Classes + Death Cafes

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embracing endings grief circle dec 2023

EMBRACING ENDINGS

In Fall of 2024, we are offering two simultaneous cycles of this course, one online and one in person. Please see below for details & dates!

WHEN:

  • IN PERSON on Tuesdays @ 5:30-8:30pm
    • Oct 29, Nov 5, Nov 12, Nov 19, Nov 26 & Dec 3
  • ONLINE on Sundays @ 10:30am-1:30pm PT
    • Oct 27, Nov 3, Nov 10, Nov 17, Nov 24 & Dec 1

WHERE: The in-person course will be on Huichin Ohlone Land/Oakland, CA.  Location to be shared upon final registration.

Access Info: Masks will be required & we will have an air filter running. The meeting room is ADA accessible though the bathroom is not. This is not a fragrance free space. Location has ample parking & a close bus line. 

The online course will be offered via zoom. Log in details to be shared upon final registration. Because this is a ceremonial space, we will not be recording our sessions.

We strongly encourage folks to attend these classes weekly. Your attendance will allow you to get the most out of the content, experience the process of building this sacred container, and be least disruptive to the community. 

COURSE OVERVIEW

In this 6-week course for QTBIPOC, we will support folks in facing and embracing endings. Each week we will take time to remember traditional, nature-based ways of relating to the end. Together, we will explore what it means to live, love, grieve, and let go. With the assistance of the ancestors, plants, ceremony, and each other, we will be in the practice of facing, feeling, and integrating the inevitable outcome of death. This class is for death workers, healers, grievers, and/or any QTBIPOC looking to make a relationship with death.

Please note: Though grief is welcome in this course, it is not a grief support group or therapy. Because of the nature of the content of this program, we encourage everyone to be self-reflective about whether this is the time and space for them to do this work. 

What to expect:

  • Weekly exploration of different death-related topics (including prompts and meditations for looking at our own relationship to loss and endings, remembering nature-based ways of relating to grief, and delving deeper into subjects such as sudden death and the many types of grief, etc)
  • Weaving in of the foundations of Curanderismo (a holistic earth-based health care system that works to keep all elements of our being in balance) as support in the process of facing loss
  • Weekly medicine-making demo of herbal & floral remedies and rituals that help while we face and feel our way through life and death
  • Foundations for connecting and building relationship with ancestors
  • Weekly at home heartwork assignments that support in making relationship with death
  • Class size of 20 people or less to encourage connection & community building
  • Personal check-in & closing time each session
  • Final class presentations and reflections

CONTRIBUTION: $450 (There is a payment plan available and two full scholarships for Palestinian and Black folks.)

APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED: Sunday September 29th

PARTICIPANT NOTIFICATION: Monday September 30th

HERBS FOR ENDINGS

WHEN: Next series, TBD

 

WHERE: The course is offered in-person on Huichin Ohlone Land/Oakland, CA in the Dimond Neighborhood. We encourage folks to attend weekly to get the most out of the ceremony and content and to support community building. Location to be shared upon registration.

COURSE OVERVIEW

In this 3-week in-person course for QTBIPOC, we will take time to gather with our grief and get to know 9 specific herbs and flowers for sorrow, loss and death.

Utilizing prompting questions and peer support, each week we will presence the grief we are carrying, honor it, and go deep into 3 herbs and flowers that can help with facing, feeling, and integrating these experiences. Each week we will also make a go-to herbal remedy that can help in times of sorrow, loss, death, and when tending to ourselves and others.

This circle is for death workers, healers, feelers, and grievers who are Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color and are looking for support in facing grief, loss, and death.

Herb/Medicine Overview

Week 1:

  • magnolia *bougainvillea *muicle
  • Herbal Remedy: grief-tea blend

Week 2:

  • marigold *azahares *peach leaf
  • Herbal Remedy: endings aceite

Week 3:

  • roselle *pasiflora *mirto
  • Herbal Remedy: 'facing my feelings' facial mist

WHAT TO EXPECT:

•A deeper knowledge and relationship with 9 different herbs and flowers that can support our bodies, minds, and hearts during times of loss, death and endings

• Weekly death-related prompts for looking at your own relationship to loss

• Insights on life, death and loss from lifelong death workers Melissa and Batul, as well as from other experienced folks in the group

• Weaving in of the foundations of Curanderismo (a holistic earth-based health care system that works to keep all elements of our being in balance) as support in the process of facing life and death

• Weekly medicine making demo and hands-on medicine making of herb & flower remedies that can help out in the end

• Weekly altar setting and community altar building

• Pair and group sharing to encourage connection and community building

• Class size of 15 people or less

CONTRIBUTION:

This course is offered at a sliding scale exchange of $150-$300. In the spirit of mutual aid, folks who are currently able to pay at the higher end of the scale will create access for others who may not otherwise be able to attend at this time. Death care is community care and your generosity is appreciated. Your contribution also supports us, Batul & Melissa, two brown, Indigenous death workers and full-time traditional medicine practitioners.

There are payment plan options if needed and also 2 full scholarships available for Palestinian and Black folks.

We are requesting at least your first payment installment at the time of registration. This will confirm your space in the course. Payments will then be due in full by Sunday, Sept 15th. The class will cap at 15 folks.

If you are interested in requesting a scholarship, please submit registration form by Tuesday, Sept 10th. We will review all scholarship requests and notify folks on Wednesday, Sept 11th.

Access Information: We will have windows open and an air filter running and masks are required for our in person circles. There is ample street parking in the area and a bus line that stops right out front. The space is wheelchair accessible. We will be sitting on the floor in backjacks and there are several chiavari chairs and a few trifold mats available for other seating/laying down options as needed. This is not a scent free space. We do smudge people before entering and will have natural plant medicine burning during class. We do not use synthetic chemicals and do try to keep the smoke to a minimum.