THE HEART OF THE VILLAGE
A Grief Workshop & Communal Ceremony
SAT, APRIL 6, 2024
10AM ~ 6PM
CORVALLIS, OR
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“Communal grieving offers something that we cannot get when we grieve by ourselves. Through validation, acknowledgement, and witnessing, communal grieving allows us to experience a level of healing that is deeply
and profoundly freeing. Each of us has a basic human right to that genuine love, happiness and freedom."
~
Sobonfu Somé
EVENT DESCRIPTION
It is impossible to escape the call to grieve in these times, with daily news of violence and oppression, environmental devastation, social division, economic injustice, along with the personal losses many of us are navigating, whether from the loss of loved ones, unresolved conflicts, broken dreams, illness, accidents, ancestral wounds, and many other forms of loss. If grief is not expressed and validated, it may make itself known through depression, addiction, or a deep sense of isolation. We need places where we can see and hear and know each other, and tend to each other with all that we are holding. This event offers such a space.
Through group sharing, writing practice, song, and cross cultural ritual we will embrace what we have been carrying alone, and open up to new ways of being together with the bitter medicine of grief. It takes courage to honor the depths of sorrow in our hearts, which is why our ancestors, and many traditional cultures still, developed ritual ways of hearing and witnessing each other in their grief, and finding meaning and belonging in the midst of it all. This event is inspired by the teachings of Sobonfu Somé, who brought the traditional grief rituals of her African tribe to the West, to guide us in these old ways of healing grief.
FACILITATOR
Lara Lwin Treadaway has been supporting healing and transformation with groups for over two decades, through compassionate facilitation, experiential practices, and cross-cultural ritual. She is passionate about creating brave, authentic, and safely held spaces to illuminate, honor, and transmute the wide spectrum of emotions that are woven into grief, and to restore beauty and meaning to the sacred work of metabolizing our pain and losses. Her work is aimed at deepening belonging within ourselves, between each other, in the natural world, and with all of life. Lara also works privately with individuals, couples and families, and is the founder of Wild Peace Sanctuary, a place where people, animals, and the land are healing together in circles of reverence, repair, and reciprocity.
“Grief has always been communal, always been shared and consequently has traditionally been regarded as a sacred process. Too often in modern times our grief becomes private, carrying an invisible mantle of shame forcing our
sorrow underground, hidden from the eyes that would offer healing. We must restore the conversation we need
to have concerning the place of grief in our lives. Each of us must undertake an apprenticeship with loss.”
~
Francis Weller
EVENT DETAILS
DATE/TIME:
Saturday, April 6, 2024
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
LOCATION:
Friends Meeting House
3311 NW Polk Ave,
Corvallis, OR 97330
RECIPROCITY:
Sliding Scale $150 - $250
SPACE IS LIMITED
EARLY REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED
Offered in the spirit of the Gift Economy.
Scholarships available.
No-one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please enquire below.
All profits go towards caring for the wild equines at Wild Peace Sanctuary.
FOR ANY QUESTIONS, CONTACT LARA:
LEARN MORE
Read one woman's experience of this grief ritual below...
THE HEART OF THE VILLAGE
by Hannah Grace
CLICK TO VIEW
TESTIMONIALS
"Lara is a skilled facilitator who navigates the most challenging issues of our time with wisdom, sensitivity, and
a wide-open heart. Her event was a deep experience that challenged me to explore my grief
and pain, while empowering me to face those hurts with resilience and hope."
~ Kevin Gallagher, Santa Barbara, CA
"When the world is shaking at its core and nothing feels safe or certain we need to be brought together in such
a way that we can FEEL what is happening and then carry each other through. Thank you Lara
for having created such a space for us all to find healing and mutual support."
~ Gwen Moore, Eugene, OR
"The practices Lara took us through were deeply transformative. Her sensitivity to the needs of all the participants,
individually and collectively, was inspirational. She brought an incredible quality of presence
to the room that helped us all feel safe and supported."
~ Francesca Simms, Portland, OR
"I went specifically to grieve about the Earth and all we are losing. Those of us who love the earth and are awoke to what is
happening are carrying so much grief. Taking the time to feel and express grief for disappearing species, desecrated
places, and our difficult future does not mean we are giving up, but rather it can re-energize us to continue our
activism. Grief is the other side of love and we can’t have one without the other, yet there are so few places
where our grief is welcomed and accepted and can be fully expressed in community."
~ Sharon Blick, Eugene, OR
"The next day I felt a great capacity to hold life and things that were unbearable before. It was a life-changing practice
that I intend to make a part of my life on a regular basis. Lara is an extraordinary spirit and a skillful facilitator.
The container she created felt incredibly safe and inclusive allowing me to do very deep work."
~ Jana Holm, Portland, OR
"This work was very powerful and transformative for me and I highly recommend it. I cannot say enough about you
Lara and the safe space you held communally. You are masterful at what you do, and so clearly and
beautifully committed to helping heal the planet with this work. Deep bow of gratitude.”
~ Laura Ghiringhelli Knutson, San Luis Obispo, CA
"I would absolutely recommend this event for anyone who is longing for authentic, safe, and reverent engagement
of our deepest most profound emotions. This is profound experiential work for both personal
and communal nurturance and therefore healing.”
~ Richard Leversee, Morro Bay, CA
“If you want a deeply poignant and absolutely beautiful experience, I most highly recommend this sacred work.
If you are at all interested, go. If you are curious, go. If you are doubtful, go. If you think this is for you
or if you think this is not for you, go. You will be forever blessed and eternally grateful.”
~ Chante Dao, Hugo, OR