How To Respond When Experiencing Grief?
Introducing
GRIEF and LOVE
Grieving through ritual and community
I think of grief as a constant companion – arising out of nowhere, varying in the degree of its intensity and taking myriad shapes and forms. Sometime it comes from losing a loved one or sometimes it’s cause the rug got pulled out from under: loss of dreams, break-up with a partner or a friend, financial crisis, aging of the body, issues with infertility, loss of what we deeply wanted but never got and the list goes on…
The thing with grief is that it hits us hard. Some of us numb our pain through addiction while others crushed by its unbearable intensity wonder if true joy can ever be found again.
But grief, no matter its nature and frequency doesn’t have be all-consuming… our personal and/or collective grief can enter the spaciousness of an open heart.
We can be in relationship with grief while experiencing the wholeness of life and without being expected to ‘let go’.
Grief is a wise, natural response and we can grieve in a healing way… a way that allows to be responsive to all of life.
In ancient cultures, grieving was recognized for what it is…
…an intrinsic part of nature; an innate part of being human. And therefore, grieving through rituals and community has been practiced since time immemorial.
Why then have Western cultures become detached from such a life giving practice?
When one grieves while being held by a supportive community, we find a way of opening and entering into our true nature. Grieving together helps us find our humanity and losses.
It’s how we protect ourselves from getting crushed by the heaviness of sadness, sorrow and the myriad of really dark feelings that grief brings.
And that’s why Jane, PhD and certified grief counselor, and yours truly, Certified Professional Coach and Trauma-Informed somatic facilitator, have created..
Holding Each Other In LOVE AND GRIEF
An experience into a proven practice of grieving through rituals and community as prevalent in ancient cultures.
We will use embodiment, nature, rituals, movement, sound, and silence as we gather to release, cry, laugh, love, and feel gratitude for all of life.
The stress of grief can affect the body in various ways. So mindful movement forms an integral part of every session. Along with:
- Somatic meditation
- Sharing gratitude
- Writing exercises
- Music and movement
- Closing prayer/ritual
- Truth Mandala (adapted from Joanna Macy)
- Rock Ritual (participants bring 2+ rocks representing their grief)
- Discussion of the 5 Gates of Grief (Francis Weller)
Time & Place
Saturday, March 15th, 2pm (about 2.5 hours)
In-person at Inwood Hill Park
Payment Exchange
$77
*If you feel called to join but are challenged with finances, please reach out and we can negotiate a work exchange.
Venmo: @BreatheAndBelieve
Zelle: ShawnaLight@gmail.com
Please fill this mandatory form serving as a waiver and quick Q&A. It will take less than a minute.
Let's together find a more compassionate approach to grief
Learn how to embody, express and transmute grief into the energy of love and Self.
Experience renewed aliveness and true belonging by deepening human connections, shared experience and practicing time-honored grief rituals.
Journey into the path of wholeness by trusting the process of grief.
Bring mindfulness and compassion to process what you’ve been resisting.
Find solace by getting intimately aware of your true nature as discovered when in a sacred circle.
About the facilitators
Jane Spielman, Ph.D, Educator and Grief and Trauma worker
Jane Spielman, Ph.D. has been an educator and writer for over 50 years. She is the former head of Language and Literacy Acquisition in the City College of New York’s School of Education. Since her long -term partner and wife became ill and required 5 years of full time care before her death, Jane has become a Grief and Trauma worker, using Reiki and other somatic modalities to support other people’s healing as well as her own. She works with Through the Dark Woods, an international container created and led by Josea Crossley where she graduated and interned as a Grief Facilitator.
Shawna Emerick, B.S., CPC, E-RYT
Shawna Emerick (she/they) is a trauma informed yoga instructor and yoga teacher trainer with over 20 years of teaching. She is a Thai massage therapist, Life Coach for Transformation, an integrative somatic healer, and Mindfulness Meditation teacher who comes from a B.S. in Dance. Shawna could not do any of this without the support of her partner, two children, and dog! Her most recent expansion is being on the executive board of Three and a Half Acres Yoga; a non-profit that brings trauma informed yoga and mindfulness to many underserved communities. www.ShawnaEmerick.com
There is a state of openness and loving awareness that resides within and beyond the heaviness of loss that comes with letting it all in … in a scared gathering, facilitated by trained trauma and grief workers.
Very few spaces and facilitators offer the time and safe containers to be held in all aspects of ourselves.
To come together is a powerful choice that ignites the flames for healing, connection, growth. I hope you join Jane and I as we hold each other and each of you in Love and Grief.
Additional Considerations
- This workshop is not a substitute for therapy, but may enhance your experience of therapy.
- Participants are encouraged to find additional support and/or therapy, if needed.
- Confidentiality is absolutely essential.
To grieve, love, and gather, are all aspects of being human. Let’s come together in a sacred community.