Good Company: Tending to Grief Group

“Life is a growth in the art of loss,” John O’Donohue

As human beings we love, so we also grieve. The challenge is, our dominant culture has sent us all kinds of unhelpful messages about what grief “should” look like, feel like, sound like and how long it should “last.” Most of these messages are simply untrue and can have harmful consequences. Frances Weller notes that unmetabolized grief often shows up in our lives as anger and aggression. It can keep us from being connected and current in our relationships with ourselves and others.

“The issues are rarely about resolution, they are usually about spaciousness.” – James Hillman.

This group is about normalizing grief as part of living and loving well. It is about slowly down and companioning our sorrows, instead of burying them. How can we become deep and wide enough to hold what is arriving at our door? It is a place to gather “ in Good Company” just as we are – to regularly tend the many threads of grief that we may feel as human beings at this current time. This may be loss of a loved one, pet, a part of self we have abandoned, a relationship, environment/habitat, community, ancestors and many more.

“Grief, experienced by every human, repeatedly and often compounded, must be metabolized. Involving every layer of our being, grief offers a powerful invitation to courageously embody and remember our most essential self and oneness with all of life. “ Amy Chadwick

By regularly meeting our grief with care, attention and community – balanced with a practice of gratitude/appreciation, we can start to embody our grief. This can lead to a fuller, more vibrant and authentic expression of ourselves in the world.

Regular maintenance and tending is vital to things working well – grief is no different. If we don’t turn towards it, listen and respond – it can clog our system (body, mind, spirt) harden our hearts and prevent us from living our best lives.

Good Company is about:

⁃ normalizing and validating grief

⁃ Creating a collective space to do this in community where it is honoured and not shamed

⁃ Embodiment

⁃ Mindfulness

⁃ Deep listening

⁃ Sharing from our hearts

⁃ Pendulation and titration

⁃ Gratitude and appreciation

⁃ Choice

⁃ Creating a Trauma informed space

⁃ Wholistic approach

⁃ Ritual

⁃ Creative Expression

⁃ Education and de-mystifying grief

This group is by cash donation (suggested contribution is $20-$40 per person) and will be held once a month (note** group in October will run from 4-5:30pm)