Ritual is widely misunderstood. There are good reasons to be skeptical of it, but we must not be like the cynic: we mustn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The difference between the skeptic and the cynic is that the skeptic doubts his own intelligence, too, along with everyone else’s. The cynic, on the other hand, is all too sure he is right. Nietzsche pegged cynicism as a kind of nauseating knowledge, and he used this definition to explain Hamlet’s inability to act.
The qualiadelic experience, however, is liberating, and conscious ritualing is the very key to action. Whether we want to change the world or we just want change ourselves, the ability to ritual consciously is essential.
All animals ritual. It is the original tool for transformation. When an animal’s landmarks and pathways fail to provide, an animal must notice new qualia, and play with it, to see if it is good (if it has what is needed for survival). This is ritualing.
People can ritual consciously. We notice new qualia, both in the outer landscape and in the inner landscape, and we play with it. We have curiosity, and we experiment. This is conscious ritualing, and we must be grateful we can do it, for it is the way we express our gratitude for the gifts which come from ecosystems. Give thanks for grace which bestows new qualia upon us when we need it, or even when we are just curious about it.
— Tony Brussat