Grief as a response to loss and death is part of life, but is often seen as something to be fixed or avoided, as if there was something ‘wrong’, if you are feeling sad about the end of a relationship, the loss of a job or of failing health, or if you are still grieving a parent, sibling, partner or child who died a while ago. You may feel pressure to ‘move on’ to the next thing rather than acknowledging the pain of the loss. These circles are also a space for acknowledging empathic pain of tragedy not in our immediate life; war, violence, pollution, loss of any life.
In my journeying with grief, I am learning how to witness the 'felt sense' of my own grief, how to be notice, welcome and allow the experiences of grief in my body. This practice draws on Nonviolent communication (from where I learnt that grief and mourning is a human need and without it I suffer), and Focussing. I will offer practice in this and we will also have time for sharing in a circle.
Grief circles are a simple way of beginning a conversation about grief and loss. It is not bereavement counselling. There is some writing here from a prior Grief and walking project. support for telling your story in a way that is safe for you, and guidelines for how to listen.
Grief circles are an investigation into how as a community we can allow grief some space.
Upcoming dates:
Raw Humans: Conflict, Grief and Intimacy - Basel, Switzerland, 24-26th February 2023
Recent dates:
GRIEF, PASSION AND WAILING at Berlin Xplore, July 2022
This is a space to meet our grief with the passionate practice of Wailing.
Wailing is a raw, primal, energising, cathartic, nonverbal, embodied expression of grief.
This session plays with these guiding principles:
Grief is often repressed, ignored and people try to, or are encouraged to ‘move on from it’.
Grief is also a form of love.
Grief happens when we have loved and lost people and things that are dear to us.
We can also grieve for parts of ourselves that we have lost, or have never fully known.
Grief is what we can do when we have tried everything else and we are stuck
In my journeying with grief, I am learning how to witness the 'felt sense' of my own grief, how to be notice, welcome and allow the experiences of grief in my body. This practice draws on Nonviolent communication (from where I learnt that grief and mourning is a human need and without it I suffer), and Focussing. I will offer practice in this and we will also have time for sharing in a circle.
Grief circles are a simple way of beginning a conversation about grief and loss. It is not bereavement counselling. There is some writing here from a prior Grief and walking project. support for telling your story in a way that is safe for you, and guidelines for how to listen.
Grief circles are an investigation into how as a community we can allow grief some space.
Upcoming dates:
Raw Humans: Conflict, Grief and Intimacy - Basel, Switzerland, 24-26th February 2023
Recent dates:
GRIEF, PASSION AND WAILING at Berlin Xplore, July 2022
This is a space to meet our grief with the passionate practice of Wailing.
Wailing is a raw, primal, energising, cathartic, nonverbal, embodied expression of grief.
This session plays with these guiding principles:
- that sound alchemises pain,
- that the voice needs to emerge slowly, without forcing,
- that this is a being space, rather than a doing space,
- that when the body creates sound, there’s less danger of harm,
- that we welcome the small sounds as well as the big (grief can arrive like a butterfly landing on your hand),
- that sound needs space (it’s got to be able to move; these are sounds that have been silenced; more than anything they need space),
- that the receiving of sound can be expansive and healing
Grief is often repressed, ignored and people try to, or are encouraged to ‘move on from it’.
Grief is also a form of love.
Grief happens when we have loved and lost people and things that are dear to us.
We can also grieve for parts of ourselves that we have lost, or have never fully known.
Grief is what we can do when we have tried everything else and we are stuck
