Ritual, Belonging, and Sacred Difference
Creating Meaningful Practice that Honors Spiritual Diversity
With Bobby Ansari MA, CWP, CCC
Saturday, November 21, 2026
10 AM – 1 PM ET · Live on Zoom · Recording included
Pricing: General Public $60 · OSLA Affiliated Alumni $25
When Words Aren't Quite Enough
A friend is grieving. A family is welcoming a new beginning. A community is navigating change. Sometimes we want to do more than offer a few thoughtful words. We want to acknowledge what is happening and create space for people to come together.
Ritual can help us do that.
But what happens when the people gathered have different beliefs, religious traditions, or relationships to spirituality? How do we create something that feels genuine and welcoming without assuming everyone experiences the sacred in the same way?
And how do we draw inspiration from spiritual traditions without taking practices out of their cultural or historical context?
In this experiential workshop, Bobby Ansari will guide participants through the process of creating rituals that bring people together while respecting what makes their beliefs and traditions distinct.
Through guided practices, reflection, and conversation, you'll learn a five-step approach to creating rituals for grief, transition, renewal, uncertainty, and belonging.
You'll also design a short ritual of your own, considering not only what makes it meaningful, but whether it honors the people and traditions involved.
You'll leave with a ritual you've created and a practical method you can use in your own life, community, or work.
“The transformative value of this workshop is that participants will learn how to create ritual as a practice of ethical relationship rather than spiritual consumption.
They will develop a way to ask not only, “What feels meaningful?”
but also, “What is mine to use, what requires context or permission, and how can this practice preserve the dignity of everyone present?"
Participants will leave with a practical framework for creating shared experiences that foster reflection, belonging, and connection without demanding theological agreement.”
—Bobby Ansari
What We'll Explore
Belonging Without Sameness
People don't have to share the same beliefs to participate in a meaningful experience. We'll explore ways to create space for different perspectives without requiring agreement or asking anyone to set aside their traditions. to have meaning. We'll explore how to invite participation without assuming that everyone understands or experiences the sacred in the same way.
Why Ritual Matters
How can simple actions, symbols, and shared attention help us acknowledge grief, change, hope, and belonging? We'll consider what makes ritual meaningful and why it remains important across cultures and traditions.
A Five-Step Approach to Ritual Design
Bobby will introduce a practical framework: Intention → Threshold → Action → Witness → Integration
You'll learn how these elements work together and how to use them when creating a ritual for a personal, professional, or community setting.
Respecting the Traditions We Learn From
When is it appropriate to draw from a spiritual practice, and when might doing so cross a boundary? We'll consider cultural context, lineage, permission, and power, and how these questions can guide more responsible choices.
What We'll Do Together
This is a hands-on workshop, with opportunities to discuss, experience, and create ritual. We'll use silence, sound, images, and symbolic objects to explore how simple actions can take on meaning when approached with intention.
During the workshop, you'll:
Participate in brief guided ritual practices.
Explore examples of rituals from different spiritual and religious traditions.
Reflect on how cultural context shapes the meaning of a practice.
Discuss questions of permission, adaptation, and inclusion.
Work with others in pairs or small groups.
Design a short ritual for a real situation in your life or community.
Have an opportunity to share and refine your ideas through reflection and feedback.
Please bring a small object that holds personal meaning for you. We'll incorporate it into the workshop experience.
You'll leave with a ritual you designed yourself, plus a framework you can use again in the future.
Please bring a small object that holds personal meaning for you. We'll incorporate it into the workshop experience.
Who This Workshop Is For
If You’re New to One Spirit
You don't need to be ordained, religious, or familiar with any particular spiritual tradition.
Perhaps you lead a team, teach a class, run a support group, care for patients, or are the person friends and family turn to during life's important moments.
This workshop offers practical ways to create rituals that acknowledge those experiences while making room for different beliefs.
It's also an introduction to One Spirit's approach to learning: experiential, thoughtful, and respectful of spiritual difference.
No previous experience with ritual design or interspiritual practice is necessary!
If You’re a One Spirit graduate
You may already hold space for people from many spiritual paths. But creating ritual that feels authentic to those gathered, without privileging one tradition or reducing differences to something generic, can be challenging.
This workshop offers a practical approach to that work.
Rooted in interspiritual principles associated with Wayne Teasdale—including humility, solidarity, and prophetic action—it provides a repeatable framework you can bring to weddings, memorials, retreats, spiritual direction, community circles, and other gatherings.
You'll have an opportunity to reflect on your existing practice, consider questions of cultural responsibility, and develop a ritual you can adapt thoughtfully to your own setting.
Graduates of all One Spirit programs are welcome!
About the Presenter,
Bobby Ansari (she/her)
Bobby Ansari, MA, CWP, CCC, is a spiritual wellness practitioner, educator, and founder of Rose of Jericho Wellness™.
Trained in spiritual care, trauma-informed practice, and interfaith engagement, her work explores meaning, ritual, cultural humility, and belonging across religious and spiritual difference.
She has worked in healthcare, higher education, workplace wellness, and community settings, and has studied with teachers and communities across multiple spiritual traditions.
Her approach combines practical ritual design with ethical attention to context, lineage, power, and cultural responsibility. She speaks internationally on spiritual wellness, meaning, and culturally responsive approaches to human flourishing.
Learn more about Bobby at roseofjerichowellness.com.
What Your Registration Includes
◴ Three-hour live, interactive workshop with Bobby Ansari.
⟲ Workshop recording, available through June 30, 2027.
❺ Five-step ritual-design worksheet and reusable template.
? Reflection questions addressing cultural context, power, and permission.
✪ Resource list on ritual, interspirituality, and cultural humility for ongoing learning.
Registration Pricing
Public: $60 · OSLA Affiliated Alumni: $25
Taking more than one workshop? Buy 3, save 15%. Buy 4, save 20%! Discount applied automatically at checkout.
OSLA Alumni: Log in to your OSLA Portal to apply your affiliate discount. Not affiliated yet? Learn More about Affiliation
After You Register
You'll receive a confirmation email with instructions for accessing the workshop's Hylo Course Board, where you'll find the Zoom link and workshop materials.
Can't attend live? The recording will be available within 72 hours of the workshop and accessible through June 30, 2027.
Questions? Contact help@1spirit.org.