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Spiritual, Not Religious: Sacred Tools for Modern Times: #1 — Initiation and Rites of Passage
This series of stories explores all aspects of the spiritual journey. A journey that transcends rites, rituals, ceremonies, trinkets for sale, and all of the other elements of formal religious dogma.
Q. What is a spiritual initiation or rite of passage?
Initiation or rite of passage marks entrance or acceptance into a group, society, or personal inner path. Initiation signifies a transformation in which the initiate is ‘reborn’ into a way of speaking, thinking, and acting. Every serious and substantial spiritual journey begins with initiation or rite of passage.
A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites is called an initiate. Some of these events are quite serious and profound while others are no more than exercises in what might be called spiritual materialism. Authentic initiations are generally limited to those few who have a passion and a calling to do inner work that is not accessible to the rest of the community but may ultimately serve the community. Rites of Passage can include many different practices and in some aboriginal cultures are affairs of life and death. There is no specific time frame for a “rite of passage” form of initiation. Many of these involve multiple ceremonies stretching out over an…
