Graduation Blog - Reflection & Discovery
- revlindyirving
- May 21
- 3 min read
On 11 April 2025, in the most glorious setting on Loch Tay, we celebrated our graduation from the first Rites & Rituals Scotland Ceremonialist Training Programme. It was a day bathed in sunshine and warmth. The weather was just perfect. Who’d have thought that in early April in Scotland it would be hot enough to enjoy a lovely walk to the loch with ice lollies to keep us cool? From the beginning, this place felt special to us all, and mother nature put on a spectacular show for our graduation day.

Our final two-day get-together began for me a day early, with the opportunity to shadow Lindy as she married a lovely couple in the grounds of Stucktaymore House near Killin. It was a privilege to witness this beautiful ceremony, and a relief that the couple’s choice of an outdoor wedding turned out perfectly in the unseasonably warm weather. Shadowing this wedding brought home to me one of the most important features of our training – it’s been centred around learning through experience, and I learned such a lot through observing Lindy’s calm and assured handling of lots of moving parts to create a seamless, spiritual ceremony.
The first of our two days together included a period of silent reflection – something that I have valued a great deal throughout our training. Of course, the setting had a lot to do with the power of those silences, because in fact they weren’t silent at all. They were filled with sounds that I remember fondly from my childhood – birdsong, buzzing of bees, water flowing through the burn, the whinny of a horse in the neighbouring field. Not speaking for half an hour or so also drew my focus to everything I could see around me – the dramatic scenery of course, the vibrant blue of the sky in the spring sunshine, the new growth on the trees, and the pensive figures of my newfound friends as they too immersed themselves in reflection.
Of course, we were far from silent as we enjoyed each other’s company in the evening. There were stories, jokes and loads of laughter, which we’ve shared from the start, and we’ve become easy and comfortable together as the months have passed. We were excited about our graduation, and also full of hope and enthusiasm for Rites & Rituals Scotland.
Most of us have been fortunate enough to have graduated before, but this was a graduation like no other. It represented the culmination of an intensive period of discovery – about ourselves, about our roles as celebrants and ceremonialists, and about each other. This graduation was truly personal, and just like each of our training sessions, it was an opportunity for reflection and discovery.
Unsurprisingly, this graduation was a spiritual ceremony. As each person graduated, we all expressed our gratitude to them by sharing a few words about them, the impact they had made and the things we valued most about them. The result was an incredibly moving, genuine, honest showcase of each student’s unique contribution to our spiritual community, and a powerful affirmation of the skills and attributes that we bring to our roles as ceremonialists. The immortal words of Robert Burns were ringing in my ears that day,
‘Oh wad some Power the giftie gie us,
to see oursels as ithers see us!’
Comments