Here is a typical conscious ritual that happens to drivers. You can do this experiment yourself.
Set aside some time and drive into an unfamiliar neighborhood, or even into a new city. Get yourself off the main streets and into a totally unknown area. Get lost!
Your ritual has begun – this is the Separation Stage. By the way, this is a conscious ritual – you know what you are doing. You are playing; you are experimenting. You are looking for new qualia that will lead you back to familiar territory – or that will open up a whole new landscape!
Once lost, you are now in the Event Stage of your ritual, when things can happen. Being lost can be stressful, but if you keep your Interest and Participation levels in sync, you will be calmer. Block by block, stoplight by stoplight, neighborhood by neighborhood, you are alert for some sign – some qualia – that will lead you home.
You take safe chances, playing with controlled spontaneity. Something catches your attention – a graveyard, a gathering of people, a new store – and you go check it out. Maybe you meet somebody who tells of a landmark to look for, or a pathway to take, or some other things to explore.
You may still get lost again – that is one of the soft pleasures of ritualing. Learn to enjoy them. One of your new landmarks may suddenly reappear, from a different angle, and you may experience the Little Dopamine sensation of finding yourself exactly where you need to be.
In the Return stage, we make it home. Having successfully navigated the unknown, we have added to our faith that qualia will always appear when we need it in the future. Not only have we gained some landmarks in a new place, but we have also cultivated some landmarks and pathways in our inner landscape: confidence and curiosity.
Every conscious ritual teaches us about controlled spontaneity – about playing just beyond the safe confines of what we know. Conscious ritualing can have other benefits, too, such as increasing the courage to talk to total strangers, exercising memory, and improving concentration. In fact, any method or technique, whether for self-improvement or for the benefit of others, will be enhanced when practiced within the framework of ritual.