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Burning Bowl Ceremony Saturday or Sunday?

Miss Critter avatar
Miss CritterBeach Fanatic
9,570 views
Burning Bowl Ceremony Sunday, 1/2/11 at 5pm

Is anyone interested in participating in a Burning Bowl ceremony to usher in the new year? During the ceremony, participants write down all those things they wish to release - negative emotions, bad habits, beliefs that no longer serve us, baggage from bad or ended relationships - basically anything you don't want following you into 2011. Then the list is burned in a large bowl (hence the name) and released to the Universe. (There are multiple references to variations of the Burning Bowl ceremony on the net. Evidently, it's a fairly common practice among Unity churces.)

Burning Bowl Ceremony - letting go and opening up - Los Angeles Spiritual Perspectives | Examiner.com

The Burning Bowl Ceremony: A New Way of Letting Go - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

I've never attended this type of ceremony, but am intrigued by it. I thought either Saturday, January 1st or Sunday, January 2nd might be a good time. (I work until 7pm on Saturday, so 7:30 is the earliest I can do it that day. Or we could do it Sunday at sunset or later.) All the new year hoopla will be over, and there'll be more time for introspection and contemplation. For those with an astrological bent, those dates precede the solar eclipse on January 4th. Solar eclipses denote new beginnings, so ridding ourselves of unwanted "stuff" will help clear the way for the new and desired.

As a counterpart to the releasing aspect of the ceremony, I thought it might be a good opportunity to also list those things we wish to welcome into our lives in 2011. We can then re-visit those lists during a follow-up ceremony near the spring equinox, or simply hang onto them as a reminder of our focus.

Let me know if you're interested. I realize it's short notice, but this whole thing is pretty fluid. We can determine where on the beach we meet, and there's still time to get a fire permit. Since we're operating under broad parameters, we can make it up as we go along, and put our own sowal stamp on the whole thing.

What do you think? :wave:

Replies

57
LuciferSam avatar
LuciferSamBanned
#2
I remember burning a bowl or 2 back in high school. Couldn't give any details. It seemed ceremonious at the time.
Miss Critter avatar
Miss CritterBeach FanaticAuthor
#3
I remember burning a bowl or 2 back in high school. Couldn't give any details. It seemed ceremonious at the time.

:lolabove: You'll have to hold your own ceremony for that one.
Kurt avatar
KurtAdmin
#4
Is anyone interested in participating in a Burning Bowl ceremony to usher in the new year? During the ceremony, participants write down all those things they wish to release - negative emotions, bad habits, beliefs that no longer serve us, baggage from bad or ended relationships -

That's what the lounge is for. :lol:
GoodWitch58Beach Fanatic
#5
Is anyone interested in participating in a Burning Bowl ceremony to usher in the new year? During the ceremony, participants write down all those things they wish to release - negative emotions, bad habits, beliefs that no longer serve us, baggage from bad or ended relationships - basically anything you don't want following you into 2011. Then the list is burned in a large bowl (hence the name) and released to the Universe. (There are multiple references to variations of the Burning Bowl ceremony on the net. Evidently, it's a fairly common practice among Unity churces.)

Burning Bowl Ceremony - letting go and opening up - Los Angeles Spiritual Perspectives | Examiner.com

The Burning Bowl Ceremony: A New Way of Letting Go - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

I've never attended this type of ceremony, but am intrigued by it. I thought either Saturday, January 1st or Sunday, January 2nd might be a good time. (I work until 7pm on Saturday, so 7:30 is the earliest I can do it that day. Or we could do it Sunday at sunset or later.) All the new year hoopla will be over, and there'll be more time for introspection and contemplation. For those with an astrological bent, those dates precede the solar eclipse on January 4th. Solar eclipses denote new beginnings, so ridding ourselves of unwanted "stuff" will help clear the way for the new and desired.

As a counterpart to the releasing aspect of the ceremony, I thought it might be a good opportunity to also list those things we wish to welcome into our lives in 2011. We can then re-visit those lists during a follow-up ceremony near the spring equinox, or simply hang onto them as a reminder of our focus.

Let me know if you're interested. I realize it's short notice, but this whole thing is pretty fluid. We can determine where on the beach we meet, and there's still time to get a fire permit. Since we're operating under broad parameters, we can make it up as we go along, and put our own sowal stamp on the whole thing.

What do you think? :wave:

I think it's a great idea. Sunday would be good for me. This has always been one of my favorite things about Unity Church. It is such a freeing ceremony.
Let's do it.
Beach Runner avatar
Beach Runnerbeats on hood
#6
I go to the same type of ceremony on Ash Wednesday. It is very meaningful for me.
kitlit avatar
kitlitBeach Fanatic
#7
Hey Miss Critter, I think it's a fantastic idea! I'm in! :clap:

Sunday would also work for me... I usually spend NYD with the fam, doing the peas and greens thing... But I can fall in line with whatever works for everyone else. I have no life. :lol::cool:

Edited

scooterbug44 avatar
scooterbug44SoWal Expert
#8
Not sure what I will be doing New Year's Day, but anything that involves lighting things on fire and losing negativity (is that a double negative :lol:) sounds good to me!

Does it have to be ceremonial, or can I just fire up my redneck paper shredder (bbq grill)?
sunspotbaby avatar
sunspotbabySoWal Insider
#9
Not sure what I will be doing New Year's Day, but anything that involves lighting things on fire and losing negativity (is that a double negative :lol:) sounds good to me!

Does it have to be ceremonial, or can I just fire up my redneck paper shredder (bbq grill)?

:lol: right on....
Miss Critter avatar
Miss CritterBeach FanaticAuthor
#10
That's what the lounge is for. :lol:

What happens in the lounge, stays in the lounge. :cool:

I think it's a great idea. Sunday would be good for me. This has always been one of my favorite things about Unity Church. It is such a freeing ceremony.
Let's do it.

Glad you're in, Glenda. And Sunday is mo' bettah for me. Since you have actually attended these, I welcome your input as to the ceremony particulars. :wave:

I go to the same type of ceremony on Ash Wednesday. It is very meaningful for me.

As a Catholic, I've done the traditional Ash Wednesday service. Do you do something like this, BR? I'd think the Lenten season would be a great time to let go of the negative prior to the ultimate rebirth.

Hey Miss Critter, I think it's a fantastic idea! I'm in! :clap:

Sunday would also work for me... I usually spend NYD with the fam, doing the peas and greens thing... But I can fall in line with whatever works for everyone else. I have no life. :lol::cool:

Yay! Not yay that you have no life; yay that you're with us. :roll:

Not sure what I will be doing New Year's Day, but anything that involves lighting things on fire and losing negativity (is that a double negative :lol:) sounds good to me!

Does it have to be ceremonial, or can I just fire up my redneck paper shredder (bbq grill)?

Redneck paper shredders work just fine. But come light fires with us. 😀

:lol: right on....

Does this mean you're in, too, ssb?



How about we aim for Sunday, January 2nd around sunset - 5pm? Weather.com calls for highs Sunday in the mid-50s, lows in the upper 30s, so the sooner after sunset, the warmer/better. The forecast also calls for a slight chance of rain, so we may need to reschedule, but perhaps we can decide that early enough in the day.

If y'all want to pm me with your emails, I'll reciprocate and we can easily notify everyone if we have to reschedule. I'll get the fire permit today or tomorrow morning, and a cord of wood. Does anyone have a wash tub or burn barrel we can use? If not, I'll pick one of those up, too.

I'm open as to the location. What beach access works best for everyone?

Thanks for participating! I hope we can grow this into an annual event, and look forward to the positive change we manifest for ourselves and our community.
kitlit avatar
kitlitBeach Fanatic
#11
Yay! Not yay that you have no life; yay that you're with us. :roll:

S'okay. I've come to terms with it... :lol:



How about we aim for Sunday, January 2nd around sunset - 5pm? Weather.com calls for highs Sunday in the mid-50s, lows in the upper 30s, so the sooner after sunset, the warmer/better. The forecast also calls for a slight chance of rain, so we may need to reschedule, but perhaps we can decide that early enough in the day.

If y'all want to pm me with your emails, I'll reciprocate and we can easily notify everyone if we have to reschedule. I'll get the fire permit today or tomorrow morning, and a cord of wood. Does anyone have a wash tub or burn barrel we can use? If not, I'll pick one of those up, too.

I'm open as to the location. What beach access works best for everyone?

Thanks for participating! I hope we can grow this into an annual event, and look forward to the positive change we manifest for ourselves and our community.

Sounds great to me... Have vehicle, will travel. Grayton's usually a grayt spot for the burning of fires, and also for the accessibility of adult beverages after the spiritual cleansing... 😀 Methinks we may feel the need to celebrate our fresh, new outlook on life in SOME way... :idontno: But, if another access is more convenient for others, that works for me, too.

I'm sending you a PM momentarily with my email. Just keep us posted. I think that this is a fabulous idea, and one that is worthy of becoming a SoWal tradition. I like it more the more I think about it! I hope everyone will take a little time to come out and participate!

We can all use a fresh start sometimes... :wub:
scooterbug44 avatar
scooterbug44SoWal Expert
#12
I think Jan 2 sounds great - from the list in the other thread burning on Jan 1 is bad.

Also allows me to start the year off right with good friends and the beach.
scooterbug44 avatar
scooterbug44SoWal Expert
#13
Methinks we may feel the need to celebrate our fresh, new outlook on life in SOME way...

Ditto - my attitude about 2010 is rather sucky - mainly BP and frustration with idiocy, but still not so bueno.
Miss Critter avatar
Miss CritterBeach FanaticAuthor
#14
Where in Grayton, kitlit? The access behind Red Bar? That's cool with me. Everyone?
kitlit avatar
kitlitBeach Fanatic
#15
Where in Grayton, kitlit? The access behind Red Bar? That's cool with me. Everyone?

Sounds good to me! :wave:
Miss Critter avatar
Miss CritterBeach FanaticAuthor
#16
Does anyone have a burn barrel or tin tub, or something we can use for the fire?

As for the ceremony itself, here's what I envision (feel free to jump in, everyone - and especially Glenda):

If there are things you know you want to release, feel free to arrive with those already written on paper to be burned. I'll bring some additional paper and pens. I thought we'd take a few moments to reflect on diverse areas of our lives we'd like to see change in, with prompts to add those things to the list. Then we each add our lists to the fire. If everyone wants, we can then compile our lists of all thing things we welcome in 2011. After that, we can finish with a 10-15 minute meditation on releasing the negative and welcoming the positive. Then we can sit around and have a (plastic) glass of wine or champagne or something.

Oh, yeah, feel free to bring your cocktail of choice, if that's something you'd like to include. We definitely want the Universe to understand that, although we're serious about our intentions, we wanna have some fun in two-oh-one-one. :clap:
scooterbug44 avatar
scooterbug44SoWal Expert
#17
How big a fire we making?

And does dousing the items w/ Boy Scout oil (lighter fluid) defeat the purpose of the cleansing?
Miss Critter avatar
Miss CritterBeach FanaticAuthor
#18
How big a fire we making?

And does dousing the items w/ Boy Scout oil (lighter fluid) defeat the purpose of the cleansing?

Nope, as long as it doesn't violate Walton county's beach bonfire rules. I don't see anything about that here. Of course, sowal oil (vodka, gin, beer, etc.) may be used. ;-)

Walton County, FL - Home Page - Bonfire Rules and Permits

Our fire will fit inside a wash tub-sized container. Does Ace sell those? Or the dreaded Walmart?
scooterbug44 avatar
scooterbug44SoWal Expert
#19
We can't use something from Wal-mart - it will poison the ceremony! 😱

(years change, but some things don't ;-))
organicmama avatar
organicmamaBeach Fanatic
#20
You know I'll be there.:wave::wub: As we talked before, let me know what I can do to help. It will be so good to see you guys.

It seems as if there is only a 20% chance of rain on Sunday. That's better than what I thought before.

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