COLLECTIVE PRACTICE WITH CASEA ROSE
Words by Casea Rose as told to Erin Berman
Images by Jiro Schneider
Ritual is one of the oldest and most important parts of how we have gathered over thousands of years - to celebrate rites of passage, the changing of seasons, birth, death, and so much in between.
A ritual is a ceremonial act that incorporates a purpose, an opening/closing, devotion to the present moment, and ideally setting a beautiful space for the ritual to occur.
It can be something as simple as taking time every new moon to cleanse myself with sacred smoke and write down my vision for the month ahead, or how I anoint myself with oils each night before bed. Or, it could be a ritual that I create to celebrate a rite of passage for a friend (wedding, pregnancy, etc). There are so many paths to ritual, and so many lineages that we can learn ancient rituals from the most important part of it all to me is keeping the art of ritual alive. It has absolutely changed my life.
My personal morning ritual usually consists of waking up, brushing my teeth and tongue scraping, drinking water, making my bed, and sitting at my altar to do my morning practice, which is usually a blend of kundalini and meditation. Afterwards, I brew tea and set my timer for 11 minutes to free-write in my journal, or as I like to call it, the "subconscious purge." If I'm able to fully complete my morning ritual it usually takes about an hour, and on the days (which are often) when I don't have time to complete it all, I focus on taking at least one part of my ritual to bring into my day.
Even doing one of these things every day has absolutely transformed my life and helps me to set the tone for the rest of the day.
Skincare is part of my daily ritual as well. I'm a huge fan of oil cleansing, and I also use a moisturizer blended with grassfed beef tallow (weird, but incredible) to keep that glowy look. I love the Haoma Temple Balm and the Gel Mask. I use the Temple Balm before bed, and I love to do the Gel Mask when I'm in the bath.
My dear friend Court and I founded FORMA - a place for community to gather in the art of daily practice and to learn rituals and tools from expert guides and elders. We have two different seasonal cohorts where we create healthy, life- changing habits together through daily practice and accountability, while cultivating a safe space of compassionate self-inquiry and play. Creative Practice: 21 days of generating and sustaining a personal creative practice guided by diverse artists and creators. And Collective Practice: 40 day guided seasonal journeys of daily morning practices sharing lineages from around the world.