ReBegin Release and Revitalize Ritual

A bath of balloons is a very colorful and festive way to revitalize!

It's that time of year again - the lovely month of January, where a new calendar begins and we have an opportunity to set intentions for how we want the new year to be. It's a time of Tabla Rasa, where we can wipe the slate clean. It's a time of resolutions, and we all know there are many pledges and promises we aim to keep - but don't always do so. But by carving out some time in our schedules to really focus in on what we want to achieve is always time well spent. By making our own kind of special and unique ritual around the event, we are more likely to get our psyches to pay attention to the importance of our aspirations.

Below are some questions that were included in the program from The Happy Happy ReBegin Day Celebration. Guests were invited to write down their answers in two parts. Part one was things they wished to manifest in 2013. The second part was for things they wanted to release and let go of from 2012. We had a fire-pit blazing outside the venue where people could then burn their 2012 responses. Several guests commented afterwards that they really felt transformed by the process and it made them feel so much better about the new year.

So, I am including the questions for you here - and suggest that you create your very own ritual around this process. Make it your own! Take the things you wish to manifest for 2013 and create an art piece from them, or frame the answers and have them posted up where you can see them throughout the year to remind you. "Out of sight, out of mind", so make sure your wishes are prominently displayed for you to frequently see! And for those things you want to shed - well, create your own kind of burning or cleansing ritual! Anytime is a good opportunity to have your own kind of ReBegin Release and Revitalize Ritual.

 

Contemplate & or write down your responses – 

and consider using them as a conversation piece with other people!

 

LUCKY 2013 REBEGIN

REVITALIZE WISH MANIFESTATION

I resolve to:

The goal I most to accomplish/achieve is:

 

The thing I look most forward to about 2013 is:

  

I would most like to transform the following about the world:

This time next year, I think I will be: 

 

I would like some insight on this issue:

My dream vision for 2013 (personal & or universal):

A wild/Foolish thing I have not dared do, but could yet:

When you complete this side of the paper, tear off from the rest of your program and burn it in the fire at intermission or after show

GOOD-BYE 2012 REBEGIN

RELEASE & TRANSFORM

      I would most like to release/shed/get rid of: 

The experience I would most like to forget is: 

If I could transform one thing about last year, it’s:

Is there is one thing I never need to do again it is:

I felt the most embarrassed and stupid last year for:

  

I fear:

The worst thing to me about the state of life currently is:

  

I would most like the world to:

Routines are GROOVY, man!

Watching the sun rise and set are a glorious, age-old routines to incorporate into your life.

This is the story of how I lost and got my groove back!

After a long summer without blogging due to various circumstances, I’m back now with a vengeance and a backlog of great material and photos to share (which I may post date to fill in where I planned for them to originally go). Your ReBegin blog is a splendid weekly routine for me to adhere that helps me track my artistic progress and serve as a warm up for other projects during the week. I find my creative spirits are bolstered when I have completed the task and shared appropriately with the blog-o-verse (and those whom I am very grateful for taking the time to read). Because I went through (and in ways still am going through) an upheaval both physically with a move and emotionally with a challenging break-up, I found my creative routines disrupted. However, it is high time to get back in the groove, and with each sentence that forms I can feel my creative soul breathing a sigh of relief. AH!

I’ve always struggled to maintain a routine, not because I hate them, but because a freelancer’s life is constantly in flux, especially when travel is involved.  I actually love the concept of holding and having regular routines that occur around the same time daily. Routines / regular rituals serve as a sort of linchpin for all other activities to revolve around. Of course when circumstances force me to alter a routine in some way, I am definitely left feeling unhinged. Something in the Universe just isn’t right without them.  

AHA, I just found it very interesting to consider how routines fit into the concepts of Your ReBegin and ReEvolutionary. Because each day/season/etc begins again, re-evolving upon the axis of a singular steady element that remains the same, but allows for variation around it. For example: our solar system has the Sun. Without it we would be set adrift in the cosmos, incapable of sustaining life. And yet as we make our daily rotation and yearly revolution around the sun, we go through vast changes, but look forward to similar routines and elements that occur yearly during those spins. For something to change, something must also remain fixed to give guidance.

Whether lasting for five minutes or several hours, routines and regular rituals steady and ground our creative spirits, which unmanaged can float all over the place unfocused. You can metaphorically think of routines as the string that holds on to our creative spirit kite. It helps to tether it, giving it something to pull on / offer resistance. The string allows it to flow in the wind, but not go adrift where it may crash into a tree, thus ending it’s flight. We want our creativity to keep soaring! Routines help create structure and give direction. Little daily and weekly rituals and routines help our minds establish internal rhythms and give a time reference for events. They also gift a sense of accomplishment upon their completion. They are little confidence boosters cheering on our larger endeavors.  Our brains do well with a healthy balance of routine and variation, and for each person the equation is different.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Take some time to examine your own routines and regular rituals. Which do you enjoy doing, and which seem like such a pain? Which ones are connected to your creative spirit — take some time to determine the difference between a daily chore/routine (like brushing your teeth) and a creative one (like humming a song every time you brush your teeth). Which ones give you a sense of accomplishment? Which ones seem to feel good, but really just drain your energy and don’t serve you artistically? Which ones are missing? Which ones can you experiment with adding into your schedule? Start off with simple, short routines. A little can go a long way towards fulfilling its purpose!

I can just feel the inspired rays of light shining down as I complete this blog.

CPARS Part 1- Contemporary Performance Art Rituals - Clean Square

Performance Art: an unconventional form of theatrical performance that can occur using a variety of media, anywhere, anytime, and for any length of time
Ritual: a state or condition characterized by the presence of established procedure or routine

Performance Art Rituals are an ancient art form, connected with the power of community gathering, prayer and ceremony. Think about Native American Rain Dances, African Warrior Dances, Catholic Mass, Jewish Seders, and Weddings as a few examples and the deeply rooted cultural roles they play. There is a certain type of sacred power that performing such rituals contain, an energy that comes from a traditional routine passed along for generations. Some new age practitioners and scientists are even looking into the energy fields that are created over time by the repetition of such events, but more on that another time.

Contemporary Western life contains "minor" forms of performance art rituals: one could see a morning cup of coffee while reading the paper or the attendance of an annual sport or theatrical event (like the Super Bowl or Nutcracker) as types of it. Today marks the 2nd Anniversary of the historic Presidential inauguration, which is a good example of one. It was indeed an event attended by a large number of people, involving various performances and a traditional practice passed down for many generations (the swearing in, among other elements). I feel that creating personalized performance art rituals in your life is a great way to manifest more vital creative energy. 

Clean Square from Jason Jenn on Vimeo.


For me personally,  today also marks the 2nd Anniversary of the collaborative creation of my own contemporary performance art ritual: the Clean Square Project - created on a busy urban sidewalk just three blocks away from my loft in MacArthur Park. It was performed at the same time as the inauguration as a symbolic gesture of cleaning up the energy of the past administration and paving the way for a new reality. I really love the message and visuals this project conveyed, and while I looked forward to the creation of many more, some unfortunate issues prevented it from happening. Still, I happily share this footage as an example of what is possible with Contemporary Performance Art Ritual and hope that someday soon it may be revived by its collaborator.

Click picture for larger view