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Community Grief Ritual

December 19th, 4 - 5:30 pm Eastern

Grief is natural, normal, and universal. And when we release and transform it, we make space for new energy, new life. In contemporary life, grief, death, and loss are considered taboo topics; they are not to be discussed or expressed. Not only that, but if acknowledged, grief is considered a private matter, only to be experienced alone.But when we don’t grieve, we end up living numbed-out, half-lived versions of our lives. And when we only grieve alone, we miss out on the support and healing available to us when we grieve in community.This grief ritual is for you if you would like to release sorrow, anger, fear, numbness... if you are drawn to embodied/somatic healing work... if you access and express emotion when you’re in a supportive community... if you desire more lightness, freedom, creative energy, and a greater sense of possibility in life.

You can find registration information here.

For information about future events, you can follow Grief Ritual NY on Facebook, Instagram, or join our mailing list.

Whether your grief is fresh or decades old, interpersonal or existential, ecological or ancestral, you are welcome to bring it to the ritual space for expression and release.

This grief ritual may appeal to you if:

you would like to release sorrow, anger, fear, numbness
you are drawn to embodied/somatic healing work
you access and express emotion when you’re in a supportive community
you desire more lightness, freedom, creative energy, and a greater sense of possibility in life

Grief is natural, normal, and universal. Everyone grieves. We grieve for people we’ve lost, life changes, ecological crises, old traumas, ancestral suffering, community challenges, experiences of rupture, disappointment, and existential concerns. We may have grief for illness or injury, for disconnection or estrangement, for political upheaval or personal loss, for beginnings and endings. There is an endless list of causes for grief. Our emotional expression of grief can take the form of tears, shaking, vocalization, movement, silence, numbness, rage, despair. However it is expressed, grief must be released and transformed to make space for new energy, new life.

Why set aside time for grief?

Grief goes under-expressed in much of North America. There are often cultural expectations—limitations—about what we ought to grieve, how that grief ought to be expressed, how long the grieving ought to last. But grief is not rational, circumscribed, or simple. If our grief remains unexpressed or unreleased, parts of us remain frozen or stagnant.

Making time to encounter and express grief allows us to get clear on what might be confusing, and find movement where we might be stuck. By making time to grieve, we acknowledge the depths of feeling that are part of human life. We accept ourselves and one another more fully. And yes, we heal.

Moving through grief may help us reawaken creativity, renew parts of our lives that have gone dormant, grow in self-love and compassion for others, and deepen intimacy in myriad relationships. We may find that we can experience life more fully, that we are more dynamically responsive in the here and now.

Grieving together

We come together to express, embody and release our grief. We come together to hold one another in care and community, whatever we may be grieving. Together, we create a safe container for emotion to move through us as individuals and as a group. We hold space for one another to acknowledge and release pain, sorrow, anger, regret, despair, fear and sadness that we have been carrying. Grieving together may help us to recognize and reckon with previously unknown aspects of our grief.

Bearing witness to the grief of others helps us to find more compassion for ourselves and people around us. It helps us soften, to understand that we are not alone, and to release any shame we might be carrying about our feelings. Supporting and being supported by people who are also committed to accessing and expressing their grief, we find deeper connection and healing, individually and collectively.

“We often say in my tradition that you’re either doing a ritual, thinking about getting into one, are in the middle of one, or just finished one. The purpose of ritual is to connect us to our own essence, to help us tune into the collective spirit, or to mend whatever is broken, whatever wires have been pulled out of one’s life, so we can start anew. Ritual is to the soul what food is to the physical body.”

- Sobonfu Somé via Cultural Survival

Who is this for?

We extend a deep welcome to people of all races, gender expressions, income levels, nationalities, sexual orientations, communities, physical ability, and faith traditions.

Whether your grief is fresh or decades old, interpersonal or existential, ecological or ancestral, you are welcome to bring it into the ritual space for expression and release.

This ritual is for you if you have noticed feelings of grief, anger, sorrow or numbness that need to be accessed and transformed.

It is for people who want to embody and express their emotions.

It is for people who want to be part of a safe and compassionate community space, in which they can be seen and witness others.