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"We grieve the loves we’ve lost. We grieve our abilities vanishing through illness or age. We grieve the loss of faith in our religion. We grieve our children leaving home. We grieve the paths we didn’t walk. We grieve the family we never had. We grieve the suffering of the planet. But while grief may look like an expression of pain that serves no purpose, it is actually the soul’s acknowledgment of what we value. Grief is the honour we pay to that which is dear to us. And it is only through the connection to what we cherish that we can know how to move forward. In this way, grief is motion.Yet in our culture, we are deeply unskilled with grief. We hold it at a distance as best we can, both in ourselves and in each other, treating it as, Joanna Macy says, like “an enemy of cheerfulness.” There is unspoken shame associated with grief. It is sanctioned in very few places, in small doses, for exceptional occasions such as death and tragedy. Beyond that, it can feel dangerous and weak. Perhaps because we fear we’ll drown in our despair, or because it means falling apart in a world which values ‘holding it together’ above all else. But grief plays an essential role in our coming undone from previous attachments. It is the necessary current we need to carry us into our next becoming. Without it, we may remain stuck in that area of our life, which can limit the whole spectrum of our feeling alive." Took-pa Turner

 

Grief is a doorway to vitality and beauty and courage. Every grief has its own intelligence and medicine. Our tears enable us to get into flow and open up new access to ourselves. Grief can be quiet, loud, calm, tender and powerful and there are many different things to mourn.For me, grief is a love letter to life, a deep access to my life force and to the beauty of life and follows one of the most natural intelligences I have come to know. 

 

The vision is to host these spaces regularly in the future, anchoring shared grief in the world so that participation and repeated participation can become something natural in life, because loss and life are directly intertwined.

 

My work is inspired by my teachers Elke Loepthien-Gerwert, Francis Weller, Louise Claire, Martin Prechtel, my mentor Isabel Knauf, Sobonfu Somé, Peter Levine, Gabor Mate, Maree Brown, among others. I am deeply grateful to all of them. In addition, the Bonfire is made possible by a team and countless other helpers and supporters.The mourning fire refers to a ritual developed by Elke Loepthien-Gerwert in 2017.

 

Ritual work and communal mourning

 

 From Thursday to Sunday, we will create a temporary community and come together to mourn and bear witness to each other. We will light a fire together in our midst and tend it together until the morning hours of Sunday. Songs, stories and content will always be part of our gathering.

 

Accommodation and catering

 

LocationThe Klingenmühle is located in a small valley by the flowing water and invites you to slow down, reflect, but also to experience wild liveliness. Here, people can be inspired by the forest and meadows, feel the earth beneath their feet and reflect on the simplicity of the heart.The summer mourning fire is a ritual that takes place in nature. You can either sleep in your car or bring your tent. Sometimes it is also possible to spend the night in a circus wagon for an extra charge.You can cool off and bathe in the nearby waterfall, there are showers outside for hot showers and there are compost toilets.We will be catered for by an outdoor kitchen with regional and organic products wherever possible. The food is vegan.

 

Important information

 

Important InformationThe mourning fire is an experiential space and not a therapy. It is a drug-free space and assumes that you can enter this experiential space on your own responsibility and can maintain your presence. The Grief Fire touches on issues of loss and can also touch on trauma. If you have any concerns, please discuss this with a therapist beforehand. This is not a suitable place for people with bipolar disorder, psychosis and trauma, unresolved trauma or mental health issues, nor should you have used or worked with drugs before.If you are unsure, please clarify this with your doctor or therapist beforehand.I reserve the right to talk to you again (in person or video call) and to exclude or cancel your participation if necessary.

 

Participation fee funeral fire

490 € regular

390 € for the first 10 registrations booked until 15th March

350 - 490 € for people who have already participated in a mourning fire with me

Children only pay one amount for food and accommodation, infants up to 5 years do not pay

500 €  upwards Supporting contribution that makes it possible for people who are currently unable to attend to have easier access to the offers.

 

Overnight stay, meals other costs

250 Euro for pitch rental and catering, yurt rental, wood consumption and insurance etc.

Payment in installments over a period of 3 months is possible under certain circumstances. Please contact us about this.

 

Before you ask for discounts or free places, please check your network to see if support is possible.

 

Cancellation conditions

As the amount will not be refunded in the event of illness or other reasons, you can take out seminar cancellation insurance. If you are unable to attend, the amount will not be refunded.If you wish, you can take out insurance here. For example here: https://www.ergo.de/de/Produkte/Reiseversicherung/Seminarversicherung)

 

Do you want to register?

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