The IFN were delighted to host an online evening with Peter Gill recently. Peter is a Focusing Coordinator and trainer based in the UK. He is also a qualified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Nature connection Facilitator.
Peter’s workshop was titled “Welcoming Grief”. This is a theme he has explored through Focusing for many years. Peter began the workshop by reading the poem 'When Death Comes' by Mary Oliver and invited us to notice our body’s response to the words.
In breakout rooms we discussed our relationship with grief. It was powerful to hear our commonalities and differences. Peter described how indigenous communities honour the grieving process through ritual. In our society, we seem less able to welcome and allow space for grief.
Peter described grief as a living process which needs to be contained and released. The analogy of water needing a channel in order to flow resonated with me. Focusing, in offering a space where the body brings what needs to be heard, offers a container for grief. The gentle presence of another can help us acknowledge loss and release our grief. Nature too can be a container for grief.
Peter referred to a book by Francis Weller called 'The Wild Edge of Sorrow'. Weller describes different kinds of grief which he names “the five gates of grief”. I found this a powerful way to move beyond my familiar and narrow concept of grief towards a more interconnected experience of loss.
After exploring the theme of grief together as a group, we had a welcome opportunity to Focus in a partnership on our personal experience of grief. It felt like this workshop touched tender places for many of us. I found the image of the container reassuring - Focusing offers me a safe space to be with loss and helps me welcome grief as a natural and important part of my living process.
by Therese Ryan
Wild Edge of Sorrow - Francis Weller’s book :
https://www.francisweller.net/the-wild-edge-of-sorrow-the-sacred-work-of-grief.html
