Some of my work deals with rituals such as collecting, or bad habits, lack of motivation, and other things that can be linked to neuroses. I had an essay tutorial today, where the idea of collecting was brought up as a possible dissertation topic. I think the idea of rituals in general would be a great thing for me to write about, especially as things said about my essays were that they were detached and lacked passion (which I can agree with), and research into rituals is something I already really enjoy. I am interested in the way that rituals linked to religion, superstition or the supernatural mirror rituals that seem really practical at first. An example of this is when I repeatedly check my calendar, email and 'To Do' list in loops. Once is necessary; twice is cautious. Then it loops until I'm essentially just repeating the words, "calendar, email, 'To Do' list, calendar, email, 'To Do' list" in my head, like a mantra. At that point it resembles superstition. It's no longer a practical thing to do; it's a prayer to ward off mistakes and a ritual to remove fear.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy provides practical ways of looking at this sort of thing, but I think Freud could be interesting too. From what I remember, his widely discredited theory is that we are affected by the Oedipus Complex (in the case of males, anyway - I have not yet read about the Elektra Complex that is supposed to be the version that affects females, and thus do not know if it's an exact reversal of the Oedipus Complex or slightly different... I think "penis envy" is a part of it), and our guilt from the desire to kill our fathers turns into neurosis, and religion provides a way to repent, religious rituals becoming a way to relieve guilt. I find Freud interesting as a lot of what he says is so ridiculous, but other parts seem to somehow fit. I definitely see religion and prayer as a therapeutic ritual. I am an atheist, but when I considered myself agnostic I still prayed every night. I think I also prayed every time I left the house, unless I was really relaxed (which is something I see as a sign that it was an anxiety-relieving ritual). I did not especially feel like there was a deity listening, but it relieved the anxiety caused by uncertainty. Prayer seems to sort the problems that are within our control from the problems that are without our control, in my case anyway. If I would pray to do well in an exam, as I was doing so I would remember that it was actually up to me to put the work in. If I would pray for my whole family and all my friends to be kept safe from every bad thing ever, I would remember that it was beyond my control (or "up to God," as one may say), and therefore there was no point worrying. This mirrors an idea taught in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: if you are stressed about something, either you can do something about it or you cannot. If you can do something about it, do it now. If you can't do it now, plan it. If you can't do anything about it, focus your attention on something else.
So, things to read:
Sigmund Freud's "Civilization and its Discontents,"
Mike Kelley's "Foul Perfection,"
and lastly (for now), my numerous Cognitive Behavioural Therapy books.
