Since my early adult life I have found myself drawn to the ancient world, curious about how past cultures engaged the sacred. With that curiosity in mind, one thread of research led me to the Eleusinian Mysteries—rites so revered in ancient Greece that people traveled from across the Mediterranean to be initiated. What were they experiencing that made such an impact?

The Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece were among the most revered spiritual rites of their time, centered around the myth of Demeter and Persephone.  Stories of how they took participants on a journey of descent, loss, renewal, and return. Though much remains secret, we know the rites were embodied. Movement, sound, procession, and possibly dance were integral—not just symbolic acts, but visceral doorways.

That feels deeply familiar.

In our own practice of ritual postures—rooted in ancient art and global traditions—we enter altered states not just through intention, but through the body itself. Posture becomes portal. Breath and stance awaken something deeper than words. I can’t help but feel that those initiates at Eleusis, seated in the great Telesterion, the hall of initiation or dancing in torchlit procession, were engaging in a similar process: using the body to open perception, to step into myth not as a story, but as a living reality.

We continue to find evidence that the physicality of the Mysteries Schools of old—whether standing with intention, walking, fasting, or dancing—suggests that wisdom wasn’t merely taught, but experienced. This aligns with our own understanding: that transformation happens when the body participates fully. When movement and stillness, gesture and silence, are part of the sacred conversation.

Perhaps we’re not so far from Eleusis after all 😉

After all, what is more magical than discovering that the universe is still speaking—and that we have, within us, the tools to listen?