Ecologizing the Self in Contemporary Ritual Practices

Ritual practices have evolved over the last few decades whose purposes range between—and interconnect—personal wellbeing and ecological activism. They frame and elevate nature, setting it aside as a sacred sphere separate from that of human culture. But they also strive towards an open and interconnected selfhood consistent with what in ecosophy and deep ecology is understood as an ecological self, wherein such boundaries are dissolved. I approach this ecological self not as a homeostatic condition but as a dynamic process in which ritual practices can play an important part. I use this term in conjunction with ecologization, which Bruno Latour defined as a tendency toward interconnectedness and openness. I find that, as the rituals both draw and dissolve boundaries, they may contribute to a more open and interconnected selfhood. But there are also difficulties in overcoming the nature-culture dichotomy embedded in language and mainstream Western cultures.