Growing Capacity for Living with Change ~ Awakening Self Healing through Connection ~ In Service to Community and the Greater Earth Body

The Work that Reconnects & Grief Tending

“The central purpose of the Work that Reconnects is to help people uncover and experience their innate connections with each other and with the systemic, self-healing powers of the web of life, so that they may be enlivened and motivated to play their part in creating a sustainable civilization.” ~Joanna Macy

Awakening Life Force : Tending our Grief An immersion to grow capacity for navigating change in turbulent times January-February, 2025

We live in unprecedented, intense and unrelenting times.  Our days are permeated by awareness of and constant exposure to the state of our planet, climate change and the continued loss of species, political unrest, oppression & genocide, personal loss of all kinds, and the global spread Covid-19 pandemic that has effected all of us humans on the planet.   Nervous systems are in full activation as systemic oppression, ecological, economic and health challenges proliferate.  Layers upon layers of unprocessed grief that have been built up can surface in these times beckoning our attention so we can learn to metabolize it, growing our resiliency and bringing us more in touch with our true selves.  At the heart of it, we are being asked to align our resources and actions towards a life sustaining society if we want to continue to inhabit this living earth in reciprocal relationship with all of life.  These workshops are for those who are wanting to learn somatic tools, how to metabolize their grief in community and grow capacity to navigate change in turbulent times in service to themselves, their relations, community and the larger web of life.  

In this immersion, we co-create a sound container in which to meet each other, our nervous systems and our grief.   We explore the possibility that from this place of settling our animal bodies and allowing our hearts to break open, we unleash even more life force energy for action and connection from a place of presence, joy, compassion and vibrancy.

In these five January/February meetings (4 zoom gatherings, 1 three day immersion with land in Sebastopol, CA), we will draw on Joanna Macy’s Spiral of The Work that Reconnects, Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief, Somatic Experiencing, the Way of Council and a grief ritual practice to support our practice and inquiry of awakening to greater life force, grief tending and ancestral honoring.  

Hosted by Kari Stettler, Work that Reconnects facilitator & Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Donna Helete, Grief Coach & Facilitator.

Details & dates:

Wednesday, January 22nd  6:30-8pm pst (zoom) ~ Gratitude & Somatic Practice

Wednesday, January 29th  6:30-8pm pst (zoom) ~ Honoring our Grief - Five Gates of Grief

Weekend:  Friday, February 7th - Sunday, February 9th ~ Grief Tending Ritual & Seeing with New & Ancient Eyes (non-residential, in person in Sebastopol, CA)

Wednesday, February 12th 7-8pm pst (zoom) ~ Deep Time ~ Ancestral Vigil

Sunday, February 16th  4-5:30 pst (zoom) ~ Going Forth ~ Integration

Reciprocity:

• Pay it Forward Rate - $700+ You have access to wealth, can pay for this course without much financial consideration, and have the ability to pay extra to directly support someone else who needs financial access options to participate.

• Sustaining Rate - $525-$700 You have access to reliable income, and/or own property/mortgage, and/or are paying at the higher end of the rental market, and/or are in a double-income home, and/or have personal savings/investments. You are able to pay for ‘wants’ and spend little time worried about securing necessities in your life, such as housing, food, transportation.

• Actual Rate - $450-$525 You have access to income that allows you to meet your basic needs, you may have some expendable income, and/or have access to resources through family/partners to request support from. You may need to budget or cut back in some other areas to make this program happen, but it won't cause any long-term harmful impact on your life.

• Partial Scholarship Your access to resources and income stability is limited, and meeting your basic needs is stressful and inconsistent. Paying at any of the higher tiers would have a harmful impact on you.
  

  To register, please submit the registration application form linked on the button below. This will be a small intimate group of 10-12 folks, and we have a registration deadline of December 15th for receiving applications.
  

Hosted and Facilitated by Donna Helete and Kari Stettler, SEP (bio here)

Donna Helete, Grief Tender/Coach - For over a decade I attended community grief rituals with my mentor, Sobonfu Somé, from Burkina Faso. I learned about my own relationship with grief as well as the communal aspect of grief. I view grief as a cultural element that can help us build community and repair our disconnection from ancestral traditions. My journey deepened with the death of my husband of 28 years in 2015, and ever since, I have been paying forward the support I received by companioning others in grief and sharing the wisdom of my Dark Night of the Soul time. My story is that grief chose me for this work which has included hospice bereavement counseling (individual and group support) where I was once a client. I continue to grow my skillsets and capacity through grief ritual leadership training with Francis Weller as well participating in a trauma informed grief support workshop. Grief work keeps me adjacent to what really matters in life, amplifying gratitude and providing a powerful heartfelt experience of being fully human together. I continue to enjoy wondering out loud about grief, love, joy, and the vibrancy of life with others in service to the greater good.

What People Are Saying…

"I cannot recommend this workshop series enough to anyone who feels a pull or curiosity about it. Donna and Kari combine their skill sets so well to create an amazing, brave, and sacred container for this work. I came in wanting to learn how to better experience and be held in my grief in community, and found the month-long structure of these workshops to be very helpful in building deeper relationships and trust in my process. Whether you have gone to many grief rituals, or if this work is brand new to you you have the opportunity to connect through whatever gateway, intention, or curiosity you have, and get so much out of it. Gratitude for making this offering accessible financially and trauma-informed."

~Alexa L., Student Success Instructor

“It is a high art to create and hold a safe and sacred space for others to be lovingly held and witnessed in the depths of their profound grief. Kari Stettler and Donna Helete are both long-time experienced soul guides steeped in the mysterious ways of grief, highly skilled in the most reverent compassion and wise in the alchemical transformation of our perception of heartbreaking sorrow into nourishing love. This precious resource of intentional Grief Work is invaluable and very rare in our culture. What they offer is such a potent and meaningful blessing for us all. This is no small thing. Indeed, this is how we human beings take good care of each other. I completely entrust Donna and Kari with my grieving heart and deepest sorrow. This work has been life-changing BIG medicine for me. I have never felt more enlivened. Thank you from the depths of my healing heart.”

~Richard L., Massage Therapist

“Wanting to learn more about Joanna Macy’s work I decided to take a class series in the Work that Reconnects. Kari gave an excellent overview both throughout her presentation and experiential exercises. I particularly felt that the Truth Mandala grief ritual was of great benefit. Kari has an innate wisdom beyond her years and a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of the world and all life. I recommend her workshops and class series to anyone wishing to learn and experience the Work that Reconnects.”

~Zoe Rivers, Yoga Instructor