Some days call for a solo walk in the woods with a cup of cacao to sing to the ancestrees and allow the heaviness on this heart to be released…
The more I learn about grief - from personal, family, anticipatory, chronic, delayed, distorted, cumulative, prolonged, traumatic, disenfranchised, masked, exaggerated, inherited, ambiguous, abbreviated, absent, collective to complicated grief…
The more I feel we as a collective have not been given the appropriate education, tools and safe spaces for navigating such an inevitable & trying human experience… Nature has most certainly been a reliable ally for when these grief waves surface, the breath too and having a partner be able to be with big emotions… AND there still is a void in our communities of places to go and release our grief and integrate our losses…
After hosting two grief ceremonies for women earlier this year, I still feel a deep soul calling that’s lovingly guiding me to be a space opener and holder for there to be more community opportunities for ritual lamentation. For all beings, for all types of grief & for all stages of the grief cycle. As I continue to journey with my own grief, I trust the depth of grief I’m experiencing (inherited, complicated & collective) is an initiation for being of service in this way.
Every soul needs space to let their grief be expressed and our wailing deserves a loving witness. A witness that will not look away, but will invite us more fully into ourselves and our collective humanity. Wailing is a spiritual practice that permeates all cultures in some shape or form, and invites us to uncover and draw from the wisdom of our ancestors, our culture, and our rituals in times like these to sustain us. To be witnessed without judgement and held with compassion by others in times of grief, is soul needed.
If you’re feeling heaviness in your heart, please know there is support available and you can connect at anytime. Whether it’s to talk, breathe, move the energy with reiki, drink cacao or receive a nourishing sound bath, I am present.
Next month, I feel called to offer another grief ceremony utilizing conscious connected breathwork to help integrate these heavier emotions. DM if you’re interested in this being an online ceremony as well as in-person.
Thank you for feeling your emotions…
~For anyone grieving right now, repeat as needed~
My grief matters. There is no right way to grieve. All my emotions are valid. I allow myself to feel fully, to be here now. I will be gentle with myself as I breathe with this grief. Healing takes time. I am worthy of support. Joy and grief can co-exist.