Ireland Is Calling: Ancient Celtic Wisdom, Sacred Sites & Rites of Passage

Have you ever felt an unexplainable pull toward Ireland?
In this captivating episode of Empowered Within, Jennifer sits down with archaeologist, Celtic researcher, and transformational guide Niels Vantzuriel to explore why Ireland has become a beacon for those seeking healing, clarity, and profound personal transformation.

Together, they uncover the ancient tradition of rites of passage, the spiritual significance of Ireland's sacred landscapes, and how stepping away from everyday life can help us reconnect with who we truly are.

In this episode, you'll discover:
✨ Why so many people feel spiritually called to Ireland
✨ The difference between a retreat and a true rite of passage
✨ The hidden power of Ireland's  sacred sites, and ancient landscapes
✨ How movement, nature, and pilgrimage support lasting transformation
✨ Celtic mythology, the Fairy Folk, and the concept of the "Otherworld"
✨ Why identity—not information—is the key to lasting personal growth
✨ Practical wisdom for bringing transformational experiences home and integrating them into everyday life.

Whether you've dreamed of visiting Ireland, feel drawn to Celtic spirituality, or are navigating a season of change, this conversation offers timeless wisdom for anyone seeking deeper meaning, healing, and connection.

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Transcript

1:17

Welcome to Empowered Within, a soul-quenching transformational podcast that will set your soul on fire. Through candid and inspiring conversations, leading experts, celebrities, healers, and I share our journeys of how we've overcome challenges to living an empowered life from within. I'm your host, Jennifer Palates. Welcome to another episode of Empowered Within.

Audio Only - All Participants 1:44

Hi there, and welcome to another episode of Empowered Within. I'm so excited to introduce you to our guest, Neils van Neils is a rite of passage facilitator who has spent over a decade guiding women into Ireland's wild landscapes and forgotten sacred sites. Far from tourist path, he leads profound spiritual ceremonies that help women navigate life transitions, step into empowerment, and embrace the next chapter of their lives. Through ritual and transformation, hypnosis, storytelling, and of course, Celtic wisdom. Neils creates initiations, not retreats, where women cross thresholds with courage and grace. His work blends ancient mysteries with modern empowerment. Offering a whole approach to soulful change, midlife renewal, and feminine leadership. Welcome to the show, Neils. Jennifer. So good to be here. Thank you for having me. And hello to the, empowered within people out there to our people. We have a lot of people in Ireland. Ireland has been in our top stats for four years now. Wow. Yes. It's, there is a sea change happening here in Ireland, ever since COVID happened. We are noticing it here. There is something happening like a grassroot organization just bubbling up from the earth itself. Ireland is waking up. It's the only way that I can describe it. Ireland is waking up and reaching back to its roots. So I am not surprised in the slightest. That just gives me goosebumps. I am so excited to hear this because I do, I have so many questions about Ireland. I have so many questions for you, period, but definitely about Ireland. But before we really get into all the fun stuff, I wanna know about the real stuff about the Ireland roots of you that has brought you to where you are offering these incredible experiences for women. Well, this is gonna be an anti-climax. I'm not Irish. Shut the front door. What I am actually something that you would call a gray dog. Now, this is a term that goes back to ancient Ireland, let's say fifth to 12th century Ireland, where people who came into the islands, who would marry into a tribe. They would be considered great dogs and they would have half the honor price of their spouse if the spouse agreed with that. So my fiance is Irish, and if I behave nicely, I can get half the honor price here. So originally not Irish. That's wild. Oh my goodness. I've been here for 12 years. I've been bitten by the island bug and. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world. This place is just, it is magical. Well, what brought you to Ireland? It's the fiance. Oh. Yep. I love it. It love brought you to Ireland. I feel like we're turning into a Hallmark movie. I'm so excited. So together tell me, because I know that she is also a big part of these incredible. Ceremonies and experiences that you offer women, how did you two come up with this organically? It just grew. We always loved hiking. We always love to go outdoors and where we are on the west coast, the southwest coast of Ireland. We are basically in the middle of nowhere. That means there's nothing to do here. So the only thing that there is to do is drive around in your little car and go hiking. And I've got an archeological background and I figured out really, really quickly what this land has in. The amount of archeological ruins. Stone circles, castles, stone rows. Ring Fords. Ferry Fords. There is so much here it is. It beggars the belief. Now, I always thought that I was rather well-rounded in archeology, but I had no idea about the amount of stuff that was here. And then I started to invite my archeological friends over and they were flabbergasted and they started to grow and grow and grow. And at a certain moment, this started to happen over and over and over again. The people that came to us. Mentioned over and over again. I needed to be here. I don't know why, and it doesn't get, it's rather vague. But they all knew I needed to be here. I needed to do this meditation or this ceremony in this stone circle. I needed to stand on this cliff and jokingly, both Kira, my fiance, and myself, we started to mention to each other, Ireland is calling its people home. Now, it doesn't mean that you have to be of Irish descent, but there is a certain kind of person that is being called to this land to do work, and we've seen this over and over and over again, and this just kind of organically grew until we figured out maybe we should actually do something with this. And we just ran with it. That is such a beautiful story. I love this for the two of you. So we explain what exactly is a rite of passage that you offer and how does that truly different from say a traditional retreat? Rites of passage are as old as humanity there. There isn't a culture that doesn't have this idea of you are a changing being. In a very complex society, and you cannot always stay the same. And normally we change through the years, and change is gradual, but there comes a point where the old life just doesn't fit anymore. The roles that you are playing just don't fit anymore. And the way that our ancestors dealt with that need for change is they set aside. A dedicated amount of time in something I like to call, liminal time and liminal space. A time outside of time in a sacred set apart part space where you have the chance to really reinvent yourself or go through a ceremony, go through a process where you can become somebody else on a very fundamental level. Then once you come out of that, the tribe is there to witness, Hey, yeah, we saw what you did. We saw that you went in as a girl, but came out as a young woman. We saw that you went in as a mother, but are now coming out as a venerated elder, and we are going to hold you to that new role. That's the way that our ancestors used to do that is called like. There is this need for change. It is in our blood. It's what we are as humans. We're going to bump into this. We're gonna set time aside for you to do that. And then once you come out of it, we're gonna hold you to that new role, kicking and screaming because change can come very quickly. But holding onto that change without slipping back again, that's where the real rub is. Nowadays, the only real rite of passage that we still have is basically marriage. There are some cultures that still have a few other ones, but the big one is marriage. But we have so many more places and times that we need to change where our old life, just the way that we show up in our old life, it doesn't work anymore. Our careers don't fit anymore. Our relationships don't fit anymore. Doesn't mean that those relationships or those careers need to come to an end, but the way that we show up in those careers, in those relationships, that needs to change. And it's a very visceral feeling for a lot of people. For a lot of women that we work with, it's visceral. It is in their bones. It, I can't go on like this, it, this is suffocating me. I need to change. But there is nothing in our culture anymore that really takes you by the hand, puts you in a sacred place, and then guides you through, okay, this is who you were. This is where we going. How are we getting from A to B? How are we going to do that? And how are we going to make those changes actually stick in a way that. Once you go back home again and you're going to get, can I swear on your podcast by the way? Absolutely. You can be you when you're going to go back home again, you are going to get bitch slapped by your old life and. You are going to, you want to hold on onto those new insights, those new ways of being, but your old life, your old friends, your old family, your old career expects you to show up in that old way. That's where the magic really needs to happen. And if you just have a nice experience, if you just went to another country, maybe it is some psychedelics can be very powerful. By the way. I'm not downplaying psychedelics, but if you just have. A wonderful experience. Without the tools and without the identity shift, that really changes you at a core level the moment that you come home. Again, especially in our day and age where life is so hectic and there's so much pressure from family, from friends, from the culture at large. Finances, everything. Very difficult to keep those changes that you've made to keep them if you do not have the tools and if you've not changed on a very deep basis on an identity basis. So what we did is we basically said, we have this background, we have these ruins in our backyard. People are having these fantastic experiences, what more can we do? And we harken back to our expertise in studying ancient cultures. This is how the ancient people did it, and we started to incorporate that. And the effects are mind boggling. I tend to say to the women at leave us, do not divorce your husband on the first week back. Do not quit your career on the first, week back. You will want to because the changes that you've made are so profound. That need for change was so huge. Now you've actually done it. Now you wanna change everything. Don't. Don't. 'cause if you do that, you're gonna blow up your life. The way that you make this stick, the moment that you're on the other side, that your back in your old life is change. One small thing at a time. One new piece of clothing change, one piece of furniture around celebrate. I stood my grounds today. I said No today. I said, yes today in a way, I showed up in a new way. So both in the outer world and in the inner world, it is small changes that gives you the roots to actually make that kind of change lasting. But the things that people go through here. Are so profound that I really have to just go hold on, girl. You do not divorce your husband the first week that you're back. I can imagine. So take me through what is an experience? How does it all come together? Am I signing up for a week? Is it a weekend or a week? So immersed in everything, what are we doing? What does it look like? It depends upon the person. It really depends upon the person. We start to work months in advance with you really months in advance, from the spiritual to the very physical. You are going to have to get your stamina up. We're going to be hiking if you're gonna go to these sacred places and you want to have an experience that really lost. It doesn't work if you approach these sacred sites in the way that modern people do it. So you drive up with a car, you go and sit down on your picnic blanket and you go okay, sacred site, show me what you got. That's not how these places work. That's especially not how Ireland works. Oftentimes, we, we see big groups here coming, from all over the world that want to do sacred grit work in Ireland. This is a side tangent, but please indulge me. Nothing wrong with the intention, but it's not how Ireland works as an entity. The energy is here. Self sovereignty is an enormously big topic, both in mythology and in the feeling of the country. So if you come here with the idea, show me, or I'm gonna do a grit work or something like that, you are gonna get pushback from the energies here. If on the other hand, you come here and you do it the way that the ancients did it, walking to places. If you lived in a valley as a poor peasant 1500 years ago and you needed to go to the nearby stone circle, you need to go across the mountains over to the other side. Pack your lunch, pack your dinner. Put all your affairs aside because you might not be coming back. 'cause that's the reality of ancient Ireland. It is not a safe place. And you might be gone for two or three days hiking to get to this place. If you do that, you are in a completely different head space and we try to recreate that. So one of the things that we do is months in advance. Start training because this is going to be physical, very physical, and it needs to be physical. If you want to have these fantastic changes, you need to incorporate the body so we tackle the mind. The, so the belief systems, the subconscious minds, so the, let's just say the minds, the identity and the subconscious minds, the very deep belief systems. Then we work with the body and we work with your etheric fields as well. So we tackle the whole being, and we do that for months in advance. And then it really depends upon the person, what do you want to do? Because this is one-on-one work. We are not going in groups up the mountain. No, it, it is one-on-one. So it's also far ahead of time. We need to be sure that we like each other because we're gonna be stuck with each other for a little bit. So that can be, so when you, when not to interrupt you, when you're going, is it like what you're saying? We're packing a bag, and you're like, okay, Jennifer, we're probably gonna be out there for a couple of nights. No, no, thank God. Not that there something, I'm like, wait a minute. What? What? We just went from Hallmark to eat, pray, love, ooh, okay. That there must be some, some middle ground here. Uh, you know, thank, thank the Lord. It's not that intense. We hike in the afternoons, and in the mornings we do, pre-work so that the work that we do during the morning. Comes back and is deepened at the sacred sites that we've hiked to in the afternoons. The hiking itself can be a maximum of one and a half hours, which is short enough to not tucker you out, that you don't fall asleep while you're at the sites. But still impressive enough to really get the body involved so that all the changes that we make, the body is there and that's where we work. It almost sounds like the, or at least the way that I'm sort of embracing this, is the idea of the hike. The idea of the point A to point B is it literally gets you out of your mind and into your body so that there isn't a distraction, so that you are so open to receive the messages and the energies. This is so true. Side tangent, again, I, have the good fortune of teaching in Russia. Like a decade ago. And one of the ladies that came to me, and this was a lady that was known locally to the locals as a holy person commuting with angels all day, every day. And you could tell from her energy, oh my, there is this saying, if you commune with God, God is so large, he will start to peek out of you. You can't contain him. Those energies absolutely true for this lady. But she had a, a young teenage child and that young teenage daughter was starting to fall in with the wrong crowd and she wasn't able to deal with it. And that wasn't going well at all. So even in all her ho her holiness, which you could palpably feel being in her fields, she needed to be physical for her daughter. And the moment that I, that was the wake up call for me to change everything that I was doing and really start to incorporate the physical in any way, shape, or form that I could. And the hiking is just, it is. Very natural here to just go out into the countryside because there are so many of these sites here, and because Ireland is so uninhabited relatively, a lot of these places just, yes, farmers will know that they have these fantastic sites on their land, but other than the farmers, nobody goes there. So you have this place for yourself, literally for yourself. They are not the flashiest. It's don't think stone hench. But the moment that you go off the beaten path away from where all the tourists are and are okay with having a hiking stick in your hand, getting into that trance-like state because you are getting into a different consciousness band. Yeah. Then if you then arrive at a place and you start to play with the energies, it is something else. It is always just waiting what will happen. For some people, it is the very act of hiking and going to a place. The amount of times, Jennifer, that I've heard people recognize the sites, they've never been there, and they crest the hill. Over the ridge. They see the side and they go oh my God, I've seen this in my dreams. And that could be a breakthrough by itself. Or we could be sitting there and doing storytelling or very deep hypnosis work or other work energy work that is the breakthrough. It really depends upon the person, and it's not one size fits all. It is an interaction between the sites themselves. The surroundings, what the people themselves bring, how much they are willing to change, and then it is within that alchemy. It is a hell of a ride. It really is. It sounds pretty incredible and so I can imagine and you can feel it through you, the energies of Ireland and I Ireland holds a very special place in my heart. And then you've mentioned you've done work over in Russia and there are so many places in our amazing world that hold special transformational energies. Why Ireland for you, besides your fiance? Why? Well, that's a big one. That's a big one. Yeah. You could have put picked anywhere based on what you're doing. So clearly there's something. Is magical. There is something specifically about this place. Okay. How do we explain this best? Ireland is well known for the ferries. The ferries is a. It's a catchall term for a lot of different etheric beings in the mythology of Ireland. Ireland doesn't actually have a creation myth. It has an origin story, two very different things, and the origin story talks about. How the modern day ar Irish came to the land of Ireland and they weren't actually the first to come here. They were the sixth and last wave of invasions. This is coming out of a medieval manuscript known as the Lao Gal Aaron, also known as the Book of Invasions, or the book of the Takings of Ireland. The Irish are the modern day. Irish are the lost wave of people coming here, the people that came before them, the fifth wave. Are a race of mythical beings that are known as the anaan or the, tribe of the goddess Dannu, UA is tribe or peoples. These are mythical, demic gods, and these are the basically the gods of the Irish Pantheon. They were also not the first that were. Predecessors before them, oftentimes with a little bit of a, Christian background going all the way back to the flood because these myths were written down by, Christian monks. That's how we get these stories. But their predecessors were these mythical beings and the poet of the Irish that are invading. Goes to the goddesses of the island and basically says, how can we live here? Basically he blesses and sings to the land. His name is Amergen made of song and he sings to the land. His brother Don, is a warrior and he says, yeah, enough with this singing, we're gonna take this land. Yeah, there is a local sage, a man by the name of John Moriarty who says The way that you come to Ireland, your intention that you bring to Ireland is the way that she will receive you. Don the Warrior brought blood lust, conquest with him. He perished along with the rest of his tribe, with his warriors in front of the coast here on the west coast of Ireland. The rest, the peoples that. Wanted to sing and work with the islands, work with the Irish goddesses. They survived and were able to finally make landfall and make their home here. Now, they made a pact with that fifth race, with the mystical beings that the modern day Irish would get above ground and the Irish gods. Would get below ground or would go into the ferry force. Those gods became known as the fairies. Again, it's a makeshift cover all term for gods and other etheric beings. So you never quite know when you bump into a ferry what kind of being you are dealing with. But they went into. The other worlds and to access the other worlds, you go to those liminal places that are dollars all across Ireland. I'm getting to my point here. I know it's a long story. Because there are so many of those liminal places, doted all across the landscape in Ireland. Those stone circles, those castle ruins, those ring forts, ferry, forts, lakes, grottoes, anything that is a break within the landscape. The ancient Irish sea as that is an access point to the other world, not the on the world, but the other world. That is a place where. The power of the ferries or the she, they're called to the, she is seeping from the other world into this world. To answer your question, Jennifer, why Ireland? If I, at my most poetic, I would say, because this land is drenched, absolutely just covered with the energies of the other world, and you can tell that when you land here, there is something. Different about this place. Even just time works differently here. One of our Americans friends calls it ferry time and it's, everything just works differently here. That is how I would explain it, that feeling that you have on this land when you are away from the big cities, if you are away from the tourist traps, the power of the she of the ferries is. Everywhere. And this to a city person or a modern western person. This goes like, ah, yeah, yeah. Fun, fun. Of course. Ferries, how whimsical leprechauns, pot of ray of gold at the end of the rainbow. The Irish take this very seriously. Modern day, fully secular, sometimes still very Catholic or Protestant, Irish. People don't believe in fairies. But they believe in ferries. You do not mess with the ferries. You do not mess with their ring fors or their access points from this, from the other world to this world. Better yet, this comes back in at a certain moment, France or the EU was, asking Ireland, what is taking you so long with building that highway in the, in the west of Ireland? And we're going like, yeah, there's a ferry tree in the way. Excuse me. What? Now? A ferry tree is in the way. Okay. An actual Hawthorne tree, which is a ferry tree, which is an access point from the other world to this world, would have to be cut down in order for a big building project of a highway to be constructed there. You do not do that in Ireland, so a big hoo-ha was made about, okay. People were saying no highway and the highway was actually moved, and that's very unassuming. Little hawtin tree is still standing there. That is how Ireland works. It is different here. So that is so powerful. I love hearing this, especially right now on this day and time because. That's not what you might see out on social media right now about Ireland or that might, there's a lot that's going on in our world. Yeah, and I love that you're sharing this aspect and you're like, my heart is there. I'm so grounded in the energies that you're bringing forth, and it just takes you back and makes it even more obvious to me of the world split. That truly has gone on now. So there is the world that is exactly as you're describing, and those, people like me are all in it. And I'm, I, I feel like I'm there based on how you're pouring the energies and then there are the people that are not, I'll just say it that way, are not, and that's okay too. They're in their world. And that's what suits them at this moment in time. So for all of those people that are resonating with this. Tell us more. How far out are you booking on, on these rendezvous? Because it, it definitely sounds like this is, this is pretty darn close to a marriage. It sounds like we're getting, we're, this is a relationship. This is a commitment not only to oneself, but with you and on, and also in, in choosing to honor not only oneself, but the land and honoring you as the host there. Relationship is a good word. I always make clear, before people set, set foot here, this is gonna be intimate. It is gonna be really darn intimate. They're gonna be highs, they're gonna be lows. It is part of it. It's never romantic, but it is gonna be darn intimate because you are. Coming in because you want the deepest of change and you are putting time aside, you are really investing in yourself to go as deep as you possibly can. I and my partner are here to basically create the framework and to guide you both on the outside world, walk here, not there, and on the inside world, go down this route, not that route. And that last part, of course is always within. Within, discussion, what do you actually want? But it is very, very intimate and we keep on contact with our ladies for quite some time afterwards. So it's not just wham bam. Thank you ma'am. No, no, no, no, no, no. It's a, this is a commitment from both sides and we take it very seriously. We take about three people a month during the summer months, and that's it. Because it's very intense for us as well. Mm-hmm. Is that predominantly based on weather, I assume when you do most of your work? My, for this season, the last one, was in mid-November. Absolute hero because we got soaked to the bone. Yes. Weather is an issue. Weather in orange, especially the West coast is. From March to October, you have decent weather. You are always gonna get a rain shower. It's just part of what it is. Mixes, this, this land so beautifully green. But after that it is possible to do. But you have to be brave. You have to be very brave and to be able to swim. Oh goodness. I'd be able to swim. So not only are we hiking, we're swimming. Yeah. That's basically what it is. Yeah. I confer swimming with ferries is cool. I'm down with that. I'm totally down with that. I think that would be great. So when is the sunniest time? Tell me the difference between when is that for you? The best time to come here is, springtime. It really is springtime, for one less tourists. Really less tourists. Now we always go to other places where the tourists do not go. But that doesn't mean that you don't see tourists. So within springtime, they're still not here. So from March up till beginning of July, it is still quite quiet here. Then afterwards, late mid-July, sorry, mid June. All the way to the, to the beginning of September is peak tour season, and it's a lot. There's a lot of people here. We've, we have a small town nearby that has 2000 people during the winter time. We are bored of each other's faces because we see the same people every single day. But that same small 2000 people town swells to 20,000 people during this. Yeah, it is madness. Wow. How do you. Fit all those people. You do not. You do not. Yes. Oh my goodness. So we go away, we go into the mountains, to the cliffs, to the forest, we go and the forests that are still there because our is, Sometimes this might be a little bit of an anticlimax for people when they come to Ireland. They might expect to see forests. They have green in their hands, in their heads and think green fields and green forests. Ireland is one of the most deforested, countries in the whole of, of Europe. It is so bad there are basically no forests left unless they are planted. There are still a few left. And we take people to the ones that are very, very special, that cannot and will not be touched. But even the government has figured out, oh, we can't touch those because those ones are sacred and special. And that's where we take people. I'm not quite sure where I was going with that, but see, and I don't think forest, I think more rolling hills. Yes. And cliffs like, I don't think forest for, I just think beautiful rolling hills and the greenery and sheep and a lot of sheep, better yet heroic sheep because every time that you're here and you see a sheep is not technically allowed by law to not stand on the cliff and not look aerobic. It's just not allowed. Oh my gosh. They have a knack for it. This is hysterical. I love this. So now tell me, we, I didn't ask this, but yet, how long have you two been doing this work in official form? Maybe five years. But we've been doing this for, for a good decade in. In different forms. Mm-hmm. And just fine tuning our approach and, finding more and more sites as we've gone along. So we are very well versed here in the southwest where there are a lot of megalithic sites. So megalith, mega big lift stone or lithic stone, big stone sites.. The megalithic sites in Ireland, common clusters, it is very peculiar. You will have counties that have a gazillion of them, and then you've got counties that have almost none. So we are very well versed here because they have a lot of megalithic sites here, but if you go to other sections of the island, they're almost not there. And the ones that are there, again, overrun by tourists. So we basically take people out of the way to the middle of nowhere. To the true, yes, the true grassroots of art. Yes. The places that still actually have power. Here's an interesting thing. What we have noticed is that the places that are easily accessible energetically wise are the places that have been energetically messed with either by people who did so intentionally or didn't know what they were doing. The end result is the same. Mm-hmm. Energetically dead places. Places that are out of the way that you actually have to put in some sweat on your bra to get to. Those are the places that are still humming away in the background, just doing that thing and something about how you approach those sites. Until now, we've really been focusing, okay, you do this physically. It's also a mindset thing. You're not gonna be the first person that does a ceremony here. You are in a line of hundreds, if not thousands of people stretching across millennia, who've quietly come to these places, done their business, packed up and went away again. Again, if you make it all about show me I'm here, I'm expecting something now. Wrong mindset to bring. If instead you. Basically I like to call this praise singing. If you sing the praises of a place and that you're just happy to be there, that is a attitude and a mindset and an energy that you bring along that the signs are far more responsive to. It's best. Summarized by saying, how can I walk beautifully on this piece of earth? And there's ways to do that. And there's definite ways to not do that. Absolutely. I mean, it truly is sacred land. And so coming with a sense of wonder Yeah. And a sense of even childlike wonder, I think that that's, that's what allows for those fairy moments that allows for the magic to happen. Yeah. When you're open to it. So the women that have graced, yourself and your fiance, and the beautiful ground there, where would you say geographically wise, have more of the people been coming from? Is it closer towards you or is it America? Is it Russia? Is there a vibe? Age wise, it is all over the place. The youngest 27, oldest 72, until now, the majority are US and Canada. There are a few Europeans, a few South Americans, surprisingly a little Irish people themselves. But that is starting to change. Like I said, Ireland is waking up itself. There is a revival going on in Ireland and it is so beautiful to see as a somebody who is from outside of this island, it is so beautiful to see for the native people of this country that they are reaching back to their own roots. It is difficult because so much has been lost. So there's a lot of speculation and people just grasping at straws, but that is a revival happening. Absolutely. And it's beautiful to see. It is absolutely gorgeous to see. But to answer your, your question, it is mainly the US and Canada. And there are some European people coming as well. That's fantastic. I'm so excited for the two of you and for what's to come because I do feel that as our world, it has split. It's been split now. That there are so many more people that are looking for what you have to offer and are looking to. Get back to literally the core of themselves and the core of the earth, and why are we here? And I know I was speaking, I think it was about a month ago, I said, oh my gosh, I found in Ireland. I said, they'll pay you to go and live on this I and live on the island. If you'll inhabit it. And I'm like, let's go. You know? Let's do it. Yep. What's the worst case scenario? Oh, you might piss off the, the local, goddess, very quickly here, there. So there are many Irish goddesses, mainly goddesses. This is the land of the goddess as far as I am, concerned. And one of the, let's say elder states, lady of them is. The, the kayak or, the old hag of Bera, as she's known as the Lady of Storms, or the Lady of Winter storms here are heavy, so we pay homage to the kayak because we are literally living on her home turf. We are on the place where she hailed from. She's known as a dad. All across the British Isles, you will come, you will bump into her in Scotland on the Isle of Man, you will bump into a version of her in Wheels all across Ireland. It is said that when she walked across Ireland with her apron filled, little Stones would fall out and those would become mountains or lakes, in the Irish landscape. But her home base is where we are located, and it's very close to where those islands are that you can, that. You can start to live on that, you will get paid for it. But that does mean storms, storms, storms. You have to keep her on the, on your good side. So we actually honor her as when people come here for the first time, we say, please bring small offering. You don't have to believe in this, but this is good etiquette. There is a concept within ancient Celtic, spirituality that is caused. And I'm gonna butcher this, with my, with my foreign tongue, but queer queerness, which is something like right relationship that can be within your family structure, that can be within your Tua or your tribe, but that can also be with the land that you live in. What is your right relationship with those sacred sites that you are visiting? What is the divide that you're bringing? Or if you are coming to a piece of land that is being. Has always been the homestead, the stomping ground of this ancient goddess. Do you at least acknowledge her right relationship? It's a core part of Celtic spirituality. Absolutely. Oh my goodness. I think it's like you should do that every day with your home. Should do. I'm all about I talk to my home as much as I talk to my fur babies. I love you. Okay. I'll be back. Or it's, we're going to bed. Your home is, it's your sacred ground. Absolutely. I think that, getting back to the, again, the roots of that and people getting back to that in the sense of community, real community with real people, not via a phone or via. An internet line, but truly human to human. And I think this is so special what you're doing. I can only just beam at that with a big smile. Absolutely. Well, as we are closing out the show today, is there one piece of inspiration or perhaps advice that you'd like to leave with our community today? Oh wow. I am just gonna run with this is just popping into my mind now and I'll try to keep this short. When I was a very young lad, my grandfather, taught me chess. I wasn't very good. Still am not very good. But I remember vividly. An afternoon. He had put out his extra special chess board. He had multiple ver but this was the luxe version. And we were playing chess. And somehow as a young kid, I was able to get his queen into a corner and surrounded. He didn't say anything. He didn't say a word, but I remember the way that he looked at me to acknowledge what I did. It's the only thing. And that look that he gave me is still with me to this day. The acknowledgement of, Hey, I see what you did there, a rite of passage. We can do this alone. It is absolutely possible, but there is something in being witness. If there are any Mellon Book of the Fallen or Stephen Erickson fans out there, yes, I did say witness. It's an inside joke. Some people will love me now, other people will go, I have no idea what he's all about. There is something about being witnessed when you go through something that deep again, if you're getting married, you are doing that in front of your family and loved ones because you want to share. But there is power in being. Witness when you say, yes, I will stay with you through better or for worse, for sickness and through health, there is something there. The our awareness is what we use to make sacred. In my mind, our awareness is what we use to make sacred. Being witnessed, being seen for what you are going through and knowing I can always reach out to this person too. Touch base again to revamp that feeling if I ever slide back, because sliding back is normal. When you come back home again, two steps forward, one step back is the normal way that this kind of change work unfolds. But this person has seen me in a very intimate, cherished way. All my struggles, the imperfect way that I showed up, and I still did it and I didn't do it alone. Somebody saw that and somebody is proud of me. Th there is something about being wi a witness and the power of our awareness that we put upon things in the same way that you show up to a sacred site. Something might not happen the first day. Something might not happen the second or the 10th day. If you go to a bent in a river, something might not happen for three bloody months, but if you bring your awareness to that bent in the river to that sacred side. On the 91st day, so three months and one day something might happen, us showing up consistently for ourselves, either in our inside process or in the outside world, in nature. Eventually there will be a reaction. It might not always happen as quickly as we want to. But there will be a reaction, and it is because of the awareness that we bring, and especially if we're pre singing in nature or at a sacred site, that reaction might come a little bit quicker. It's all about how you show up absolutely makes sense. Truly, thank you for sharing that. Beautiful. Well, for our amazing community who would love to reach out and learn more about you and learn more about how they can join and have an amazing transformational experience, where can they best reach you? It's all one word. Adventures in quiet places, info, and that will get you through to our substack. And then there's all way kinds of ways to reach out to us and. We can have a talk. Yeah. And yeah, you can keep on reading and Yeah, absolutely. And yes, of course all of the information will be over in the show notes. All the links will be there and notes from today and all sorts of goodies that you can peruse through over@jenniferpilates.com. Thank you so much for teleporting me to Ireland today. I just feel so wrapped in fairy dust and magic, and this has been wonderful and I'm truly honored to have had you on the show, love what you're doing, and cannot wait to hear how business explodes more as we are going into this new year and into all of these new transformational energies around the world. It's been normal. Jennifer, thank you so much for having me. Thank you. Well, as always, until next time, may you live an empowered life from within

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