Editing Ceremony (section)

==The components of ceremony==
To be powerful and effective, such ceremonies, in the view of all the scholars in the field,<ref name=messenger/>{{rp|3}} had to have impact. This occurred when the ceremony was framed by the visual and performing arts. 
Great care had to be taken in creating and choosing the poetry, prose, stories, personal journeys, myths, silences, dance, music and song, shared meditations, choreography and symbolism which comprised a ceremony. 
To reinforce the psychological and cultural power of ceremony it should be enacted, as far as possible, in a beautiful interior and exterior place. Beauty is the essential core of ceremony, having always been part of "raising the spirit" and embedding the good in the memory.<ref name=messenger/>{{rp|3-8}}

Ceremonies, as they always had been, are historically the bridge between the visual and performing arts and the people. Murphy and his followers, and international practitioners such as David Oldfield of Washington DC understand that ceremonies are core expressions of the culture. Done well, they can assist in major [[decision-making]], bring [[emotional security]], strengthen [[Human bonding|bonds between people]], and communicate a sense of [[contentment]]. To quote David Oldfield:<ref>{{cite web |last1=Oldfield |first1=David |title=Director |url=http://midwaycenter.com/ |website=Midway Centre |publisher=Midway Centre for Creative Imagination |access-date=13 January 2020 |archive-date=13 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113004105/http://midwaycenter.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Memorial of Fallen Soldiers from the Yom Kippur War - Flickr - Israel Defense Forces.jpg|thumb|right|[[Israel Defense Forces]] Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. [[Benny Gantz]] salutes [[Yom Kippur War]] casualties at an official annual memorial service.]]<blockquote>''Rituals and ceremonies are an essential and basic means''
''for human beings to give themselves and others''

''the necessary messages''

''which enable the individual to stay human.''

''They communicate acceptance,''

''love, a sense of identity, esteem,''

''shared values and beliefs''

''and shared memorable events.''

''Every ritual contains tender and sacred moments.''

''And in those moments of sensitivity''

''We are taken out of the normal flow of life,''

''And out of our routines.''

''We are then in an event''

''that is irreplaceable and sacred''.

''In ritual we participate in''

''something deep and significant.''

''They are moments which move our heart''

''And touch our spirit.''
<ref>Oldfield, David, ''The Journey: An experiential Rite of Passage for Modern Adolescents'', as a contributor in Mahdi, Louise Carus (Editor), ''Crossroads: The Quest for Contemporary Rites of Passage'', Open Court Publishing, 1996, Chicago p145ff {{ISBN|0 8126 9190 3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Ol9ypL99JQC| title=Crossroads: The Quest for Contemporary Rites of Passage| isbn=9780812691900| last1=Mahdi| first1=Louise Carus| last2=Christopher| first2=Nancy Geyer| last3=Meade| first3=Michael| year=1996| access-date=2020-09-06| archive-date=2023-07-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702122023/https://books.google.com/books?id=-Ol9ypL99JQC| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Fierst, Gerald, ''The Heart of the Wedding'', Parkhurst Brothers, Chicago, 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-935166-22-1}} p.76ff</ref></blockquote>