How Rituals Keep Us Connected
The Science of Happiness
PRX and Greater Good Science Center
4.5 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 31 October 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
We explore DĂa de los Muertos as a ritual that nurtures community, imbues loss with meaning, and helps us process grief while also connecting through shared joy.
Summary: We investigate how DĂa de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, rituals strengthen family ties and cultural identity, and learn about its evolution from a 3,000 year old practice to a global celebration. We look at key elements like the ofrenda and explore how commercialization—like Mattel’s Day of the Dead Barbie—raises questions about balancing tradition with modern influences.
This episode is made possible through the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation.
How To Do This Practice:
- Set an intention: Begin by reflecting on who or what you want to honor, focusing on connection and gratitude rather than loss. Let this intention guide the energy of your ritual.
- Create a space of offering: Choose a spot in your home and make it a place of remembrance. Gather meaningful items like photos, flowers, candles, or anything that holds personal or ancestral significance.
- Invite the elements: Bring in water, fire, wind, and earth in simple ways—perhaps a candle, a glass of water, a plant, or a piece of fabric that moves gently in the air—to represent balance and harmony.
- Add a personal touch: Offer something that carries memory, like a favorite food, scent, or song of someone you love. These gestures transform remembrance into a living connection.
- Gather in community: Invite others to join you in building the altar or sharing stories and food. Coming together in this way turns memory into collective celebration and strengthens belonging.
- Reflect and release: When the ritual feels complete, take a few quiet moments to notice what you feel. Offer gratitude for the connections that remain and carry their presence forward into daily life.
Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.Â
Today’s Guests:
MICHELLE TELLÉZ is an Associate Professor in Mexican-American studies at Arizona State University.
Learn more about Michelle: https://tinyurl.com/2ph3can7
MATHEW SANDOVAL, a.ka. "Dr. Muerte," is an artist and Associate Professor at Arizona State University. He is a leading expert on DĂa de los Muertos.
Learn more about Mathew: mathewsandoval.com
Related The Science of Happiness episodes: Â
The Healing Effects of Experiencing Wildlife: https://tinyurl.com/bde5av4z
Who’s Always There For You: https://tinyurl.com/yt3ejj6w
How Thinking About Your Ancestors Can Help You Thrive: https://tinyurl.com/4u6vzs2w
Related Happiness Breaks:
A Meditation on Love and Interconnectedness: https://tinyurl.com/ye6baxv3
A Meditation to Connect With Your Roots: https://tinyurl.com/ycy9xazc
Tell us about your experience with this practice. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/jerruy47
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm Shuka Kalantari. |
| 0:03.0 | Welcome to the Science of Happiness. |
| 0:06.0 | Die de los Mertos is, at its heart, a celebration of life, |
| 0:10.0 | the lives of those we've loved and lost, and the communities that keep those memories alive. |
| 0:16.0 | Recently, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents came to the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. |
| 0:22.1 | Many schools, including my childs, canceled their Dia de los Merto celebrations out of concern |
| 0:28.2 | for the safety of local families. |
| 0:30.9 | According to recent reports, almost 60,000 people are being held in ICE custody. |
| 0:36.2 | Over 70% of them have no criminal convictions. |
| 0:39.9 | So today, in honor of our ancestors and the communities that help keep those traditions alive, |
| 0:45.3 | we're revisiting our episode on the power of ritual, |
| 0:48.3 | and how gathering in meaningful ways can help us heal, remember, and stay strong and connected. |
| 1:07.9 | For me, Diya de los Murtos wasn't something that I necessarily grew up with. |
| 1:13.4 | 30, 40 years ago, when my mother migrated from our small town, |
| 1:19.4 | Tomatlan High School, to Southern California, she didn't necessarily bring some of the traditions she had in the Pueblon. And so we didn't grow up with the Anur Los Mertos. |
| 1:25.3 | When my father passed away suddenly, when I was young, 20 years old, I realized that I needed to find a way to stay connected to his memory. |
| 1:36.3 | Because I think in this culture in the U.S., we don't talk about grief, we don't talk about death, there's fear attached to it. |
| 1:45.0 | So I learned about the tradition through community members and started learning about how to build an altar, |
| 1:54.0 | what all the pieces of the altar signified. And I was trying to be really thoughtful about it. |
| 2:00.0 | It's a reminder for me of making that balance between the morning, the grief, and the celebration and continuously processing it every year. The Hey everyone, I'm Dacker Keltener. |
| 2:24.3 | This week on the Science of Happiness, we're exploring Diyah de los Mueros, a 3,000-year-old tradition |
| 2:31.3 | that honors those we've lost and brings communities together through rituals that help us |
... |
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