Rituals for Optimism and Hope

When you think about adding more positive vibes to your life, what comes to mind? Starting a gratitude journal? Positive thinking exercises? Setting an intention each morning for a happier, more joyful day? We want to bring you another idea: adding rituals for optimism and hope into your life. Rituals are a way of incorporating certain things into your spiritual practice, not only optimism and hope, but love, strength, courage, and more. 

Rituals can be as powerful as you make them, or as simple as you make them. When you read through the rituals for optimism and hope below, take what works for you and leave the rest. If a few pieces of a ritual make sense to you, follow through with them and make them meaningful to you. Being intentional with your rituals can help connect you with feeling more power in your spiritual practice, which we’re all here for, right?

Rituals for optimism, hope, and positivity can help us move into a more comfortable space in our lives when we’re dealing with uncertainty, depression, negativity, or hopelessness. They can brighten our days and bring the power of positive thoughts into our world when it has become gray and dark. If any of the following rituals stand out to you, allow yourself to be drawn to them. Set some time aside to practice them, to get comfortable with them, and to invite an optimistic shift into your life where you need it.

Reflection Ritual. This ritual is a great one for someone who is just dipping their toes into the world of working with rituals, because you’ll likely have everything you need around your home and it’s a simple ritual with only a few steps.

• You will need:

• an item of brightly colored clothing

• a crystal (citrine works beautifully for this ritual)

• Step 1: Sit in a quiet place with your items and use your favorite technique to ground yourself.

• Step 2: Identify what is bringing you down and recite the following words:

I ask that it be removed,

Not to return,

And reflected back to me light and love.

• Step 3: Put on or hold your brightly colored item of clothing and hold your crystal to your heart. Your brightly colored item of clothing represents light and brightness being attracted to your life, and your crystal is with you to absorb and reflect positive things, much like sparkles reflect light.

• Step 4: Keep your crystal with you in a pocket or purse throughout the day.

Fire Ritual for Optimism. This ritual will bring some light into your practice with its candle flames, which fuel the power of the ritual. Perform this ritual when you need to invite optimism and joy into your life during a difficult season or a time when you find it challenging to keep hope in your mind. 

• You will need:

• 3 candles, white or orange are best

• rosemary

• Cedar oil

• Step 1: Anoint the three candles with the cedar oil, and light them.

• Step 2: Sprinkle some of the rosemary around the base of the candles.

• Step 3: Focus on the flames and recite the following:

Away with anger, stress, and strife,

I am happy, I am free,

No more negativity.

• Step 4: Hold your hands in the warmth over the flames for a few moments and focus on intentionally attracting the power of positivity into your life.

• Step 5: Allow the candles to safely burn out on their own.

The Key to Hope Ritual. The Key to Hope Ritual is a bit more involved than the others and requires a few more steps, but is a powerful tool to bring into your spiritual practice if you’re running low on hope for the future. Use it when things are looking bleak or your optimism is dwindling, as it will serve to boost your hope and promote a positive outlook.

• You will need:

• a key (that you won’t need anymore)

• a white candle

• a piece of paper and a pen or pencil

• Step 1: With your key, paper, and pen close by, light your white candle in a calm area where you can focus fully on the ritual.

• Step 2: Spend a few moments visualizing a door with all the things you hope for on the other side, this is a door that your key opens.

• Step 3: On your piece of paper, draw this door that you visualize.

• Step 4: Carefully pour some candle wax on the drawing of the door and place the key into the wax so it welds onto the paper, and let the wax fully cool.

• Step 5: Fold the paper to form a small parcel around the key.

• Step 6: Again carefully using candle wax, seal the edges of the paper and blow out the candle.

• Carry your key parcel with you in a pocket or purse, bringing energy to your hopes.

Rituals to boost optimism and hope can be the intentional, powerful acts that bring us from the dark back into the light, providing us with a solid foundation to boost our overall positivity. Once we build this foundation, we find ourselves in a more able place to practice the power of positive thinking, things like gratitude journaling, and other activities that promote hope and a more optimistic perspective and positive attitude. And couldn’t we all use a little more of that right now? Which ritual speaks to you? Take it in, ground yourself in its power, and allow it to do its magic!