Bear Awakens
Re-Wilding Authentic Emotion - Grieving for Cohesion:
A residential weekend experience Honoring the Wisdom of Grief
Let’s listen deeply to what exists inside us & express it with our own unique Voice.
Come Join Us to observe, listen, imagine, Harnessing the Wisdom of the Bear to sound out our losses, and wild emotions together.
This is an Experiential Group is facilitated by:
Tanya Bryan - www.atimetogather.ie
Alexandra Derwen - www.derwenroots.com
Tuomas Rounakari - www.rounakari.com
During this residential weekend we will include our considerations and experience on the phenomenon of Wailing/Keening/Lament/ - the Caoineadh.
WHY
We are struggling to express a full range of emotions as a people. Bear Awakens (Ireland & Wales) is an act of midwifery, where we trust in the medicine of showing up to be seen in our authentic emotions.
Bears in Irish Folklore: An Ancient Connection
Bears no longer inhabit this country but Ireland has a long history with these majestic creatures. Thousands of years ago the Brown bear (Ursus arctos) roamed the Irish countryside. They have a special place in Irish mythology, symbolising strength, courage, and wisdom. Sacred Circle (Alexandra) collaborates on this project with A Time to Gather (Tanya) - see their bios on website below, invites violinist, Tuomas Rounakari an internationally acclaimed composer, ethnomusicologist and educator from Finland. His Doctorate of Arts thesis, (presently in preliminary examination at the University of Arts in Helsinki), discusses the altered states of consciousness and the ability to engage in dialogue with the more-than-human through music. The case study in his thesis centres around the Bear Feast traditions of Finland, Karelia and the indigenous Khanty and Mansi people in Siberia. During our gathering, Tuomas will be playing songs related to the bear's awakening and Bear Feasts.
Criteria to participate
This isn’t a singing class, nor is this a retreat to teach participants any particular tradition. It’s about becoming more comfortable to wail, and express emotion, including grief in the presence of others. It is less about harmony and entertaining others and more about retrieving the inner wildling, the inner bear, the raw and real responses inside us.
AIMS:
● to express emotion without restriction
● to tune into the primal sound of our hearts
● to map the pattern of tensions in our body with the voice
● to let go of the need or tendency to entertain or be harmonic
● to improvise and ‘sound’ more freely and expressively
WHEN
Fri 7th of March
we greet you at 2pm, settle you into your accommodation. We’ll have some light snacks prepared for you We are in process from 15:00 - 20:00 with a break for dinner at 6pm
Sat 9th March
schedule shared on the day, includes breaks in nature, breakfast/lunch/dinner
Sun 10th March
we leave the venue at 2pm - full commitment to attending the closing ceremony is part of our contract together, including breakfast and light lunch on the day
INVESTMENT
€395 Twin Share with Ensuite
€350 shared 4 person Ensuite BUNK rooms
Incl. 1st day and last day snacks, 2 x Lunch, 2 x Sat Dinner, 2 x Breaks prepared by Ludlow and Vine chef James Vine-Chatterton (Vegetarian food with additional wild venison option for meat eaters)
HOW TO BOOK
Step 0 Go to the website https://www.journeywithdeath.com/retreats
NOTE: if you are not sure about your suitability we ask you to contact us and fill out the well-being questionnaire before paying Otherwise
Step 1 - register and pay choosing whichever room type/payment option listed
Step 2 - we send you a welcome email alongside the welcome brochure and the well-being questionnaire. This will include details of zoom call meetup (1 week before we arrive, as a group, not optional)
Step 3 - final step is we access your well-being questionnaire and depending on the answers we may ask to speak with you before the group we will contact you to confirm this event is right for you at this point in your life.