Barbara Biziou’s greatest passion is to inspire, empower and support people going through all of life’s transitions with easy to access rituals and spiritual practices that make life richer, easier and more meaningful. Barbara is a global wisdom keeper and an agent of change & transformation who integrates her extensive knowledge of practical spirituality, rituals, psychology, neuroscience & business. She is the author of The Joy of Ritual & The Joy of Family Rituals as well as a Huffington Post blogger, Executive consultant, dynamic public speaker & national TV personality.
Over the course of her lifetime, Barbara has lived & traveled extensively throughout the globe. She has transitioned through eight careers along with the trials of being a single mother, the death of her sister at a tragically young age and countless amounts of major life changes. During this incredible journey, she had the unique privilege of speaking and teaching around the world and learning from many rich and diverse cultures as well as working with powerful thought leaders and spiritual teachers to learn numerous ancient traditions and rituals. This combination has uniquely prepared her to do her work in the world; writing powerful prescriptions for change & transition and translating these ancient teachings into contemporary wisdom for a New Era!
When Barbara’s sister tragically died at the age of 24, Barbara was six weeks pregnant with her son. She was told that she should not grieve too hard, or she could harm her unborn child. Instead, she ignored her sadness until it came thundering out at a silent retreat in Arizona while alone on a mountaintop. Barbara realized in that moment that she needed to create a ritual to heal her pain. Under the shade and protection of a lone grandmother tree Barbara crafted a process that would initiate her into the power of ritual and her soul’s calling. From that moment on the course of her life shifted and her passion for transforming everyday events into sacred events took over.
Traveling around the world, she learned from many teachers and shared her newfound wisdom. She worked with women who had lost children to miscarriage and abortion, she blessed new homes and businesses, she started women’s new moon circles and she taught children about the importance of learning from other cultures and religions. To this day, Barbara continues to create a wide range of rituals and rites of passage for our new era: added elements of a Balinese ritual into her prosperity ritual, weaving Native American spirituality into business meetings and incorporating Hindu fire ceremonies into divorce rituals . She has also created rituals for the opening of four NYC Broadway Shows and even crafted a “welcome to our family” ritual when her mother’s boyfriend (at the age of 80) moved in to cohabitate with her mother.
Barbara believes that rituals anchor us and give us a sense of belonging to something larger than ourselves. Without ritual in our lives it’s like having a body without a backbone. They connect us to “source” and allow us to safely take on risks and be more creative in our lives. Physical resources may come and go, but spiritual resources last a lifetime. Through her diverse work, Barbara provides the simple, practical tools and techniques to help keep a centered, grounded approach to life that is filled with meaning – personally, professionally and spiritually.
Barbara has stewarded transition and change for more than twenty five years, for a mix of young, powerful professionals, seasoned entrepreneurs, new parents, baby-boomers in transition, and major corporations including the International Red Cross, Coca-Cola, Equinox Gym, Morgan Stanley, Lippe Taylor, Women in Communication, Lord & Taylor, and Weight Watchers. Additionally, she is a faculty member at AMA, Creating WE Institute, One Spirit Learning Alliance, New York Open Center & Kripalu Center.
