Song Circle & Community Grief Ritual

Song Circle  Nov 18th 7-9pm We are thrilled to welcome celebrated Song-leader Laurence Cole to Olympia to share songs of belonging that nourish the soul and re-enchant the world with song. Laurence brings a wealth of experience and inspiration to the community singing movement.  

Community Grief Ritual Nov 18th 7-9pm and Nov 19th 9:30am-8:30pm This is an opportunity to gather and support each other in community to release grief, feel support and connection and heal our tender hearts. There are so few places in this culture where we can bring our strong emotions. Many of us yearn to unburden ourselves with others, but find ourselves alone with our grief all too often. This is a place where your tears and heart-ache are welcome. The ritual includes talking circles, singing, poetry, movement, practice in sacred listening, witnessing and being witnessed, ceremony, sharing food and quiet time.

The heart of the retreat is a ceremony inspired by Sobonfu Some. Our work is also inspired by the Five Gates of Grief from Francis Weller: 

• Everything we love we will lose, 
• the places that have not known love, 
• the sorrows of the world, 
• the things we cannot even name that we ache for, and 
• intergenerational or ancestral grief.  

We will lean in together and trust, surrender and open to vulnerability as we remember how to grieve in community.

The Spiritual Famework for this ritual includes time-honored and earth based modalities, utilizing the power of drumming and chanting, the belief that the natural world is a rich place of inter-connection with “all our relations,” and the importance of working with the unseen realms, including our ancestors.                        

Facilitators Laurence Cole and Mary Hart  have been involved in grief tending in the Pacific Northwest since 2002. Each brings unique gifts to the group.      

Laurence Cole is a well-known song leader and respected elder with long involvement in grief work, men’s work, and many other aspects of healing and enlivening the human spirit. He has been co-facilitating Grief Retreats since 2009 and was blessed to have experienced this ritual with Sobonfu Some. In addition, he has been offering a ritual called “Grief Song,” at singing events for the past 5 years.

Mary Hart brings her commitment to authenticity, vulnerability and transformation to the team. She is trained in Internal Family Systems therapy, Hakomi therapy, workshop facilitation, The Wheel of Consent and is a personal coach.  She has participated in many healing rituals over the years. In 2014, she was introduced to Grief Ritual and began mentoring with Therese Chavret, Tere Carraza and Laurence Cole.  Since then, she has helped to create and facilitate many healing rituals. She has sought and studied with many great teachers and has been inspired by the work of Sobonfu Some, Richard Schwartz, Krishna Das, Stephen Levine, Jon Kabbat Zin, Francis Weller, and many others.

 

Schedule
Friday November 18th  7:00pm - 9:00pm
Saturday November 19th 9:30am - 8:30pm

Cost                                                                                                                        $25 Friday night Song Circle Only                                                                         $150 Full Event (Fri & Sat) Early-bird by Nov 1*                                              $175 Full Event after Nov 1.
Sliding Scale We don’t believe in barriers to healing spaces.  The cost of this ritual should not be a barrier to you if this space is calling to your soul.  That being said, the cost of this ritual is so that facilitators and organizers may be resourced.  We are committed to making this work accessible to a wide variety of communities; especially cash poor and working class people who are on the front lines of social movements and community work.  Limited sliding scale slots and two work options are available. Contact Ronny Temple for Sliding Scale.

Covid Protocols 
We are holding this ritual indoors.  Once gathered, each participant will be at choice regarding masking, distancing, contact, etc.  We ask that everyone take a (home) covid test on Friday Nov 18th. Beyond testing, we will not be making specific requests of participants.  If you test positive, or are showing symptoms on the day of the ritual, or have been knowingly exposed to the Covid within five days of the event, please stay home. If you don't have a covid test kit, one will be provided for you at the door.

What to Bring                                                                                                         - Lunch & snacks for the day
- A potluck dish for Saturday night
- For the ritual, altars and decorating our ritual space (these things are optional:)
    •    an African Drum (if you have one)
    •    Mementos, photos, symbols of the person(s), animal, or life situation you are grieving.  Feel free to write, paint or draw, make a collage or any other creative endeavor that helps you manifest the focus of your grieving at this time.  Some of these you can choose to release at the end of the ceremony.
- Special candles you would like to put on our grief altar (unscented candles please)
- Sacred objects, stones and/or any kind of thing from the natural world or from your personal collection that evokes grief and/or may contribute to our sacred space.
- A sari, pillow or pillow slip, blanket or cloth to put under yourself during personal grieving
 - Cozy blankets to wrap and snuggle in
 - A backjack if you’d prefer (we’ll have chairs)
- Greenery to add beauty to the space (flowers or cedar boughs)

Refunds                                                                                                                      - A full refund will be given if our COVID precautions do not feel stringent enough for you or if you feel sick at the time of the ritual.  (Please stay home)
- If you cancel anytime before 1 week prior to the retreat for other reasons, we retain $50 as a “handling fee.”
- If you cancel less than a week prior to the retreat, we cannot guarantee a refund due to the low likelihood of someone from the waitlist being able to fill your spot.  If we are able to fill your spot, we will offer a 50% refund minus the $50 handling fee. 

More Information
For More Information Contact Mary Hart and/or Ronny Temple

Before You Register Laurence and Mary would like to have an idea of who is coming, what (if any) experience you have with grief ritual, and what grief you are carrying. Please Click Here, when you register, to let them know. Thanks!

Register Now!