With the guidance book now UPGRADED I thought I might give everyone and potential contributors a sample of what kind of information it will contain. If you follow me on social media you may be aware that I have my own little collective of mental health issues which I work to manage, heal, and live with extensively. One is a complication of my CPTSD, Dissociative Disorder. I won't get in the nitty gritty but everyone has the ability to disassociation, its a normal and useful mental state that protects you from additional trauma, becoming overwhelmed, and a slew of other things. It becomes a problem when it doesn't switch off, you are unable to control it, or complications of the two over time. One of the ways to maintain a healthy interaction with dissociation and/or if you have a dissociative disorder a way to exercise being "present" is called "grounding" or sometimes "noticing" where you guide yourself or someone else guides you to noticing things in your environment, encouraging a connection to the now, and reinforcing your connection to your present. The following is an example of how you can use your [Artifact] as a guide through a grounding exercise. This is not in lieu of seeking out help from a mental health practitioner in the event that you need one, but can be used in tandem with your mental health care plan. A Ritual for Grounding Find a safe environment where you are ok feeling present. Take out your [Artifact]. Notice its texture, its smooth surface, its hard edges, feel its weight in your hand. Depending on your environment you may roll the [Artifact] upon a surface or simply rotate it in your hand. Notice the glyph which faces you. Think about it in abstract terms and try to find something in the environment that shares a similar property to the item depicted by the glyph. It could be something metal, something shiny, something that holds liquid, or even just a container. Something that has an edge, or is heavy, or curvy. Whatever the glyph displays just try to visually notice something which shares a similar concept, shape, or property with it. When you have found something, notice its properties that may be different or make it unique from the glyph. When you have done this rotate or roll the [Artifact] again and repeat the process. If you have a Mono-Artifact this may be a more difficult ritual to practice but each glyph has many properties or concepts that can be tied to it and you can try and notice something different each time. You may also use the glyphs position or orientation to you to determine what kind of object to seek: Something upside down, something high, something low, something at mid-height etc. The ritual is complete when you begin to feel more grounded, more present, a part of your environment, tethered to reality. You don't need to be fully present or completely grounded, mind you, for this to be successful. The goal is to be in a better state than you were when you started. I hope you all enjoy this preview at the kind of content that will be provided in the guide booklet for example rituals. Not all of the guidance will be this detailed and most of the information will be about the structure of rituals and how to make your own with this being an example you can use as is or adapt.
