The wonderful Hazel Llewellyn has submitted this fascinating article to us. Hazel has been nominated for numerous awards due to the exceptional quality of her work as a practitioner and a teacher. She was also one of the shortlist nominees for the practitioner of the year in the CMA Global Excellence Awards 2025.
It is with deep gratitude that I share some very special news: I have recently been nominated for the Spiritual Business Leader of the Year Award with the Business Ascension Awards, and have also been selected as a finalist for the Holistic Service Award 2025 at the Business Ascension Symposium Awards. These recognitions are both humbling and affirming of the work I dedicate myself to through Hazeology Healing.
The Business Ascension Symposium Awards 2025 are particularly unique, being the first of their kind. The awards seek to highlight spiritual entrepreneurs and holistic leaders who are pioneering new ways of integrating business with consciousness, service, and integrity. Their purpose is not only to recognise achievement, but to honour those who are helping shape a future where business serves humanity and the planet. To be recognised within such a pioneering space is a true honour.
My own practice has always been rooted in service: to people, to animals, and to the earth itself. Through Reiki, sound healing, womb work, and animal healing, I aim to create spaces where individuals can reconnect with themselves, release what no longer serves them, and remember their natural state of balance. At the core of this work is the principle of Ayni -sacred reciprocity. Ayni reminds us that giving and receiving are inseparable, and that every act of healing is also an act of service to the wider web of life.
A powerful example of Ayni in action within my practice is through my work with ceremonial cacao. from 2024–2025, I deepened this path through the Cacao Leadership Training with Native Wisdom Hub, a training that has transformed my relationship with cacao from something I served, to something I live in deep reciprocity with. Cacao is far more than a wellness trend; it is a sacred plant medicine with millennia of ancestral use, particularly in Mesoamerican cultures where it was regarded as “food of the gods.” To work with cacao respectfully means to honour its origins, its farmers, and its spirit.
Right now, the cacao industry is facing significant challenges. Many small farmers struggle with economic instability, climate change, and the pressure of large-scale production that often prioritises profit over sustainability. These pressures can lead to exploitation, loss of biodiversity, and the erosion of traditional, ceremonial ways of cultivating cacao. As practitioners, we have a responsibility to not only serve cacao to our communities, but to ensure that what we serve comes from sources that honour both the land and the people who care for it.
In my own ceremonies and gatherings, I donate a portion of proceeds back to the farmers – such as Demetrio and his community in the Cusco Cloud Forest – who grow Chuncho cacao in a ceremonial way. This model of giving back is essential. Without reciprocity, we risk perpetuating the very cycles of extraction that holistic practice seeks to heal. With reciprocity, we create a sustainable cycle where everyone involved – from farmer to facilitator to participant – receives benefit and nourishment.
Cacao itself teaches us about heart coherence. When we drink it ceremonially, we are not simply consuming a plant; we are entering into relationship with a spirit that opens the heart, grounds the body, and creates space for connection. I have seen profound shifts in participants who, through the gentle guidance of cacao, reconnect with their inner wisdom, release old patterns, and remember their capacity for joy. For me, this is not just a professional offering – it is a calling to serve a medicine that is deeply needed in these times of separation and disconnection.
Being nominated for these awards is, in many ways, an extension of this same calling. Recognition is not the reason we walk this path, but it is a blessing that allows the work to be more widely seen and understood. Awards like the CMA’s and the Business Ascension Symposium, shine a light on practices that might otherwise remain on the margins. They help raise awareness about the importance of ethical, heart-led healing work, and encourage more people to seek out holistic approaches.
To be included among other practitioners and leaders who are also striving to bring integrity, compassion, and depth into their work is a reminder of how vibrant and essential our field is. It also reflects the growing recognition within society that healing is not just an individual endeavour, but a collective one.
In closing, I hold these nominations as an invitation to keep walking in service, to keep honouring reciprocity, and to keep educating others about the deeper layers of our practice. Whether through cacao, sound, energy work, or animal healing, my mission remains to help others reconnect – with themselves, with the natural world, and with the wider flow of life. To be recognised in this way is both a joy and a responsibility, and I look forward to continuing to serve in integrity and love.
Hazel Llewellin
