Grief Rituals & Process Groups
Grieve with intention
Too often grief goes untended, unspoken, and unwitnessed. Grief can then becomes frozen in our bodies and in our hearts, and make us sick. Not only are we sick individually, but we are sick as a collective, carrying around layers upon layers of grief.
Instead, we can create a sacred, therapeutic, healing container for grief to be tended, spoken, and witnessed by one another. The rituals and groups are tailored specifically to what each individual, group, or collective needs and desires. Some have music and some have silence. Some have flowers and some have dried leaves. Some have poetry and some have speeches. Some have deep breathing and some have dancing. Some are outside in the forest and some are in classrooms. Some have group shares and some have journal writing. And most are a mixture of all of the above.
Ritual & Process Groups for the many griefs of our time
Gate 1: Everything we Love, We Will Lose: Grief of universal loss through death, illness, accident, or the end of relationships
Gate 2: The Places That Have Not Known Love: Grief of unmet needs for love, care, and validation, including shame and regrets
Gate 3: The Sorrows of the World: Grief we feel for the suffering of the world, injustice & environmental destruction
Gate 4: What we Expected and Did Not Receive: Grief of unmet expectations, lost dreams, and opportunities that never materialized
Gate 5: Ancestral Grief: Grief carried from the experiences of past generations, including traumas and unresolved losses
*Gates of Grief from the "The Wild Edge of Sorrow” by Francis Weller
“Grief offers a wild alchemy that transmutes suffering into fertile ground.”
Francis Weller
FAQs
-
Grief rituals and process groups are tailored to the specific needs of the individual or collective. They can include:
~A co-created altar space
~Music
~Poetry and/or quotes
~Grounding exercises
~Somatic & Movement Exercises
~Processing Exercises: journaling, share-outs, discussion, art
~Psychoeducation and resource sharing about specific grief or loss
~Additional touches depending on the group’s desires
-
They can be held almost anywhere! In the great outdoors or in tiny conference rooms. Cafeterias, classrooms, auditoriums, living rooms etc.
-
This can be tailored depending on the size and needs of the group.
1hr to 2hrs is the typical timeframe
-
Usually a group, family, or community that has lost a member(s) of their group due to illness, an accident, or other reason. (First Gate of Grief)
Other times certain individuals or collectives need a container to process a specific grief related to the other Gates.
If you are interested in co-creating a grief ritual or process group circle, please reach out.
jess@therapywithjesswynngrant.com