Zebras that Dazzle: Candace Dalmagne-Rouge
With our series “Zebras in the Wild”, we are excited to take you on a journey around the world to meet founding members, chapter leads, co-op members and allies. We talk to Zebras in the wild and report back how they’re challenging the status quo, how they envision the future and how we can support them in their mission!
In this conversation, meet Candace Dalmagne-Rouge. As the Founder of Ceremony Candace is on a mission to help people honor, heal and celebrate the events of life. Through DIY ceremony boxes, events and retreats, her intention is to help cultivate sacred, inspired space and bring people into power, presence, and reverence for their life.
She is also the Founder of Redspark, helping entrepreneurs, business owners, and investors gain market insight, create business strategies, and provide facilitation for individuals and teams.
With nearly a decade of experience supporting entrepreneurs, small businesses, and startup ecosystems both locally and internationally, Candace combines her knowledge in entrepreneurship with her passion for holistic wellbeing in this latest venture. She has an MBA from the University of Dayton and outside of work, can be found raising her 2-year-old twins. She is a reiki master and an avid meditation, yoga, and outdoor enthusiast.
Read how Candace envisions the capital, community and culture of the next economy:
A Zebra is…
Fundamentally a shift in mindset around building, supporting and investing in businesses that prioritize people and planet in addition to profit. These individuals and organizations are passionate, creative, and visionary. They not only imagine what a better future could look like but experiment with and institute ways in which the new paradigm of community, culture, and economy could be.
Yang: The current system is hyper-masculine — and I don’t mean the male gender.
What’s wrong with the status quo?
The current system is hyper-masculine — and I don’t mean the male gender. We all carry masculine and feminine energies within us and the former is out of balance. It’s yang rather than yin and has dominated how our societies are built, how we work, how we relate to one another, and what has been rewarded since at least the Industrial Revolution, if not long before. It is analytical, logical, driven, efficient, productive, assertive, individualistic, and in the body is associated with the mind. All great qualities but — when out of balance — they can be characterized by an endless exertion of energy in pursuit of material gain, being judgmental, prideful, aggressive, domineering, and power-hungry. This can translate into violent systems that purposefully oppress, divide, and disconnect to preserve power for those at the top.
Candace’s vision for the future
I envision a future that is healing, compassionate, collaborative, and inclusive. One that strives toward shared prosperity and wellbeing, built upon systems that are mutually beneficial, purpose-driven, impact-oriented, and sustainable.
In this future, there is more unity between masculine and feminine energies, creating more harmony within ourselves and the societies in which we live. Our systems would seek to balance progress-oriented masculine energies with feminine, yin frequencies that are intuitive, creative, conscious, connective, receptive, restorative, allowing, accepting, advocating, transparent, vulnerable, authentic, easeful, non-linear, and wise. Said another way, there would be a better equilibrium in living from both the mind and the heart, as opposed to the former, which is where we operate most from now.
What type of culture and values do you envision for this ideal future?
In this culture, we are whole, take ownership, know our worth, have purpose, and are rooted in our power. We live in the present rather than from the past, which can’t be changed. We are committed to growth and healing, which we know takes tremendous courage and strength, allowing us to take control of our health and wellbeing and find solutions from a grounded place. We honor and respect each other’s differences and see them as something to be valued rather than demeaned.
As individuals and as a society, we deal with what has happened to us, acknowledging and making right the wrongs committed against each other through inequality, racism, corruption, and greed. As Maya Angelou said, once we know better, we do better.
Once we as individuals become more whole and healed, we’ll have greater capacity to care about the greater good.
What role does community play in your ideal vision of the future?
Community is a central element in this ideal vision of the future. For once we as individuals become more whole and healed, albeit, with the scars that come from the experience of living, there is greater capacity to care about the greater good. Here, the way we relate and engage with each other is from a more centered, peaceful place. There is an understanding of the value of self-care and service — balancing giving and receiving by meeting our own needs while caring for others and the planet along the way.
What does the capital infrastructure of the future look like?
The capital infrastructure of the future would be characterized by less extraction and personal gain at whatever cost is necessary. There would be less scarcity, fear-based, mutually exclusive thinking and more long-term ways to bring about shared abundance and prosperity. This system would be based on integrity, inclusivity, and sustainability.
Candace’s role in bringing about this future.
Helping people honor, heal and celebrate the events of life is what I do. Cultivating sacred, inspired space to come into power, presence, and reverence is how I do it.
Most of us go through life without taking the time to process and bring meaning to what we experience — from the losses to the transitions to the achievements. I’m the Founder of Ceremony and through DIY ceremony boxes, ceremonial events, and retreats, my deepest intention is to provide experiences for clarity and connection to something bigger than ourselves — be it to our higher selves, the Earth, or the Divine, known by many names. From this connected place, we gain insight into our lives, our path, and our purpose and live from a deeper, truer, more aligned place.
What does support for you look like? How can we support you?
Follow our journey on Instagram and Facebook @holdceremony.
If you or someone you care about is going through a transition or a challenging time, has something to celebrate, or simply wants to create more space and self-care, consider holding ceremony with one of our seasonal boxes.
Our Spring Box is launching now and is the final box in our debut collection helping people attune to the wisdom and power of the seasons each year. Healing boxes (one for the pandemic) and celebration boxes (one for joy) are launching later this year.
Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on new product releases, wisdom sharing and more.
Candace asks the community…
Can you review the list of masculine and feminine energies above and reflect on where you could use more balance in your life?
What qualities are your go-to’s and which are underutilized? As we come more into balance, so will the world around us.
Give a shout-out! Who is a Zebra that everyone needs to know about?
- Elizabeth Ross Holmstrom of Mindful Employer
- Jos Duncan Ase of Love Now Media
- Francene Chadwick and Heba Gibani of Serve
How can people connect with you?
If you meditate, listen to some of my meditations on Insight Timer.
Connect with Candace on social media:
- Website
- Instagram: @holdceremony
- Facebook: @holdceremony
- LinkedIn: @holdceremony or @Candace Dalmagne-Rouge
