May we walk together - with beauty, tenderness, and play - through the gifts and challenges we have been given - into the more beautiful world we know is possible.
I’ve been at this awhile. This journey of embodiment. Becoming whole.
My father’s side of the family is largely English and Scottish. His ancestors were some of the first English settlers to Turtle Island, with birth records in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as far back as 1704.
They were Quakers, a Christian fellowship rooted in egalitarian values. Their core mode of worship involves listening to the “the light within”, recognizing that every human being has a personal and direct relationship with Divinity. I am grateful to carry these lineage in my genes as a foundational for my work.
My mother’s side are Latvian and Lithuanian Jews. I am equally grateful for the rich Jewish heritage of prayer, song, ritual, discourse, and warmth which courses through my veins in connection with these ancestors. I was raised with a lived experience of the richness of ritual and prayer in connection with the cycle of the year and a robust interest in deep, challenging conversation.
My name, Ariel-Paul, represents a bridge between these two worlds, Ariel meaning “Lion of God” in Hebrew and Paul from the Latin Paulus meaning “small” or “humble”, who was an important leader in the early Christian world.
I have spent the last twenty years creating opportunities for children, families, and adults to learn and grow together. I have organized events and retreats for adults young and old, and have worked with children 1-1 and in groups - teaching swimming, running summer camps, creating early childhood programs, and working as a Waldorf educator.
I am grateful for an incredibly dynamic upbringing, including four years of french immersion, four years of Waldorf education, and four years in arts based highschool, where I majored in drama. I enjoyed a 12-year career as an actor in film and television starting at thirteen years old.
At 15 years old, I was initiated into a transcendental meditation practice through the School of Practical Philosophy, a contemplative community dedicated to the ancient Greek and Vedic mystery schools.
Education and Certifications
ACCT
Registered Therapeutic Counselor #3426
Relational Somatic Therapy
Opening to Grace
Counseling Skills Diploma
The Orca Institute
Bachelor of Child and Youth Care | Indigenous Specialization | University of Victoria
Waldorf Teacher Training
Rudolf Steiner Center Toronto
Baby Clown Intensive
Manitoulin Conservatory of Arts