- rituals: repetitive actions aiming to prevent problems, but with no practical/logical reason to think that these actions will actually prevent the problems
- the real function of these repetitive actions is to remove negative feeling (e.g. fear)
- this effect is temporary since the actions do not really have an effect on the problems
- religious rituals (e.g. praying) are an example of this
- maybe I should use "voodoo" as an example rather than "praying," so that I am not specifically talking from an atheist's point of view
- buying can be a ritual
- buying out of want and not need can be seen as feeding irrational and primitive impulses
- buying only temporarily quiets these irrational and primitive impulses, and does not actually fix any problems or make any permanent changes, so it can be seen as a repetitive ritual
- rituals are illogical actions fueled by emotions
- anxiety can lead to performing rituals like obsessive checking for the prevention of mistakes
- emotional eating can be seen as a ritual - it distracts from the problem and comforts people, but does not fix anything permanently, so can become a habit/ritual
- drugs can be like a ritual - the aim is happiness, but it is only provided temporarily
- rituals can be logical/useful - meditation can be seen as a ritual, but it is performed with the understanding that the aim is to remove stress and not to directly impact external problems - a calmer state of mind can make it easier to avoid or deal with problems, but there is no false belief that the act of meditation itself will remove external causes of stress
