Next experience starts June 2025
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Next experience starts June 2025 〰️
“grief is not a problem to be solved, not a condition to be medicated, but a deep encounter with an essential experience of being human”
Francis Weller
I am no stranger to grief and loss. The most significant ones being losing my brother and sister in the same week, 11 years ago. This experience altered my sense of self and my connection to the world. It also altered the shape of my heart and my capacity to allow in the love and support that I desperately needed. My grief journey has been about learning to restore my trust in humans through immersing myself in the wisdom of the more than human world and ultimately reconnecting with my heart.
Maybe something similar happened to you – someone important died.
Or maybe your grief arrived through another doorway…
An ending of a relationship.
A diagnosis.
A miscarriage.
An estrangement.
Maybe you don’t know when grief arrived, but it’s been there as a subtle ache. A flatness. A longing. A sense of not belonging.
Grief is not only about loss. It’s about longing.
It’s an ache that we hold in our hearts for what was, or what could have been. Losses and longings located in our past, present and future.
The longing for what we needed but didn’t get.
The longing for creativity and expression.
The longing for love and friendship.
The longing for fun, joy, vibrancy.
The longing to be ourselves.
And so, as you read this, do you recognise your own grief?
And if you do, what do you do with it?
If we are lucky enough to have loving friends and family, often the complex nature of grief means we edit and shield them from the messy, ugly parts. The parts of us that are desperate to be seen and heard.
And for many of us, our grief comes from being hurt in relationships and community, so the thought of baring our soul and sharing ourselves with others feels scary.
We have lost trust in humans.
We keep our grief close to our chests.
We protect our hearts.
We numb.
We disconnect.
We seem ‘resilient’.
And so, we need a place that gently supports us to restore trust.
A place that creates the conditions for us to meet our grief, move with it at our own pace and integrate it into our lives.
A place where tears, laughter, anger and joy are welcomed as part of the complexity of grief.
A place where grief is normalised and validated as a common human experience.
A place where we tend to the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual body of grief.
A place that’s warm, human, non-clinical. Just people alongside each other.
A place where we get underneath our stories and connect to the wild, embodied nature of grief.
A place where we learn how to slow down and rest.
A place where you don’t have to hold it all together anymore.
A place where the unconditional love from nature holds us while we learn how to soften our hearts.
THE ‘GRIEF IN NATURE EXPERIENCE’
In our modern society we have forgotten how to hold grief.
Our ancestors would come together in circle around the fire and under the trees, to share stories, food, sing and dance. They were able to tap into the resources of the elements, through rituals and ceremonies. They knew that grief was too much for human hands to hold.
Grief tending in community and nature was an ordinary part of life.
Our bodies already know this wisdom, but they need a place to come to be reminded.
This 3 month online group experience is a place where we create the conditions for connection – to nature, ourselves and each other. A place where we rest and resource ourselves so that we can integrate grief into our lives and live fully.
In this experience we are guided by the 4 elements of earth, air, fire and water, and we will practice simple rituals that will support you to feel more connected and trusting of yourself and your grief.
Drawing on the art of grief tending and the work of Francis Weller, we will explore ‘The gates of grief’ which allows us to tend to all forms of grief, both personal and collective. This can be deeply healing and gives us a fresh perspective to our experience of grief.
Grief is more than words. It’s a full-bodied experience. Which is why we need practices that go beyond talking.
The sessions will include guided meditation, somatic practices, storytelling, poetry, music and dance. The sessions offer a structure that you can settle into and are set up so that you are free to share and participate as much or little as feels right for you.
Each week I will share home practices that encourage you to spend time in nature. When we grieve in nature it offers us the safety of turning towards the more than human world, which, for many of us is a sanctuary. A place that is neutral and unconditional. If we have lost trust in humans, this is a place where we start to build our capacity to open our hearts again.
This is more than a bereavement group. So much of our grief is hidden and not validated. This experience is open to all forms of grief, loss and longings.
What You’ll receive
A fortnightly 90 minute online community gathering over 12 weeks.
A small group of up to 8 companions to share your experience with.
Access to a shared folder of support practices and rituals for you to experience in your own time.
Support from myself with any questions, insights or reflections via an optional what’s app group.
A personal 1-1 session with me during the experience.
A ‘Grief support package’ sent to you to use during the experience.
Access to my audio course ‘Why can’t I rest, how do I do it?’
People who’ve experienced ‘Grief in nature’……
My intentions for this experience
To create a welcoming space where you feel able to be as you are.
To create the conditions for you to express, explore and be witnessed in your grief.
To offer you ways to connect, comfort and support yourself.
To offer enough structure, support and choice so that you feel able to participate in the best way for you.
To connect you to others so that you find a shared human experience of grief.
To introduce you to alternative perspectives on grief and allow you to choose what resonates.
To share ways for you to access the more than human world as a source of strength and support.
To help you live your life alongside your grief - by connecting you to the things that bring you joy, pleasure, ease, fun.
To be a guide and companion alongside you.
Next experience starts June 2025
〰️
Next experience starts June 2025 〰️
Would you like to sponsor a place on Grief in Nature?
We have gratefully received sponsored places on this experience that are gifted to anyone who is unable to cover the cost themselves. If you would like to cover the cost of a sponsored place then please get in touch leah@leahsiandavies.co.uk