Opening Ceremony Podcast with Jess May
Podcast blurb
Welcome to ‘Opening Ceremony Podcast’ with me, your host, Jess May.
I'm on a mission to keep ceremonies alive! Join me to hear all about why!
In the UK people are giving up on ceremony and I believe it is making us sick.
I don’t want that for you and that is why we’re here.
Ceremonies remind you that you belong here, you’re precious and you’re never alone.
I hope that this podcast will do that too.
On my podcast we connect with Academics, Professionals, colleagues, friends & clients share their life events, passions, careers and the ceremonies associated with them.
Ceremonies hold power to create meaning and are a vital source of connection and belonging for human beings.
As cultures evolve, ceremonies do too, how we approach that shift matters, because even as they disappear and change shape, they continue to hold power for both good and bad.
I want to empower you to create ceremonies which honour your values and remind you that you and yours belong in this world.
Good ceremonies tell your own story and help you to find your own meaning by reflecting who you are, healing you and showing you how much you matter.
But they can also be used in damaging ways.
If you don’t claim that power and choose your own way of celebrating your life and telling your story, someone else will do it for you.
Even as they fall from fashion, they will continue to matter to us societally, historically, personally & culturally.
There is never a time in human history where people don’t use them somewhere in the world for myriad reasons.
Focusing on ceremony shows us the interconnected multitude of human lives throughout history and across cultures. Ceremonies help us to hear those voices, their differences and similarities and understand the world-views behind the ceremonies they create.
Jess May is an Award Winning Celebrant who started her career in 2013 creating hundreds of life changing ceremonies for every occasion.
Join the Opening Ceremony constellation to learn more about why ceremonies still play a central part in human and animal societies.
Opening Ceremony Podcast with Jess May
Death of the Party NYC founder Melanie Wilson invites 'Grievers' to the Party!
Meet Melanie Wilson, Funeral & Memorial Celebrant, Founder of Death of the Party NYC as she shares her journey about founding DEATH OF THE PARTY NYC.
In this episode we discuss her grief journey and how she founded the organisation Death of the Party NYC!
She is joining us from New York.
In her own words:
"Death of the Party NYC is about 'Proving loneliness wrong when it comes to grieving with community. Let’s focus on how we grieve the same rather than differently.'"
'I have experienced several significant deaths over the past five years. My friend and colleague died in 2018 and my dad died in 2019. Since losing them, I've sought out friendships with others who get grief.I am a certified Life Cycle and Funeral & Memorial Celebrant, crafting personal celebrations of life.
I am also a host and host trainer forThe Dinner Party..
Besides talking about death, I enjoy life by volunteering at a thriftstore, being creative, beekeeping, and traveling. My favorite place in NYC is Governor's Island!"
Find Melanie's Website Here:
https://deathofthepartynyc.org/
and on instagram:
@DeathofthePartyNYC
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