Grief Alchemy: Life, Love and Loss through the lens of Francis Weller

Hello and welcome

Grief is a natural and normal part of being human. 

This two day non-residential program explores generative and life-giving possibilities within grieving. It is a re/imagining of living with loss and love.  This is the work of upskilling, belonging, kinning, tending; a mingling of the human, the mystery, the arts. It is not group psychotherapy.

This course is for you if you wish to better understand the ways grief permeates life, strengthen your own muscle of grief tools and supports whilst deepening relationships with humans and the wider world; to live as Francis Weller says, in the electricity of life.

Life happens: people we love die, we fall in and out of love, we achieve, fall flat and fail to achieve, we feel let down by people and ourselves, pets die, the planet suffers, war continues, wild places get plundered and developed... grief is older than we are, it lives where love lives and permeates the landscape of our lives. 

Over two days we draw predominantly from the wellspring of Francis Weller's work.  Participants will be encouraged to explore  generative possibility; it brings imagination, attention, deep compassion to places that often go untended, and practical tools for living with grief.
You do not need to have read The Wild Edge of Sorrow or be familiar with Francis Weller's work to get much richness from this time together.

Testimonials from previous participants
"Just reaching out to let you know how amazing I think this course is already.“ 
"It's just so exquisitely held by you."
" I'm really loving all of it.“
"I feel so nourished."

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Course Objectives:

• Introduction to the Five Gates of Grief framework by Francis Weller.
• Explore how grief can be a transformative and integrated experience.
• Learn practical tools and rituals for working with grief.
• Cultivate a deeper understanding of one's own grief journey.
  

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Day 1: Introduction and Grief Explorations

• Overview of the course and its objectives.
• Introduction to Francis Weller and his work.
• Exploring the inevitability of loss.
• Exploring the cultural context of grief in modern society.
  
  

Day 2: Grief Integration

• An apprenticeship with sorrow
• The role of ritual and community in working with grief
  
• Emotional alchemy, working with fertile ground
• Relationships with the filaments of the wider world

Facilitator: Emma Beattie [she/her] - Before & After Life

Emma has worked, studied and volunteered in caring and deathing since 2020.  She brings an animistic, creative and poetic lens to caring, deathing and grieving. Her death and dying work and studies intersect a long line of lived experienced with personal loss. Her professional origins reside in strategic thinking, storytelling and social impact. She offers practical supports, education and facilitation for people, families, and groups via term courses, workshops, community meets and retreats. Emma is a member of Palliative Care NSW, the Natural Death Advocacy Network and an advocate for Compassionate Communities Australia.


I look forward to your company.

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We possess the profound capacity to metabolise sorrow into something medicinal for our soul, and the soul of the community. The skill of grieving well enables us to become current—to live in the present moment and be available to the electricity of life.

- Francis Weller