About

Welcome to the official site of Valarie Budayr!

A Message from Valarie

My life has been a colorful palate of learning, experience, overcoming, exploring, and flourishing. A life-long learner, I have lived in over a dozen countries, hold three degrees, and am fluent in six languages. I am a mom, businesswoman, educator, author, and publisher. My deepest passions have always been based on the authenticity of family, music, sound, story, teaching, and the natural world.

I am proud to be of an age where I wear my wisdom and grace like a badge of honor. As the proud mother of three brilliant adult children, I now find that my life’s path is being drawn towards a more spiritual and healing direction, and one that is gently and lovingly energized by Wonder.

An awareness of Wonder is a common thread that runs through all of us. But our natural-born gift of Wonder gets lost, stifled, muffled, shoved aside by every struggle and challenge of this journey we call LIFE.

This love of Wonder isn’t new for me; it’s been woven into my DNA from the very beginning. The island of Gotland, Sweden, where my family comes from, is known as The Land of Myth, Magic, and Legend. The memories of playing for hours among the lush greens and rocky beaches of this island are among my fondest ones. When I wasn’t soaking up the culture and lore of Sweden, my childhood was spent in nature among the ferns and forests of Oregon.

The gifts, pearls of wisdom, and passions that have been woven into my life for over five decades is now inspiring a path as a practitioner of indigenous Northern European earth-based traditions. Embracing the Tietäjä (one who knows) culture of Northern Karelia as well as carrying a stave in the Seidr traditions of Scandinavia, much of what I teach and share is based on song, sound, soul, story, and the natural world.

As a practitioner and illuminator of Wonder, I use the following in my Wonder Toolkit:

Myth, Magic, Legend, and how we interconnect at the crossroads of nature, and landscape.

The Wisdom of the Elders-Many elders come to share insights through dreams, plants, stones, and sound.

Rituals, Ceremonies, and intuitive meditations open the doorways of connection and communication with the world(s) we live in.

Crafts and Handmade moments of interaction with our self and the creative universe bringing home the idea that Life is Made, not bought.

Our created life is always the reflection of our inner being. As we heal, transform, and create anew, we unfold a life of beauty and meaning.

My goal is to use my vast wonder toolbox to help you, and others like you, rediscover Wonder. To help embrace life’s greatest gifts by raising awareness, slowing down, becoming still, and opening heart and mind to new possibilities. These gentle moments can also help shift our perspectives on what we hold dear, what we need to let go of, what we are thankful for, and what matters most.

I am so glad you are here.

More About Valarie Budayr

Valarie is an award-winning publisher, author, and musician – using her travels around the world to inspire her healing soundscapes. She is a dynamic leader who invites her students and clients into immersive explorations of the self. Her teachings inspire the community, and she believes that sound can not only heal – but change the world. Her mission is to share the beauty and wonder of the world, inspiring and empowering people into their best and fullest selves.

[Interested in a one on one session? Reach out to Valarie at Budayr (at) Gmail (Dot) Com]

What I Do:

Sound Therapy

I’ve designed this site to reflect the elements of life I love: nature, sound, written word, creativity – all which evoke different feelings in both the mind and body. These elements are woven together to allow me to craft immersive experiences that can expand the everyday perception of the world around you.

Using my background as a musician and sound practitioner, I have developed modalities that aid in nurturing major life shifts and conflict. These tools can help you take those scary leaps of faith in discovering who you are by realizing that anything is possible. What’s exciting is that the sky’s the limit – the opportunities endless.

You are bright, bold, and beautiful – it just takes making that first step. That’s a step that we can take together. Check the upcoming schedule to see when I’ll be teaching next, hosting a community gathering, or have an exciting adventure for you to join on.

Let’s heal and expand together – you are not alone.

Audrey Press:

Since 2010 we’ve created books for children, parents, families, and schools that inspire. Using beauty as our first ingredient, we plant the seeds of adventure, imagination, exploration, learning, and discovery. Our vision is of a world filled with inspired reading based on the compelling truth that curiosity and discovery are two of our greatest life skills. We are dedicated to creating beautiful books that inspire children, families, schools, and communities to experience, discover, and create a lifelong love of reading and exploring. Through the pages of our books, Audrey Press encourages others to Connect, Inspire, Teach, and Grow. www.audreypress.com

Jump into a Book:

Jump into a Book is a site about the love of children’s books and how we can incorporate them into our everyday lives through play, crafting, cooking, movies, games, traveling and author visits. A few times a week we post extension activities to go with our selected reads. Here we celebrate the joy of bringing our books alive and experiencing them first hand. When one has lived inside the pages of a book, the memories created to become part of one’s childhood, family, and school life. Please come and visit us at Jump into a Book for thousands of creative ideas around books, stories, and reading. www.jumpintoabook.com

Multicultural Children’s Book Day:

Audrey Press founder Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom, teamed up to create a much needed national event. On the last Friday of January, Jump into a Book and Pragmatic Mom celebrate diversity in children’s books via their event Multicultural Children’s Book Day.

Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Multicultural Children’s Book Day has a mission to change all of that. We not only want to raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity but to get more of these types of books into classrooms and libraries. To learn more about our national celebration please visit www.multiculturalchildrensbookday.com.

Aletha Press:

Aletha Press is the new YA imprint of Audrey Press. Not only is it’s book titles for YA readers they are written by authors aged 16-26. Aletha is the Greek word for truth. We want to give voice to the young writers of this generation. The first release from Aletha Press was in August 2016 from author Hannah Rials. The second book in the Ascension trilogy, Clandestine, is due to be released in July of 2018. Learn more about the YA thriller/romance, Clandestine, here.