meeting grief
A community grief workshop and ritual
The experience of grieving is one we all share, yet seldom do we grieve together. As with many other practices in the western world: banking, education, therapy; grieving is privatized. We have lost indigenous practices of grieving together. We discover the impossibility of trying to contain the grief ourselves while releasing it at the same time. When we grieve together, we find we are not alone with our grief. We are welcomed and held in community.
Using writing practice, poetry, movement integration and sharing, we will work with the many faces of grief such as loss of loved ones, feelings of powerlessness often encountered with friends and family, the loss of true communities and our collective sorrow over the destruction of the planet.
Within community we come to understand that we are not alone in our despair. The more familiar we are with grief, the less chance it will overwhelm or paralyze us.
This experience is a gentle introduction, intended to provide instruction in practices that will assist you in becoming more comfortable confronting grief. This in turn may bring a fuller range of expression, restoring balance and vitality. It may further assist in cultivating new capacities to navigate the inevitable moments of heartache in this existence.
Meeting Grief workshops are offered approximately 10 times each year and are strictly limited to 8 people. Workshop dates are also shared on Francis Weller’s website, FrancisWeller.net under the calendar tab. More information may also be found on Kim Birdsong’s website, KimBirdsong.com.
Private offerings
Linda Anne and Kim are also available to facilitate workshops for private groups, such as therapists, caregivers, bereavement groups and first responders. Please contact us for further information.
Revelatory Speech • Soul Work • Flow
Linda Anne and Kim hold the deepest gratitude for this work and for the opportunity to support you as you become more fluent in the language of grief.
Wherever you are in process with your grief, whatever you are grieving, we have a safe place for you at this event.
share
In listening to the grief others carry, we discover that we are not alone.
write
Write into what is alive in the soul. Meet what arises in a safe container.
move
Flow with gentle Qigong movements to facilitate somatic awareness and release.
Where there is sorrow
there is holy ground
Oscar Wilde
group workshops
We offer group weekend workshops that are strictly limited to 8 participants. We meet over 3 days: Friday from 2-9:00 pm with a break for dinner, and continuing Saturday from 9:30am – 5:30pm with a break for lunch, and on Sunday from 9:00-11:00 am at a private home in Carmel, CA.
Meals are on your own (local chain and organic options are easily accessible).
Workshops are Non-Residential (lodging is available nearby).
Registration fee: $375
A limited amount of scholarships may be available. Please indicate need on the pre-registration form.
Please note: At the conclusion of the event we will, weather permitting, take a walk to the ocean, which requires navigating a long set of stairs (100) with no handrail, and a small set of steps down to the sand. Unfortunately, this portion of the event is not handicap accessible. We can arrange to drive to a level spot, but there would still be a walk and a small set of steps to the sand. Hiking poles or a cane may be helpful on this trail if needed.
Registration steps:
There is a pre-registration form to complete (click button below).
Once received and confirmed by Kim Birdsong, you will be sent an email from Kim to complete the process and submit your payment.
Once registered, you will receive a welcome letter confirming receipt of your payment, with detailed information & location.
Registration opens 6 -8 weeks prior to the workshop. If the workshop you would like to attend is full, you may request to be added to the waitlist.
There are 10 upcoming workshops planned for 2025.
You must complete this form to be considered for a grief workshop.
By completing this form, you are automatically added to our mailing list. All information on the form is confidential, seen only by Kim and Linda Anne.
You are invited to reach out with any additional questions on the form, or directly to Kim Birdsong via email at Kim@KimBirdsong.com.
UPCOMING GROUP WORKSHOPS
reflections from previous participants
meet your facilitators
Kim and Linda Anne
After being introduced by mutual friends, Linda Anne & Kim realized a shared passion and need for accessible community grief work. Together they developed a unique offering that combines written expression, shared stories, somatic, qigong movement and ritual release to assist in meeting and moving our grief from the private domain into the broader communal field.
This is deep work, and you will be safely held in their skilled hands.
Kim Birdsong is a sexual assault counselor who has worked with trauma survivors for 17 years. She offers integrative and spiritually based counseling and creates a safe container for the exploration of the myriad faces of grief.
Linda Anne is an herbalist, Tai Chi/Qigong teacher and certified End of Life Doula with over 20 years of experience in healing work and hospice care. She offers easily accessible breathwork, meditation, and movement practices. Her mission is to help people access their innate healing power and connect with their true nature and luminous hearts.
