Whilst searching for ways to deepen my skills in community grief tending I came across Azul Valerie Thome. One look at her website and a short scan of the internet showed me a powerful woman with such deep intent and connection that I just had to go and train with her. Azul’s commitment to constant evolution in thought, relationship, creativity, sacred communion with nature, grief and love and many other routes into an authentic and meaningful relationship with the other than human world is apparent in her every living breath.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her and witness a wise women Elder who is truly there to serve for the benefit of all beings. I feel honoured to be with her and honoured by her. She holds impeccable ceremonial spaces where I have witnessed remarkable transformation and deep connection occur.
Something truly inspiring is the way that Azul can answer the calls she hears from natures beings and create accessible ways for everyday people to engage with it. She listens and responds to the inspiration and the messages that come to all of us from nature all the time when we pay attention.
We all have that capacity but we don’t always listen. I believe it’s like a muscle, when we practice it we become more fluent in the language of connection. The more we commit to listening, asking the deep questions and truly offering ourselves in service to the whole then the more our prayers and questions are answered in a way that makes sense to us. Azul has made this her life work. Listening and responding and helping others to do the same. It’s not dogmatic or prescribed. It’s not traditional or predetermined. Its ceremony and ritual as we as humans have the power to create.
Ceremony and Ritual should not be separate from our everyday lives. Ceremony and Ritual are the portals for connection that I believe we are all longing for but have not been taught in modern-day culture. Practices that can be as simple as making a beautiful offering with intention or drinking a glass of water in gratitude can be the profound access points for a more connected way of life.
In this podcast episode with Azul, we discuss ways in which we can bring ourselves back into alignment with the Earth. How do we learn to listen? How do we learn to understand and trust the direct connection to Earth and all beings and nurture our innate ability to communicate beyond the world of our understanding? This is a deep, nourishing conversation with a powerful healer, creative and ceremonialist.
I hope you enjoy it.
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