Rituals of Renewal : Grief, Grace & Gratitude Ceremony

Where there is love there is grief and where there is grief there is love

"...The real madness of our world is that we are not on our knees daily, clawing at the earth and howling to the stars in our grief. Instead we carry on business as usual as though nothing is wrong..."

Love and Grief cannot be separated

Love is the much needed medicine of our time and a return to the wisdom of the heart and to the intelligence of our feeling nature. Love and grief are like the 2 wings of the bird, their collaboration and balance is how it flies with grace and power. If we want to find the freedom to love without fear we must find the courage to grieve.

I warmly welcome you to our Grief and Gratitude ceremonies. Deep inside the round EarthLodge dwelling into the side of the hill with the firelight to see and sheepskins for comfort, we will find our way into the beauty of the darkness and the treasures it holds.

I have heard the call, each day so many of us feeling grief and the backlog building up within us from a lifetime of turning away from. As we witness and experience such loss and suffering on earth how could we not feel immense grief and heartbreak. Loss of loved ones, the destruction of the natural world, cultural systems that do not support and care for life in a balanced way, war and poverty in so many ways, spiritually, physically and emotionally.

It takes courage to feel grief and it is one of the deepest forms of soul work we can do. It is more than therapy and working with the psychological wounds, it is work that goes beyond what makes much sense and cannot be organised. It is feral and wild like moving water. most of us would rather turn away and find instead ways to avoid it or numb it out. Like shopping, eating, recreational drugs, medication, distracting activities, social media etc, the list is long. How can we find the courage to grief without collapsing into guilt or shame or turn away from it for fear we will drown and never come back.  And more importantly how can we find the courage to allow others to hold us in our grief. When we can let the river of grief within us flow and experience others as banks to our river something alchemical happens as it takes us further than we can go by ourselves.

How it works and the space

I have been holding grief ceremonies for many years and have trained with Joanna Macy, Sobonfu Some and Frances Weller. Other inspirations and teaches that I seek to learn from in Martín Prechtel and Steven Levine.

The ceremonies are held in the EarthLodge on the land here at EarthHeart. This is a natural building sitting low to the ground, made of earth and wood. There are sheepskins on the floor and firelight for vision. The ceremonies are held in virtual darkness and allow space for people to grieve in their own way. Sometimes the ceremonies will be from the keening traditions of these lands and some will be with an alter and space to be held in the arms of the circle. 
There is no prescribed way to grieve, each person will be honoured in their unique way.

This is not a space for political debate or debate of any kind about what is or is not happening in the world. This is a space where we will be invited to feel and allow grief to flow. There may be sounds and words from the heart but it is essentially a non speaking space. 

The actual ceremony last about 2 hours and if you have travelled from afar there is the option to sleep over in the communal temple space or you can stay a campervan if you have one.

Logistics

Date
23rd November 2024

Timings
5 -10.30pm
Arrival is from 4pm and at the latest 4.45pm. The doors will close at 4.45pm sharp and there will be strictly no entry after this point for ANY reason and no refunds.

Venue
EarthHeart Forest of Dean, GL14 3JQ.