This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. Please click <here> to register for this drop-in circle.

with Judith McFarlane & Mark Malinak

Please join us in a series Healing Circles for Grief “to discover the extent and limits of what is lost, what is left and what is possible.”  – John Schneider

If you have lost a loved one, this is an opportunity to share what is on your heart and mind right now, to listen and be listened to deeply and generously. Together we create a safe space for listening to messages from our inner experience. 

Our healing circles are a safe and supportive space to walk with each other through these times. Each circle is a blend of sharing and silence, compassion, and curiosity. Our agreements ensure acceptance and confidentiality. We honor our own unique paths to healing and respect the choices of others.

Some Assumptions about Grief

• The experience of grief is unique for each individual. While we can make some general assumptions, there is no template that describes the experience for all people.
• Grief is cumulative. That is, each time loss is grieved, the grief encompasses the lifetime of loss and the remnants of each experience.
• Grief following a significant loss is most often a lifelong process, with each pivotal point in life bringing the grief back up to be processed from a new perspective.
• Grief, loss and suffering fundamentally changes and reshapes the individual.
• Grief is not about forgetting or disconnecting. Rather, healthy grief is about remembering the parts of self that get lost amidst the experience and reorienting the individual in their relationship with self, the world and others.
• Grief is a whole body experience: emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual. Each have a wide range of expression which can cue us that grief is present.
• While grief and trauma are often intertwined there are significant differences between them. Trauma should be addressed with trauma specific interventions that often go beyond what is possible in circles.

Adapted from Khris Ford

Grieving Together Healing Circle will meet Weekly on Wednesdays from 12:00-1:30pm EST for 6 weeks.

Grief Circle Dates:

• June 14, 21, 28
• July 5, 12, 19

About Judith McFarlane

Judith McFarlane is a Professor of Nursing at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, Texas. Trained by Healing Circles Global, Judith volunteers with the Grieving Together Team to Host Healing Circles for people grieving the loss of a loved one. Participants from all over the world including, North, South, and Central America, Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Pacific Islands gather virtually once a week for 90 minutes to share their experiences with grief using the Healing Circles method of generous and attentive listening. Judith completed the David Kessler Institute 12-month training certificate course to be a Grief Educator.

About Mark Malinak

Mark is retired, having worked as a substance abuse/mental health counselor and wilderness counselor for 25 years. He lives alone with his yellow lab mix dog Buster in a small post and beam house in western Massachusetts. Mark’s wife Barbara passed away suddenly in October 2019. He loves poetry, writing, and tribal ambient music. Among other hobbies, Mark enjoys hiking and walking in the woods and the forests of the Berkshires.