Transforming Trauma and Grief Together.
Our grief doesn’t need healing.
Our healing needs our grief
-shauna jana
Join me for a day-long retreat
devoted to the sacred work
of grief tending
Where there is sorrow
There is holy ground
-Oscar wilde
What we cannot speak about,
we pass over in silence
-ludwig wittgenstein
We have forgotten the primary language of grief
or we were never taught
and only came to understand silence.
The terrain of sorrow is unfamiliar and unchartered
leaving us confused, afraid, and lost
when grief arises
When our grief remains unspoken and untended
it stays in the shadows
silently rising as symptoms of
depression, anxiety, addictions, or
health conditions.
All Grief is Welcome
Our grief does not need healing
Our healing needs our grief
We are not meant to carry this all alone.
When our sorrows are witnessed
and held within a community of compassion,
grief can surprisingly turn to joy,
to a love emboldened for all
that surround us.
Love and loss have been eternally entwined
-francis weller
bonding and belonging
nourish resilience
-linda graham, Bouncing Back
This retreat may be for you if :
You have experienced a loss or trauma in the past or more recently
You want to understand how depression, anxiety, addictions, numbness, reactivity or overwhelm can be connected to unprocessed grief and trauma
You feel like you are carrying the weight of the world - political divides, climate changes, environmental degradation, racism, genocide or other global issues
You feel a deep longing for belonging
This is an opportunity to gather as brave, tender-hearted souls to create a sacred space to honor and tend to our grief.
A grief ritual invites us to lean into vulnerability, trust and surrender so that we can remember how to grieve as a community. As we listen to others, we find language for what has been unsayable. In this space, grief is not a problem to be analyzed or eliminated. In this safe space, grief can be metabolized and freed from the weight of shame and isolation
This will be a place to be seen, heard, held and honored in your grief. Together, we will create a space of generosity for sorrow without forcing it, minimizing it, asking you to move on or rise above it.
In our time together you will be invited to join me in these possibilities:
writing
singing
poetry
movement
ritual
whatever may be moving in and through you - numbness, shame, anger, confusion, stillness, trembling, wailing, silence
Date: October 11th, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Location: 5138 Shelburne Road
Shelburne, VT
What to bring:
*A water bottle
*A journal and pen
*Nourishing lunch (a microwave is available and very little space for refrigeration is available, please use cold packs if needed
*A yoga mat/blanket/ comfortable pillow if desired
*Comfortable clothing that allows you to move
*Layers to accommodate personal temperature shifts
*Shrine offerings: I invite you to add items that hold meaning for you to our ritual shrine. This may include flowers, greenery, stones, shells, art, photos, colorful cloths, etc. I encourage you to be as creative, personal, lush and vibrant as you feel called.
*Light nourishing snacks will be provided
I hope that you will join me, experience the power of tear medicine and begin the transformation of grief and trauma while we discover your fullest capacity for joy and gratitude.
I hope you will invest in your healing and liberation.
The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them. How much sorrow can I hold? That’s how much gratitude I can give.
-francis weller
Cost: Please consider the tier that best reflects your current capacity and valuation of this sacred work.
*
Cost: Please consider the tier that best reflects your current capacity and valuation of this sacred work. *
Abundance Tier: $600
Sustainer Tier: $500
Community Tier: $350
Payment must be received prior to the retreat date.Please let me know if you need accommodations for payment. Payment options are cash, check, Venmo, or Zelle. I am unable to process credit cards. This is not covered through health insurance policies. There is no refund available. A credit for future retreats will be offered in cases of emergency where attendance is not possible.