Embracing Grief: A Weekend Community Journey

EMBRACING GRIEF – A WEEKEND COMMUNITY JOURNEY

“I am infinitely grateful to Bilal, Sarah and Tony for guiding us in this beautiful compassionate deep grieving practice. It was my first grieving circle and I was surprised to be able to share something I had never shared with anyone before! I felt held and witnessed without judgment by the group. Afterwards I felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders. It was deeply moving to witness other people's processes as well, and feel our shared humaneness and connection. Thank you from the depths of my heart!” - Maud

Give yourself the gift of space, with time to unfurl over two days in London. We offer permission to open our hearts and speak our truth, in the presence of a deep holding circle. It’s a chance to really be seen, and to connect authentically with others. Through the group journey, we find support with grief.

Step gently with us into the wild waters of emotion, and welcome-in life.

Two Days from 10am-6pm in London E5 (Non-residential)
The facilitation team will offer a step-by-step series of guided exercises and rituals to build trust, connection, and relaxation. We encourage self-kindness and taking care of our needs during our time together. Everything we suggest is optional.

Grief tending offers grief support without trying to fix anything.
Grief is a natural response to difficult things happening. This may include a whole spectrum of feelings such as sadness, anxiety, depression, anger, numbness and overwhelm. We offer a guided journey through this landscape, whether your experiences of grief are personal, collective or ancestral. We offer tools to discover and express our own unique responses, together in a group. To help us to remember how to be human in community.

This workshop is for you if you want to feel more alive.
Perhaps you are looking for support with grief? You may be with the spectrum of grief feelings, or disconnection from emotions. You may be dealing with something that happened in the past, a current situation, or something that you fear happening in the future. We welcome grief on any theme. People may bring challenging themes and strong expressions of emotion.

This Grief Workshop may not be suitable for those experiencing a severe mental health crisis, or for those feeling particularly unsupported. We're available to discuss this with you if you are unsure whether this event is right for you at the moment, so please don’t hesitate to contact us here.

To see more about what happens in a Grief Tending workshop, and the practice of Grief Tending for grief support, there are a series of short animations on this page:
https://www.loveandloss.co.uk/loss/grief-tending-videos/

If you have any questions, please email Sarah welcome@loveandloss.co.uk .

ABOUT YOUR FACILITATORS

Bilal Nasim (www.bilalnasim.com) is a facilitator, trainer and artist exploring what it means to be alive and our relationship with death. Bilal is an experienced grief-tender and has been holding grief-spaces since 2018. Bilal hosts workshops on confronting death, Death Cafe's, is training as a death doula with Red Tent End Of Life Doulas, and is a personal resilience trainer with Tough Cookie (www.tough-cookie.co.uk).

Sarah Pletts. Inspired by my own journey with loss, I discovered Grief Tending. Now an experienced facilitator, I have had the honour of hundreds of hours sitting with people finding their way with grief. Through this practice I have been able to use my own experience of chronic illness in working with the body. I bring many years in deep relationship, using embodied consent practices to explore open-hearted connection. As a care-giver over many years, I have learned the importance of kindness and boundaries. And as an artist-maker I design experiences and create beauty through ritual. I regularly co-facilitate with partner Tony Pletts, as well as Bilal Nasim, Sophy Banks and others. I live in Hackney with chosen family and friendly squirrels. (www.loveandloss.co.uk).

Tony Pletts founded his art direction and construction company Einstein’s Octopus in 1987, a flexible business that's allowed him to pursue other creative paths. Tony’s made radio programmes for BBC Radio 4 (his North Korean mini series was nominated for a SONY) and has just finished his first book, Love To The Power Of Three. A rich and varied life has frequently exposed Tony to the teachings of grief and he started facilitating workshops with Sarah in 2019.

Embracing Grief Ethics Statement:
https://www.loveandloss.co.uk/ethics-statement/

FEEDBACK 

"It was such a heart soothing and soul-enriching experience to participate in the space you created. I felt so utterly welcomed, free to bring whatever was alive in me, and never pressured to be anywhere I wasn't. I had moments of feeling a huge resistance in myself, and was allowed to dance with that and invite what was hiding underneath. The threads that you wove to create our container felt so gently, lovingly and intentionally woven, held with both sincerity and lightness." - Anon

“Thanks so much for creating a space of support and love. I felt safe at all times and the suggestions to move off screen or turn off the camera meant that I felt I wasn’t stuck to a box on screen. All the facilitators held space for each person and guided it when needed.” - Liselott

EVENT DETAILS
 
Exact address will be included in your confirmation email.  

TICKET PRICES: 
£80 Bursary (2 spaces available on request - please email Sarah: welcome@loveandloss.co.uk)
£120 Low Income (2 spaces available)
£160 Standard
£195 Higher Income
£245 Supporter

Once you have purchased a ticket, you will receive an Advance Information Form which we require to be completed before the workshop - This is both to help you to prepare for the session and for us to be able to support your needs. 

NOTE: We only send the exact address and what to bring upon receiving a completed Advance Information Form. 

There will be a maximum of 12 available places excluding the team. 2 of these places will be available at the Bursary rate for those who are either unemployed, have insufficient/unstable income or are clearly unable to afford the Standard price. Bursary places must be requested, to do this please email Sarah: welcome@loveandloss.co.uk). 

2 more places are available at the Low Income rate. The Supporter and High Income price part-subsidises those paying the Bursary and Low Income price. 

Please note: We require a minimum number of attendees for events to go ahead. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

Note: We will start on time, please arrive 15 minutes before start time. 

NO ENTRY AFTER:  30 minutes after start time. (If you are running late please contact us immediately).

ENQUIRIES: Sarah: welcome@loveandloss.co.uk

If you have any access requirements please get in touch and note that the venue has many awkward steps/stairs. It is also a colourful community/home, which allows us to use the space flexibly, and offer the work at a more accessible price.

This workshop is inclusive to everyone regardless of age (18+), ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and otherwise.

Please note: We require a minimum number of attendees for events to go ahead. 
 

REFUNDS POLICY: Please note, we do not arrange refunds or exchanges. When possible we encourage reselling on Ticketswap.

ACCESS:  We do our best to include everyone in our events, regardless of health circumstances. If you have access requirements please email the event organiser directly to discuss. Many facilitators are able to offer reduced ticket prices for those truly unable to afford the ticket price. If this applies to you, do please get in touch with the event organiser.

For PSYCHEDELIC KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES please check out the Psychedelic Society website. 

Our facilitators have agreed to our code of conduct. Learn about our procedure for raising concerns

MEMBERS of the Psychedelic Society get a discount off almost all of our events.
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