Routine and Rituals in Covid-19, Part Two

by on May 14, 2020

a fern leaf in the palm of a hand

In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen talk with Heather Stringer about her creative process of stepping into a moment in someone’s story and creating a ritual. Heather invites us to pause, gather a few items, and participate in a special ritual to account for the past few days and to ask: How do I need to move toward myself during this time?

Before beginning the ritual, Rachael talks about her own, personal experience moving through a healing ritual with Heather. Rachael witnessed Heather’s ability to help not only capture meaning in a tangible way, but also to offer release as she crafted a liturgy that drew from poignant moments and patterns in Rachael’s life. 

For the ritual that Heather leads during this podcast, you will need to gather salt, something sweet, and something bitter. 

“It’s a matter of drawing out the themes in your life. Where do I find myself caught over and over again, where does grief come up for me, what are the things I’m drawn to? […]  Where have you come from that has shaped who you are and the position you are in right now? The way we are engaging the present has so much to do with our past.” Heather Stringer 

“You’re holding past, creating a future, but in some ways, as a poet in the physical world you’re calling us into the concreteness of life to symbolize things that are so vast.” Dr. Dan Allender. 

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