In this episode, Kimberly and Day discuss rituals and reflections for life-altering experiences. Our culture does not hold much space for processing how threshold events change us such as birth, postpartum, death, and all forms of comings and goings in our lives. Day describes what led him to his work of âMorning Altarsâ and newest book âHello, Goodbyeâ which was a series of life-changing moments that he calls âwreckageâ and how he pieced together rituals to acknowledge those experiences and their influence. Together, they discuss how to create rituals for all kinds of life moments, especially those which impact us deeply.
Bio
Day Schildkret is an internationally known artist, teacher, and author. His two books âMorning Altars: A 7-Step Practice to Nourish Your Spirit Through Nature, Art, and Ritualâ and âHello. Goodbye: 75 Rituals for Times of Loss, Celebration, and Changeâ help readers connect with art, nature, and ritual. His work has been featured on NBC, CBS, as well as BuzzFeed, Vice, Well+Good, and more.
What He Shares:
âPersonal roots behind âMorning Altarsâ work, when his mother forgot his name
âCreating beauty in wreckage
– Marking transitions
– Heâs looking for a husband, if you know anyone!
âRitual, acknowledgement, and witnessing lifeâs impactful events
What Youâll Hear:
âMorning Altars came from early fascination with decorating nature
âMorning Altars came after break-up with partner and fatherâs death
âLow-stakes creativity and ritual in nature
ââBeing wreckedâ and not turning away from the endings of things
ââWreckageâ deeply connected to grief and loss and turning towards it
âContinuing to live while walking in the world with wreckage
âWonderment and not taking life for granted
âMaking meaning with life, grief, art, relationships
âExperience with motherâs dementia
âTransforming grief and wreckage into something beautiful
âLit candles thinking of friends and family who loved mother
âCreating ritual in pain
âArt is putting pieces back together to make something meaningful
ââHello, Goodbyeâ newest book
âRituals for endings and beginnings
âRitual doesnât lead to answers or solutions
âHanding over dream of having a child to friends through ritual
âUnderstanding comings and goings from nervous system perspective
âUnacknowledgement of threshold experiences in culture
âUnwillingness to slow down and reflect especially in difficult experiences
âRituals help us reorient to what is new and changing
âMarking endings and witnessing to new beginnings
âCrucial aspect of being witnessed and held during threshold experiences
âRitual allowing expression of feeling and witnessing from others
âLoss of ritual in culture, ancestry, and families
ââHello, Goodbyeâ is a cookbook to awaken capacity to make ritual
Resources
Website: https://www.morningaltars.com/
IG: @morningaltars