The Ritual Series
A Four-Part Series exploring Ritual Without Religion by Megan Sheldon, with special guests Bruce Feiler, Dr. Gordon Neufeld, Christina Baldwin and Jessie Harrold.
About The Series
Megan Sheldon’s new book, Ritual Without Religion, is structured around four dimensions of ceremony: The Nature of Ritual, The Science of Ritual, The Art of Ritual, and The Practice of Ritual. This series is designed to expand and deepen your experience of the book, taking each of its four sections and bringing them alive through the voices of some of the people who have most inspired my journey.
Whether you’ve read it cover to cover or are just arriving, these conversations are designed to bring the themes and ideas presented in the book to life, and to connect you with people who believe that life’s moments deserve to be marked with intention and care.
Virtual $30 per session | $100 for the full series
The Nature of Ritual: With Bruce Feiler
In our opening session, we explore the deep roots of ritual across cultures and throughout history. Joined by Bruce Feiler, author of the newly released A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World and How It Can Save Us, we’ll explore the ritual gaps and how people are finding new ways to gather, mark meaning, and build community. This conversation couldn’t come at a more fitting moment.
Sunday, July 12 | 10:00–11:30am PST
The Science of Ritual: With Dr. Gordon Neufeld
What happens in our bodies and brains when we mark moments with intention? In this session, we explore the neuroscience of ritual, including why it matters for mental health, emotional regulation, and our sense of belonging. Joined by Dr. Gordon Neufeld, developmental psychologist and author of Hold Onto Your Kids, we’ll uncover how ritual works, what it offers us at every stage of life, and why our nervous systems may need it more than we realize.
Sunday, July 19 | 10:00–11:30am PST
The Art of Ritual: With Christina Baldwin
Designing a ceremony is both a craft and a calling. In this session, we explore what it means to hold space with care, and how to create rituals that are intentional, meaningful, and alive. Joined by Christina Baldwin, author of The Circle Way and Storycatcher, we’ll dive into the art of gathering people with intention, creating the conditions for stories to be shared, and designing ceremonies that leave people changed.
Sunday, July 26 | 10:00–11:30am PST
The Practice of Ritual: With Jessie Harrold
Ritual doesn’t have to be reserved for the big moments. It lives in the small ones too. In our closing session, we explore how to weave ceremony and intention into the fabric of everyday life. Joined by Jessie Harrold, author of Mothershift: Reclaiming Motherhood as a Rite of Passage, we’ll explore the small and often subtle ways we can invite ritual in, building our ritual muscles and learning to attune ourselves to our ever-shifting needs.
Sunday, August 2 | 10:00–11:30am PST
What to Expect
Each session stands alone, yet your understanding will be heightened if you join all four. You don’t have to read the book ahead of time, although it will help deepen your experience. Every gathering in the series follows the same intentional format:
- Land acknowledgement
- Welcome ritual
- Introductions
- Guided conversation with our guest
- Group sharing and community connection
- Questions and reflections
- Closing ritual
Who Is This For?
This series is for anyone who wants to live more intentionality. Whether you’re new to ritual or have spent years thinking about ceremony, these four sessions offer a rare chance to dive deeper, in the company of some of the most thoughtful voices working in this space today. This includes:
- Celebrants and doulas
- Therapists, chaplains, educators, facilitators
- Parents, partners, community members
- A follower of one of the guest speakers
- A member of our community
Logistics
These gatherings are priced with accessibility in mind, while still honouring the time and expertise each guest brings to the series. All Zoom sessions are recorded and will be made available within 24 hours if you can’t join live (breakout sessions will not be recorded).
- Single session: $30
- Full series: $100
- CAD pricing for Canadians
- July 12th, 19th, 26th and August 2nd
- 10am – 1130am PST
- All sales are final
- Zoom links sent upon registration
About Your Host
Megan Sheldon (she/her) is a cultural mythologist, humanist celebrant, end-of-life doula, and co-founder of Be Ceremonial, the world’s first guided ritual and ceremony platform. She has created hundreds of ceremonies for people navigating life’s major passages and what she calls the “seemingly invisible moments of change,” including pregnancy loss, organ transplantation, menopause, living funerals, and death anniversaries.
Her new book, Ritual Without Religion: A Humanist Guide to Creating Secular Ceremonies, is the foundation for everything you’ll find in this series.
*A Note From Megan
Writing this book meant drawing deeply from the mentors, teachers, and friends who have shaped my thinking and my practice over the course of my career. So when it came time to think about how to bring Ritual Without Religion into the world, the answer felt clear ~ gather some of the people who inspired it, and invite you into these rich conversations.
This series is designed to expand and deepen your experience of the book ~ to take each of the four sections and bring them alive through the voices of some of the people who have most influenced my journey. I hope you’ll join us for all four sessions. Come curious, stay open, and be ready to see ritual in a whole new light.
FAQs
Not at all. Each session stands on its own and is designed to be valuable whether or not you’ve read the book. That said, readers will find the series brings each section of the book vividly to life.
You’re welcome to join just the sessions that call to you. Single session tickets are $30, or you can register for the full series for $100 and save $20.
All Zoom sessions are recorded and will be made available within 24 hours. Please note that breakout sessions will not be recorded, so we encourage you to join live if you can.
Each gathering includes time in small groups with fellow participants, giving you a chance to reflect on what’s been shared, connect with others, and go a little deeper. These are some of the most meaningful moments of the series and won’t be captured in the recording. You can choose not to join the breakout session and instead have a 10min break on your own.
All sessions are hosted on Zoom. A link will be sent to you upon registration.
All sales are final as you will receive the recording even if you can’t join live. We encourage you to review the session dates and times carefully before registering.
We don’t offer scholarships for this series. Instead, we’ve worked hard to keep pricing as accessible as possible from the outset ~ and a portion of every registration goes directly to our guest speakers, honouring the expertise and generosity they bring to each session.
Yes, CAD pricing is available for our fellow Canadians. You’ll see it reflected at checkout as long as you are in Canada when purchasing the session.
We’d love to hear from you. You can reach me directly at megan@beceremonial.com and I will do my best to answer any questions you have.
