when I first learn a formal ritual, one I didn't design, it usually feels stupid. and I don't know the words. I mess them up, I do sections in the wrong order, or forget them.

I do it anyway. I repeat it. I repeat it. gradually, it settles into place. then I can feel whether it resonates or not.

I want to respect the form. not because the beings I interact with demand exactness. (some may. I don't work with them.)

I want to respect the form as a pedagogic device. I want to follow the recipe precisely so I can understand what it is trying to tell me. show me.

deeper forms take longer to unpack, so I am more conservative with them.

only once I feel I fully understand what is being said (and I try to stay open to the possibility that I am wrong about this) do I start to intentionally modify it.

but by this time I usually discover that I have been making subtle shifts of emphasis without realizing it, tuning in on resonance.

or I review the form and find that I have been doing it wrong for some time in a way that works better than the original for me.

in this way, a transmitted practice becomes mine.