We’re slowing down… letting the ritual simmer longer, holding sacred witness to one another with tender care, and allowing space for deep integration. Join ahlay blakely and Linda Thai for six nights and seven days of weaving ourselves into the delicate fabric of our apprenticeship with sorrow.
You are invited to step into ritual time—a space where the clock is set aside, and we move at the pace of breath, of grief, of song. Together, we will weave song, poetry, movement, sacred listening, sacred holding, witnessing and being witnessed. We will share in the fullness of the circle and in the intimacy of smaller groups, holding space for what longs to be seen and felt.
This ceremony is shaped by many streams of wisdom—Joanna Macy, the professional mourning women of Greece and Italy, the keeners of Ireland and Scotland, the Mikonenet of Jewish lineage, the late Sobonfu and Malidoma Somé, Francis Weller, Martin Prechtel, Stephen Jenkinson, the immense weight of grief in our times, the whales, and so many more, including the lineage of Al Pesso and Diane Boyden whose work allows us to access and somaticize symbolic representations of Ideal Caregivers and Ideal Societies so that we experience the grief and relief of being deeply real to another.
The vision for this week is that Linda will share experiential exercises from the world of the somatics of early human development, psychodrama and Pesso-Boyden techniques, in order to support container-building and our time at the grief altar, as well as to help us to ripen the fruit of grief. Two or three individuals to be centered in doing their own deep work, in service of funneling the group deeper towards grief. We will then shift towards two communal grief rituals - the legacy of the late Sobonfu and Malidoma Somé - within which each individual can lean into the exquisitely excruciating and excruciatingly exquisite wild edge of sorrow.
There will be spaciousness for integration throughout the week, as well as towards the end of our time together.
We invite you to bring yourself as you are, to let what moves through you take its shape—whether it be numbness, shame, rage, trembling, stillness, wailing, or something unnamed. This is an invitation to remember how to grieve in community—to lean into vulnerability, trust, and surrender. If you feel called, join us.
What else you need to know:
The grief ritual itself involves the creation of a loud soundscape via drumming and singing within which the sounds of healing may emerge. These sounds of healing can look like: crying, weeping, sobbing, wailing, screaming, cussing. There will be an adjacent space, designated as the sacred rage altar, where foam bats and foam pads are available for the expression of sacred outrage.
ahlay blakely, Linda Thai, with two assistants Rain and Issa.
Plus three local community members / land stewards, and 17 soulful humans who are called to come together to do this work.
July 31 evening to August 6 noon, 2025.
About an hour inland from Monterey, California, on a large acreage private residence with views of the ocean.
The nearest airports are: Monterey and San Francisco.
A spreadsheet will be organized, so that – if you wish - you can choose to organize a car pool.
Be prepared to stay on the land, to allow your bones to receive the grounding, spacious, easefulness and serenity of the land.
There are plenty of tent-camping sites, in the shade. There are a handful of options for a bed, with priority to elderly and disabled individuals. There is an option for folks to sleep in the yurt.
Please bring your own: tent, sleeping mat / pad, sleeping bag / bedding, pillow, flashlight / headlamp. A lightweight sleeping bag is likely fine in August. There won’t be rain, but there can be fog at times.
There will be limited camping gear available onsite for those who do not have their own gear.
Our land host says that it does not rain here at this time of the year, and the daily temperatures depend on if there is fog. If there is no fog, it can be quite warm (70-90 degrees fahrenheit.) Fog tends to ebb and flow at that time of year.
There is an outside bathroom, steps away from the door and a humanure compost toilet about 20 steps away. There are two showers, and a third by the pool only during pool hours. One is enclosed, and one is private but outside. The pool shower is fully outside.
The terrain from parking to the yurt is fairly level. To get up to the ritual area and pool, there is a steep hill with stairs, about 50 yards. One could also drive up the road. There is a medicine wheel below the yurt by 50 yards down a path which is where people will likely camp. There is a ramp to the yurt.
There are plenty of backjacks (18), pillows, pads, blankets, and yoga mats in the yurt and (16) outside chairs. Those chairs vary from a few wicker, metal, cloth, and mostly plastic. More can be added from the pool. Our hosts ask us to not take the backjacks outside as everything sticks to them.
We will be procuring lunches and dinners from local restaurants and vendors. Please bring your own breakfasts, snacks to share, and a box of tea to share. Hot water will be available onsite and many ways to make coffee. (Keurig with pods, coffee maker, pour over, and french press). Folks should bring their own coffee/teas.
There is excellent, potable well water that comes out of the tap at the yurt.
There is access to an outside kitchen with a 3 burner cooktop, full fridge, toaster oven, egg boiler, crock pot, and hot water pot. There is also access to utensils, plates, pots, pans, and basics with oil, salt, and pepper. There are plastic bins folks can store food in overnight so animals do not get into it.
There is no cell service within 12 miles. WiFi is available.
Parking area will accommodate about 10 cars and is just 20 yards from the yurt. Ideally, there would not be more cars than this and people will carpool.
Poison oak is around, but not so much where the yurt and ritual space is. (Rain will happily help folks identify poison oak.)
It is a rural setting with beautiful wildlife, so it is key to put away food at night. Wildfires are a risk, especially this time of year, so there is absolutely NO flame or fire permitted outside. There is no smoking outside. There is a very friendly and well trained dog on the land and lots of friendly goats.
Harvesting Redwood boughs is ok, as long as folks are mindful and in right relationship - please ask permission of the tree and thank them. Please do not pick flowers growing by the house or anything in the medicine wheel.
Also, our land hosts request that people not post pictures of our home, the yurt or any that locate our land on social media. It is a very photogenic location and general nature shots are fine, just not specific.
There are sliding fee ticket options: $1,550 to $2,150.
At this point in time, the work-trade positions have already been filled.
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There are now 2 tickets available at $2,150.
Supporting Tier
This tier covers the holistic costs of running this circle by supporting fair wages for the facilitators and greater program accessibility through our sliding scale options. Please register at this tier if you are able to comfortably meet all of your basic needs and have the means to contribute more towards greater economic justice across our programs. Your support not only sustains this gathering but also allows us to offer more need-based scholarships across our grief support offerings. Thank you for supporting this work!
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There are now 3 tickets available at $1,850.
Sustaining Tier
This tier covers the direct costs of running this circle. As a guide, this tier may be right for you if you stress about meeting your basic needs (food, housing, etc.) but still regularly achieve them, and have access to income, transportation, financial savings, and health care. If you are able to comfortably meet your needs and have the means to contribute more towards greater economic justice across our programs, please register at the Supporting Tier, which covers the holistic costs of running our circle.
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There are now 4 tickets available at $1,550.
Supported Tier
This tier falls short of covering the costs of running this circle, but it is important to us to help make this circle accessible. As a guide, this tier or our scholarship tier may be right for you if you frequently stress about meeting basic needs (food, housing, etc.) and don’t always achieve them. This may mean you are underemployed, rent lower-end properties, and/or have limited access to a car. If you are able to comfortably or regularly meet your needs and will not suffer long-term consequences for paying at a higher tier, please register at the Sustaining or Supporting Tier to help cover the costs of running our circle.
We are going through the pre-registration list - the first seventeen individuals - and then, based on the numbers of who does not take a spot, we will then continue down the pre-registration in batches until all spots are filled.
$350 non-refundable deposit to secure your spot.
Balance due May 30, 2025.
$2,150.00 USD
Online Course
Included features:
$1,850.00 USD
Online Course
Included features:
$1,550.00 USD
Online Course
Included features:
Things do happen. If you are unable to make it:
Prior to May 30, 2025: we will retain the $350 non-refundable deposit.
Prior to June 30, 2025: 50% refund
Prior to July 14, 2025: 75% refund.
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