Tending to Grief & Facing the World with Soul
February - May 2025
Thanks to Tom Hammick for providing his artwork.
The Grief and Soul theme opened with two lectures by Francis Weller, which are available to download below.
This was followed by a 3 month grief ritual facilitation training that nearly 300 people attended.
We continue to weave this thread into our core work by offering a monthly opportunity for you to tend to your grief for the world and living in a time of loss.
In the Absence of The Ordinary
December 05 | 7 - 9 PM GMT
An exclusive conversation with Francis Weller about his new book “In the Absence of the Ordinary: Soul Work for Times of Uncertainty”.
“Weller offers a collection of essays that works as precise medicine for this time.”
— adrienne maree brown
“Cultivating the skills of grief work is critical in these days of wild uncertainty and rampant loss. We must fortify our inner and outer connections not only to weather the storms but to be tempered by them. We do this work not solely for our own healing, but to make us capable of responding to the critical needs of our times.”
— Francis Weller, soul activist and author of ‘The Wild Edge of Sorrow”
Grief Ritual Facilitator Training 2026
+300 participants joined the 2025 Facilitator Training to relearn the art and practice of grief tending. Join the waitlist to know when the 2026 cohort launches.
An Apprenticeship with Sorrow
(Live recorded lecture)
In a time marked by deep uncertainty, rising grief, and the undeniable unraveling of many systems we once relied on, we are asked a profound question: How do we face the world with soul?
Facing the World with Soul
(Live recorded lecture)
In this lecture, Francis Weller talks about the the Long Dark, a period of descent that will be with us for generations to come, and how we can cultivate a life of soul to meet these times.
In the Absence of the Ordinary
(Live recorded lecture)
In this intimate and interactive conversation with Francis Weller, we explore the themes of his latest book, In the Absence of the Ordinary - Soul Work for Times of Uncertainty.
Francis Weller describes our era as a “rough initiation” — a threshold moment asking us to find new forms of belonging. We discuss how to follow a soulful path and uncover sources of resilience in the face of what feels overwhelming.
In times of collapse and transition, grief work is resistance against numbness and despair. It is a refusal to let go of our reverence for life. We cannot turn away from grief without also turning away from joy, beauty, and connection. As Wendell Berry reminds us, "It all turns on affection."
— Francis Weller author of “the Wild Edge of Sorrow”
Teachers
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Francis Weller
Francis Weller is a psychotherapist (retired), writer, and soul activist. Author of the bestselling, The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief and Inthe Absence of the Ordinary: Soul Work for Times of Uncertainty, he has introduced the healing work of ritual to thousands of people. His writings have appeared in anthologies and journals exploring the confluence between psyche, nature, and culture, including The Sun magazine, Utne Reader, Kosmos Journal, and Ruminate. Francis has been a guest twice on Anderson Cooper’s All There Is podcast. He is currently completing his fourth book, Facing the World with Soul and Why It Matters.
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Holly Truhar
Holly Truhlar (she/they) is a grief therapist, group facilitator, and community organizer. She’s most known for her collaborations with politicized grief tending, collapse psychology, and soul activism. She earned a Doctorate in Law and Masters in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, though she learns the most from her relationships with the Wild, including the land she inhabits, Ancestors, Hekate, and donkeys. Over the last decade, she’s facilitated small and large groups (700+) using ritual, storytelling, creative processes, and Deep Democracy work. She’s co-facilitated with Francis Weller since 2021, including the previous online grief ritual training.
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Steffi Bednarek
Steffi Bednarek is the founder and director of the Centre for Climate Psychology. She is a Gestalt psychotherapist, trauma therapist and climate psychologist.With extensive experience in managing trauma services and pioneering community-based grief-tending initiatives, her work centres on the interplay between climate change, complexity, and trauma-informed approaches. Steffi teaches, facilitates, and lectures widely, supporting individuals and organisations in navigating the psychological challenges of the metacrisis while fostering resilience and cultivating cultures of care and regeneration.
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Sophy Banks
Sophy Banks has been working towards the transformation of systems of harm for many years, as a therapist, constellator, and grief tender. She has been leading Grief Tending spaces for over 10 years, drawing on the teachings of Sobonfu Somé, Joanna Macy, Maeve Gavin and many others.