

Meditation cannot miss in my birthday ritual. Meditation is my cornerstone, it is what keeps me grounded, it is the time when I connect with myself – even if there are 500 thoughts going through my mind! I sit as comfortably as I like, and meditate for as long as I like and for as long as it feels good. I may repeat some of the wishes for my new year in my mind or simply embody my self and my gratitude and presence in that moment by feeling into my physical sensations.

6) Affirmation cards

A year ago or so I bought Gabby Bernstein’s set of affirmation cards. I draw a card when it feels right - not every day. But it is also part of my birthday ritual to sit down with the cards and get a little external reminder of the importance of love and surrender to my experiences. I also asked a few questions, for example, “how do I move forward”? The card I drew felt perfect and beautiful as an answer and I just sat with that for a while before I wrote it in my journal.

7) Dance

I love dancing to a good song! And I love getting into my body and to express my joy and sometimes ridiculously intense enthusiasm. That’s just me and it is my way of feeling happy - that doesn’t mean it’s the same for you. I have friends who are very serene in their happiness and it is just as beautiful. The song they choose may be very different as would their dancing be. Dancing is just for letting your cells sing, take up some space and move around and use your body, getting those happiness hormones activated!

All in all, I spent about 2 hours doing my ritual and it was all about just being super present with me, my desires, my emotions, my sensations, my body and my mind. It is a very invigorating and empowering little thing to do and I can absolutely recommend giving it a go!

You can make your own little birthday ritual and you can make it all your own. You don’t need any sage or crystals or cards, work with what you have. The main thing, is to use it as some time for self-reflection, gratitude and hope.

What is your experience with ritual sittings? Do you take some good time for yourself for your birthday?