Conscious Choice: The Burning Bowl Ceremony

January 2006 | Body & Mind Health

The Burning Bowl Ceremony

By Darlene E. Paris

I don’t believe in New Year resolutions. But I do believe the beginning of the year is a great time to release the old and welcome the new. I do this at a symbolic ceremony called The Burning Bowl, which is held each year at Christ Universal Temple. Most denominations don’t perform this rite. In fact, I hadn’t even heard about it until I started going to this South Side church, and I’ve been attending church services around Chicago ever since I was old enough to walk.

Some may think it’s heretical because there’s no mention of burning bowl ceremonies in the Bible. But I think it’s an invaluable ceremony because it makes me aware of habits and behaviors I need to change to improve the quality of my life.

If you’ve never been to a burning bowl ceremony, here’s what happens: When you enter the sanctuary, you’re given two slips of paper and an envelope. Most people bring their own paper because the sheets the ushers give you don’t allow you much space to write.

Once the program starts, the minister asks you to write a list of the things you want to give up on slips of paper. Last year, I included procrastination, worry, perfectionism and fear, plus names of people I needed to forgive, and experiences that I simply wanted to forget.

After you’ve written all that you want to release, the slips of paper are collected and then emptied into something that looks like a cauldron. (It’s really the bottom half of a barbecue grill).

If you’re like me, you’ll clap your hands with excitement as you watch your old patterns, habits and other limitations get dumped into the fire and burn to ashes.

Then you’ll write a letter to God asking for what you really want in your life. You’ll put that letter in an envelope and officials at the church will put a stamp on it and mail it back to you sometime in the summer.

Receiving the letter is an inspiration because often several of the things you ask for miraculously happen. I used to think that the things I wanted to get rid of would magically disappear. But this past year, I learned that the burning bowl ceremony was just the beginning of my letting go and that I had to be an active participant in releasing my old habits.

A friend who has attended these ceremonies for 20 years assured me that letting go of old habits takes time. “Often, the first step is simply having an awareness of how these habits and behaviors affect your life, then you’ll be motivated to change,” she explained.

I know that she’s right. Procrastination was one of the habits I wrote on my slip of paper during last year’s ceremony. I even took several project management workshops to help me budget my time more efficiently so I could balance my holistic health career with my part-time writing job. It’s been over a year now and I’m still not able to finish most of my work on or before deadline.

Ironically, another behavior I wanted to get rid of, perfectionism, kicks in whenever I undertake an assignment. Sometimes, I’ll delay completing a task because I’m not completely satisfied with the work. And I usually feel anxious and stressed.

My friend reminded me that although it seems as if I haven’t made any headway, my awareness is a huge step.

“When you realize how uncomfortable you feel doing things the way you’ve always done them, you’ll become more serious about learning behaviors that leave you feeling more fulfilled,” she said.

Letting go also means releasing attachment to how it turns out and trusting that what happens is for the highest good.

That’s what the burning bowl ceremony is all about.

Darlene E. Paris is a Chicago-based writer specializing in spiritual matters

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