Today we launch our Mindfulness Kit (& accompanying Little Lights) which is accompanied by a mixed bag of emotions.
I had the idea for this during covid year 2 when, being light makers, we heard a lot of stories about mental health struggles, so it has been in the works for over a 18 months. So there's a sense of relief that we're ready to send it into the world.
There's unbridled joy because I think it's one of my favourite products we've ever made and I'm ridiculously excited to see how you guys like it. I haven't ever seen anything like it on the market... so I think it fills a gap that needs filling.
I'm hopeful that this little kit can make a difference by creating and enhancing rituals and moments. When I pack orders, my handwritten notes often refer to a hope that the candles being sent help create 'magical moments' (whether that's romantic, relaxing, calming kids, meditating, bathing, journaling, winding down, amping up the ambience or anything in between.
My feeling is that many people are still somewhat traumatised by their experiences over the past few years but we are expected to have moved on and there is no mechanism to acknowledge these feelings in a functional way. As someone who has suffered anxiety and panic on and off for a couple of decades, my personal coping technique has always involved rituals. Lots of them!!
Maggie (my dog) and I have the same ritual every morning... first alarm goes off and she crawls up the bed to lie alongside me and then rolls on her back for tummy pats. Second alarm and she jumps off the bed to greet me like a long lost friend she hasn't seen in years! It's a fully body and tail wagging routine rewarded with back scratches, tummy scratches and excited greetings. It makes me smile every, single, day. Then it's off to the bathroom where she, being one that loves running water, has a long drink in the shower 😂 before I can hop in. And so it goes from there. It's a joyful ritual I love and never get bored of!
A ritual is defined by psychologists as "a predefined sequence of symbolic actions often characterised by formality and repetition that lacks direct instrumental purpose". Research identifies three elements of a ritual. First, it consists of behaviours that occur in fixed succession – one after another – and are typified by formality and repetition. Secondly, the behaviours have symbolic meaning and lastly, these ritualised behaviours generally have no obvious useful purpose.
Ritualistic practices can help to bring a degree of predictability to an uncertain future. They convince our brains of constancy and predictability as "ritual buffers against uncertainty and anxiety", according to scientists.
Karan Johnson, BBC Future
According to research done by Harvard Business School
Rituals play a number of critical roles: rituals in the face of loss can help us feel less grief, rituals with families can make us feel closer, and rituals with our partners can reinforce our commitment to each other... in our research, we often find that the majority of people’s rituals are private and idiosyncratic to them... these idiosyncratic rituals can restore our sense of control over our lives.
When you repeat rituals, they do seem to gain in strength...
To celebrate the launch of the Mindfulness Kit, I'd love you to share your favourite rituals in the comments below (they don't need to have anything to do with candles, just any little ritual that makes you smile, that's important to you, that may help someone else).
Share your ritual below, on Instagram or on our Facebook page and go into the draw for a Mindfulness Kit and a quarterly subscription to Little Lights (Box of 30) for 12 months valued at $300. Winner chosen on 28th February 2023 and announced on all channels.
During the lockdowns we started a ritual where my husband and I would go to our local coffee shop each morning, partly to support a local business. We have continued the ritual and it is our quiet time together to start the morning.
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