Francis Weller

During 2016 I participated in a Yearlong Soulcraft Intensive with Bill Plotkin and Animas Valley Institute. This period was about the "descent to soul" and a time of deep relationship with nature. It also included explorations of grief.

Per recommendation of one of my classmates, I recently read this book.

I have very little relationship with grief. So in some ways, although this book covers a lot of good territory, I need more of an introduction on how to get in touch with my grief in the first place. Certainly, I can feel some of the pain of the earth. For example, tears came to my eyes the other day when I read a lengthy piece about how the redwoods are dying. Yet such poignant moments come maybe only once a year.

My grandmother recently died. I didn't cry. It was her time, and I think she and I were both ready. We had a family gathering, full of old slides and many stories I'd never heard. This felt right, and was a grieving process of sorts for me. But I didn't get really deep into anything, and the support I was able to offer my grandfather and parents was limited.

This book more piqued my interest in grief-work then got me down the rabbit hole. So I'm not the best judge of the utility of the practices shared in this book.… (meer)