Is there anyone that has not been touched by grief or loss? Few of us are prepared to face the inevitable challenges that arise when sorrow enters our lives. Through lecture, poetry and conversation, we will touch the wild edge of sorrow, learn to release grief and embrace the joys of living our lives fully. We often feel overwhelmed when grief confronts us, unable to digest sorrow. During this program, we will learn how to grieve in ways that are healing and life giving. Living as we do, in a grief-phobic culture, we often submerge grief. We are then left disconnected from both the vitality of our lives and from other people we care about.

After attending this lecture, attendees will be empowered to deal with grief. We will delve into the mysteries that surround grief and the hidden folds of meaning that are held within this difficult landscape. We will explore the ways in which grief deepens our capacity for compassion, the obstacles to grieving fully, and the necessity of community and ritual to help us express our sorrows.

Francis Weller is a master of synthesizing diverse streams of thought from psychology, anthropology, mythology, alchemy, indigenous cultures and poetic traditions. Author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief and The Threshold Between Loss and Revelation (with Rashani Réa), he has introduced the healing work of ritual to thousands of people. He founded and directs WisdomBridge, an organization that offers educational programs that seek to integrate the wisdom from indigenous cultures with the insights and knowledge gathered from Western poetic, psychological and spiritual traditions.