The Ritual Series: Session 1
The Nature of Ritual: A Conversation with Bruce Feiler
Sunday, July 12th, 10:00–11:30am PST
The Nature of Ritual with Bruce Feiler
What is ritual? We all have different ideas and definitions about what ritual is, and yet we have always been ceremonial. There has always been the ancient, human practice of marking what matters, and yet, at this particular moment in history, are seem to be dismantling the rituals we’ve inherited faster than we can replace them.
In this opening session of the The Ritual Series, Megan Sheldon is joined by Bruce Feiler, one of the world’s foremost thinkers on ritual, transition, and meaning, for a wide-ranging conversation on the nature of ritual itself. Together they explore what ritual is, where it comes from, why it works, and what we lose when it disappears. Drawing on the first section of Ritual Without Religion, this session lays the foundation for everything that follows.
What We'll Explore
In this session, Megan and Bruce will discuss what makes an act a ritual rather than a routine, the long history of ceremony and why it has always been at the heart of community, what happens when ritual erodes, how people around the world are reinventing ceremony for a secular age, and where to begin if you want to reclaim a relationship with ritual that is genuinely your own.
What To Expect
A virtual conversation between two authors who have spent years thinking deeply about this topic. You might be a therapist, educator, or ceremony practitioner wanting to understand the roots of your work more deeply, or someone who has always sensed that we are, at our core, ceremonial beings. Expect guided reflection, practical insight, and time for community questions.
Why It's Needed
We are naturally ceremonial beings, and yet, for many of us, the rituals and traditions that once marked our lives have quietly disappeared or eroded ~ and nothing has arrived to replace them. This session is an invitation to understand why that happened, what it costs us, and how people around the world are reimagining how they mark what matters, reclaiming ritual on their own terms.
Megan Sheldon
Megan Sheldon (she/her) is a humanist celebrant, end-of-life doula, ritual designer, and founder of Be Ceremonial. For over a decade she has guided individuals, families, and communities through the moments that matter most, from births and weddings to grief, loss, and the invisible thresholds in between.
Her book Ritual Without Religion: A Humanist Guide to Creating Secular Ceremonies offers a path back to one of the most ancient of human practices for anyone who has felt the ceremony-shaped hole. She lives and works on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples in North Vancouver, BC.
Bruce Feiler
Bruce Feiler (he/him) is one of the world’s most thoughtful voices on ritual, transition, and the stories that give our lives meaning. The author of seven New York Times bestsellers, including Life Is in the Transitions and his brand new A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World — and How It Can Save Us — Bruce has spent decades researching how humans navigate change and mark what matters.
His latest book chronicles a 50,000-mile journey to sixteen countries on six continents to document the astonishing global rise of reinvented ritual. Learn more about Bruce here.
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
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 (Stripe connects to your IP address).
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.
