According to Thomas Grover, a sergeant with the Albuquerque Police Department, who resigned a few months after Christopher's death, shootings by officers set off a ritual in the department: other officers quickly reported to the scene.
The first half hour after waking up follows a familiar ritual: set a coffee pot up on the stove, hook the doors open, fold out a beach chair, and survey the sea and sky.
At The Moderna and in my acting career, I never set an intention or start a ritual without gratitude.
Six men and seven women settled onto silk cushions arranged in a circle around a low altar set with ritual tools, including a vase of Queen Anne's lace, a small dagger and a crystal chalice.
Then finally, a bit after midnight, the Green Man effigy is set ablaze, bringing a ritual end to a magical weekend.
It set in train a ritual candle-lit procession, all the more affecting for the hushed pianissimo from Podger and her players.
Creating a ritual, setting an intention to let go of your anger and focus on what you want instead are important components of healthy venting.
But an Ailey gala is a set ritual, a glamorous fund-raiser as much about donors as about dancers, and in conforming to the standard of years past, this one sent a message of continuity.
We need to set aside ritual space in order to be able to know them much more fully.
Their relationship with God would be expressed through the performance of set rituals in a physical structure.
