Embracing Grief for People of Colour

SUMMARY

This is a workshop for people of colour (POC), only. Online and in-person grief workshops open to all can be found here - https://dandelion.earth/o/embracing-grief.

 ~ Why Grief? ~

We all carry grief, whether we’re aware of it or not, whether we’re in relationship with it or not.

Yet the reasons we grieve and the ways we mourn vary greatly across cultures and backgrounds. For POC, sometimes it can be difficult to find safe spaces to share and express our grief. The scale and intensity of loss in communities of colour is vast, and has often been on public display, carrying a powerful and unseen weight amongst communities of colour. This workshop aims to provide a safe and welcoming space for POC to express their grief, and to witness and be witnessed by other POC in their expression. 

Grief is a natural mirror to the mystery of existence, which reliably delivers a rich selection of troubles from cradle to grave. Grief has many roots - knowing we will lose all that we love, our unloved selves, the sorrows of the world, what we expected and did not receive, the wounds of our ancestors; and many faces - anguish, despair, rage, shame, hopelessness, numbness. A natural flow of grief, when expressed and witnessed, can support us in opening up to life, and deepening our connection with both the human and non-human world. With this work we join the cultures around the world that have used shared grieving as a resource to connect with themselves and their communities.

~ OK, so what is this offering? ~

Co-facilitated by Bilal Nasim and Mara Livermore.

During the session we will hold a Grief Circle together. There will be the opportunity to share something, and to witness others. Challenging themes and strong expressions of emotion may come up and are welcome. The session is 4 hours on Zoom, and includes a variety of exercises to support our journey.  

In these sessions we use recognised approaches to tend to and honour our grief exactly as it is, drawing on the practices, rituals and teachings of elders including Sophy Banks, Jeremy Thres, Sobonfu Some, Malidoma Some, Joanna Macy, Francis Weller, Martin Prechtel, and others.

 ~ Is this for me? ~

This is for you if you are working with personal change, loss, heartache or dealing with the impact of past trauma. You may also be struggling with collective themes, or seeking to build resilience.

All sources of grief are welcome, none prioritised and none excluded. Some of you might find your grief right there on the surface, ready to be expressed, while others may take the time to connect with grief that feels stuck and difficult to access.

The workshop may not be suitable for those with severe depression or mental health problems, or those feeling particularly fragile, alone or unsupported. If you are unsure whether this workshop is right for you please don’t hesitate to contact Bilal (bilal@tough-cookie.co.uk).

ABOUT YOUR FACILITATOR

Bilal Nasim (www.bilalnasim.com) is a British Pakistani, born in London. He is a facilitator, trainer and artist exploring what it means to be alive and our relationship with death. Having apprenticed to grief under the tutelage of Sophy Banks and Jeremy Thres, he has been holding grief-spaces since 2018. Bilal hosts workshops on confronting death, Death Cafe's, is training as a death doula with Red Tent End Of Life Doulas, and is a personal resilience trainer with Tough Cookie (www.tough-cookie.co.uk).

Mara Livermore is the creator of House of SweetWaters, which offers coaching, healing and consultancy services designed to change the business landscape by empowering future-focused people to build satisfying, profitable and conscious businesses. She is a student and devotee of the water deities delivered to her through her ancestors and she specialises in elevating the sacred energy of Black and Afro/Diasporic people. In her academic work she is writing on African traditional religions in anti-slavery resistance and you’ll often find her dancing, studying and looking beyond the veil to receive high frequency insight for herself and her clients.

FEEDBACK

"It was such a heart soothing and soul enriching experience to participate in the space you created. I felt so utterly welcomed, free to bring whatever was alive in me, and never pressured to be anywhere I wasn't. I had moments of feeling a huge resistance in myself, and was allowed to dance with that, and invite what was hiding underneath. The threads that you wove to create our container felt so gently, lovingly and intentionally woven, held with both sincerity and lightness." – Anon

“Thanks so much for creating a space of support and love. I felt safe at all times and the suggestions to move off screen or turn off the camera meant that I felt I wasn’t stuck to a box on screen. All the facilitators held space for each person and guided it when needed.” - Liselott

EVENT DETAILS

This event requires a free zoom account which you can set up here: https://zoom.us. Instructions on how to join will be included in your confirmation email.  

TICKET PRICES

£10 Low Income (3 spaces available)

£40 Regular

£60 Abundant/Supporter

Once you have purchased a ticket, you will receive a booking form which must be completed - NOTE: without a completed booking form you will not receive joining instructions for the session, including the Zoom link, and will therefore not be able to attend. 

There will be a maximum of 12 available places per session, including the facilitators. 3 of these places will be available at the Low Income rate, for those who are either unemployed, have insufficient/unstable income or are clearly unable to afford the Regular price. The Abundance/Supporter price part-subsidises those paying the Low Income price. 

We also welcome those willing and able to pay for someone else’s place at the Regular price. Please let us know if this is something you’d like to offer.

Note: We will start on time, please join the Zoom room a few minutes before start time. 

ZOOM ROOM OPENS: 10 minutes before start time.

NO ENTRY AFTER:  15 minutes after start time.

ENQUIRIES: Bilal - bilal@tough-cookie.co.uk

Attendance requires a working internet connection, and a Zoom account (you can download for free). If you have any access requirements please get in touch.  If you haven’t used Zoom before, please join 15 minutes early to download the free software and check your connection.

This workshop is fully inclusive to all people of colour, regardless of age (18+), gender, sexual orientation, disability, religious beliefs and otherwise.

Refunds: Please note, we do not arrange refunds or exchanges. When possible we encourage reselling on Ticketswap.

Access: We do our best to include everyone in our events, regardless of employment or health circumstances. If you would like to attend this event but are truly unable to afford the ticket price, please do get in touch with the event organiser.

REFUNDS POLICY: Please note, we do not arrange refunds or exchanges. When possible we encourage reselling on Ticketswap.

ACCESS:  We do our best to include everyone in our events, regardless of health circumstances. If you have access requirements please email the event organiser directly to discuss. Many facilitators are able to offer reduced ticket prices for those truly unable to afford the ticket price. If this applies to you, do please get in touch with the event organiser.

For PSYCHEDELIC KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES please check out the Psychedelic Society website. 

Our facilitators have agreed to our code of conduct. Learn about our procedure for raising concerns

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