La padre
deb@lapadre.com 631.935.2777
  • Home
    • What IS Ritual?
    • Frequently Asked Question
  • Let's Work Together
    • ritual write-ups
    • ritual write ups for celebrations
    • Story-Beads
    • Monthly Planning Ritual
  • Free Ritual Write-Ups
  • Blog
  • About

The Practice of "Sacrifice" 

3/7/2014

0 Comments

 
by Deborah Globus
Sacrifice as a spiritual practice had always been one that confused me.  

I would think of the Temple in Jerusalem and wonder why they were wasting all that perfectly good food; God certainly didn’t need it.

It began to dawn on me that I might be taking the practice too literally.  


Sacrifice is done as a ritual act and as such, is a symbol of something else.  But what?
Picture
Sacrifice is a letting go of something, but who wants to let go of what they love? 


In the new age circles, sacrificing what was no longer useful or what we didn’t want became the go-to thing but that isn’t how the original practice went.

What would it mean to me to give away something of value, something that meant something to me?  

I explored this idea the year I turned 29 and decided it was high time I had a coming of age ceremony.  I had been exploring my teenage years in my journal and had healed many of the hurts, while at the same time recognizing the destructive patterns I was still following that grew out of those hurts.

I had decided it was time to put my angsty teenage years aside and embrace this thing called adulthood.
PicturePaul and me (and our shirt) in 1988
I needed a symbol of those years and I had just the thing: my space tye-dye.  (See the image to the left.)  

It was a beautiful shirt, Dead Head style, with an elaborate blending of blues and greens that I could never hope to achieve with my limited tye dying abilities.  

I had purchased it at the age of 16 from a local music store where I used to sell friendship bracelets I made where they’d sell for a hefty mark-up.  I couldn’t afford the shirt alone.  At $24 it was out of my price range, so my boyfriend and I split the cost with the intention of sharing it (which of course meant that I kept it and wore it all the time!)

All those years later I was still wearing it.  The boy and I had broken up years before.  I was married and the mother of a 2 year old. 

 It was time to let the shirt go.

But I loved it!  I loved its softness.  I loved its colors.  I loved the memories of it and of who I felt I was when I wore it.  At the same time I recognized that I was stuck and that, if I didn’t find a way to release the past that had haunted me all those years, I would never grow beyond it.

The shirt had to go.

There was a bonfire, and friends – friends who were equally determined to grow out of their old selves, their limiting beliefs.  The shirt caught quickly and burned spectacularly.

It hurt like hell to watch it go; what I had done was irredeemable, the shirt would never be mine again. 


There wasn’t a feeling of exaltation as I had always assumed my ancestors felt while sacrificing.  These were real feelings, practical feelings – sadness, loss, grief.

It was there, in the fire light that I finally understood what the practice of sacrifice is about: it signaled willingness.

In that moment of sadness I had demonstrated to the Universe just how ready I was to let go of my past.  

I was willing to undergo discomfort; I was willing to experience sadness and grief in order to arrive at a new place of being.

And I also  realized that if I was willing to experience all those negative emotions I was more than willing to experience the positive side of growth and reap the rewards of my work.  


I had shown that to the Universe, and to myself.
Picture
And all it cost me was a shirt.

So, what are you willing to experience?  

What discomfort would you undergo to make the world (or just yourself) a better place?  What would you sacrifice?



Would you care to come along on the journey?  We’re only three days in. Terri and I would love to have you along for the journey!

0 Comments

Jesus, Bummed.

12/21/2013

0 Comments

 
by Deborah Globus
Picture
An Advent Reflection for Begin Again 
and the Cloaked Monk

John 3:31-32
1 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.

Sometimes I think about how much of a bummer it must have been to be Jesus. 


Read More
0 Comments

Forging Authentic Traditions (From Very Different Backgrounds)

12/11/2013

0 Comments

 
by Deborah Globus
Picture
We’re an inter-faith family.

But that’s not quite true.

Read More
0 Comments

    Author

    My name is Deborah Globus and I am La Padre.  With me you'll find the support you need to uncover practical, do-able spiritual practices that work for you.  I offer new perspectives on old practices like journaling and ritual, with a side of compassion and a healthy dose of humor, just to keep it down-to-earth and real!

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Altars
    Blessingways
    Business
    Christianity
    Coming Of Age
    Earth Based
    Emotional Healing
    Hello Month! Welcome!
    Holidays
    How It Works
    Inspiration
    Interviews
    Intuition
    Journaling
    Judaism
    La Padre
    Leap Day
    Maggie And Christian
    Memorials
    Milestones
    Paganism
    Practices
    Prayers & Blessings
    Reference
    Retreats
    Ritual
    Rituals
    Rituals For Celebrations
    Rituals For Little Ones
    Rituals For The Moon
    Rituals For Writers
    Tarot
    Tricks And Tools
    Weddings
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture
631.935.2777
deb@lapadre.com
Website by LaraEastburn.com