GRIEF & RAGE CEREMONIES

Kritee leads grief-rage ceremonies from time to time as half or full day workshops for specific communities, nonprofits and organizations and as integral parts of residential Zen and Ecodharma retreats.

To access our innate trust in life and take our seat in the sacred web of belonging, Kritee believes that we must “compost” our traumas. Sacred spaces are necessary to “compost” our personal, intergenerational, cultural and ecological grief embedded in our bodies as we engage in the movements for justice and peace. When we don’t tend to our inner grief, guilt-shame, rage or fears, we cannot feel belonging. When we cannot truly belong to the community and are instead mired in conflicts, we cannot deeply and collectively engage with the socio-political issues or widen our web of belonging to the more than human world.

Kritee’s deepest trust in the need for communal grief and trauma healing work as well as her desire to simultaneously address personal, racial and climate traumas comes from her ongoing apprenticeship with her grief ceremony teacher Beth Garrigus. Buddhist eco-philosopher and Ecodharma elder Joanna Macy has also very deeply influenced Kritee.

Testimonials

The grief ceremony done as a part of our retreat helped me access inexpressible frustration and rage in my being that I have held because of incredibly difficult pain in my youth and my current everyday life. It gave me room to let go, indulge in, and accept my humanity.
–Zayd Omar, Young Palestinian student, Tennessee

The grief ceremony felt like a vital component of the entire retreat to me. The grief circle felt so revolutionary. I feel I was able to witness cycles and generations of trauma breaking right in front of me. All of the music, dance, and movement practices were wonderful in that they allowed me to freely play in a way that I haven't in many years.
–Daniela Silva, Yoga teacher + Social Justice Advocate, Texas

Most transformational aspect of the retreat would have to be the grief ceremony. Hearing so many other people's stories created so much space for me to be vulnerable, understanding of others, and allowed me to practice empathy and compassion. After the grief circle was over, I felt completely raw, and brand new. I was no longer burdened by my story because I was now carrying the group's story. To honor the group, it was my duty to hear it, feel it and then ultimately wash it away. That way we could start anew. I think a tangible transformation occurred through the aspect of sharing, crying, feeling and listening. 
–A.W., Farmer and Entrepreneur, North Carolina