Spirit Altars: Honoring the Fullness of Lost Beloveds
In our time together you will create the beginnings of a memorial altar that honors your lost beloved. This workshop is a lite version of the more in depth Spirit Altars program, which is an 8 session journey. But you will have enough to work with to continue work on your own.
Spirit Altars
There is no easy way to part ways from those you love. Often, the loss happens suddenly, without opportunity to prepare for or say 'goodbye', without opportunity to mend complex relationships. Even with the time that advanced preparedness of death may offer, as it can be with serious illness, parting can often feel incomplete.
The process of creating your Spirit Altar can offer calm to your heart as you connect to the spirit of your beloved that exists within you. This can allow you to engage the places of relationship conflict and complexity that can make traditional memorials, which often focus on the positive, feel incomplete.
A Spirit Altar can be engaged by all who feel connected to the lost loved one, both in its creation and once complete in the sharing of the stories attached to the items it contains. Families can work together, friends are welcome to participate. And the altar is never finished- it can continue to grow and change to reflect your processes of healing and the evolution of your relationship.
Grief is an emotion that is generally shunned in our western society. We have few outlets to express the depths and complexities of our emotions. Without this release, the grief can persist within us, impacting us in ways that can be harmful to our body or psyche. The process of creating your Spirit Altar is a way of walking directly into the pain in order to connect to the still living presence of your beloved in your life. Your loved one may no longer be with you in this material existence, but their impact on your life is real and persistent.
Spirit Altars are an opportunity to Celebrate and honor their spirit and yours.
About the Facilitator
My background is primarily as an artist who creates large-scale temporary artworks in nature. I have been commissioned numerous times over the years to create temporary artworks for memorials as well as guide groups in creating artworks as part of a memorial ceremony. These have been incredibly powerful experiences, imbuing the art with a level of depth while at the same time the collaborative, community art experience brings greater depth to the service. The Spirit Altars program is an offshoot of another program I designed (Living Altars) that uses the altar template to focus on self-acceptance and empowerment. I have found the combination of art, reflection, and community to be a potent way to support and move gracefully through the grieving process.
