Grief Ritual and Retreat
“What if we knew the world was hungry for our sorrow, longing to drink the tears from our eyes as a holy offering?” – Francis Weller
There are sorrows we carry that cannot be tended in isolation. Grief asks for a village—hands to help hold the weight, voices to echo our own, a circle wide enough to welcome all that has been exiled within us. Inspired by the teachings of Francis Weller, this retreat is an invitation to step into a sacred space where mourning becomes communal, and where the stories we’ve held alone can finally be met with compassion.
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Let us “apprentice ourselves to sorrow”
Join us for 3 days of communal tending to the sacred terrain of grief at a beautiful farmstead in Alachua, Fl. This retreat is an invitation to enter the rich and necessary ground of sorrow—not as something to fix or overcome, but as a deep well that connects us to our vitality, our humanity, and to one another. In a culture that often urges us to move on, numb out, or go it alone, we gather instead in circle to honor grief as a gateway to wholeness. Through movement, singing, poetry, writing, and ritual, we will make space for what has been lost, what longs to be remembered, and what still aches to be named. We believe grief not only includes the loss of loved ones but expands to include griefs such as the end of a meaningful relationship or friendship, a home you had to leave behind, a dream or career path that dissolved, a community you no longer belong to, parts of yourself you learned to hide to stay safe, overwhelming collective sorrow (war, injustice, displacement), the suffering of animals or the land, and family burdens passed down through generations. Whatever your grief is you are welcome.
Together we will:
Explore the five gates of grief (1. Everything We Love, We Will Lose, 2. The Places That Have Not Known Love, 3. The Sorrows of the World, 4. What We Expected and Did Not Receive, 5. Ancestral Grief)
Engage in somatic and movement-based practices to ground and embody our experience
Share and witness each other's stories through writing and spoken word
Sing and sound the soul’s sorrow and joy into the shared field
Participate in ritual space to release, remember, and reconnect
Details:
Date/Time: Friday, February 20 at 5pm to Sunday, February 22 at 5pm (2026)
Location: Farmstead Retreat Center in Alachua, FL. Exact address to be provided after registration.
Food and stay will be provided
Cost $450 (Sliding scale and scholarship available- Questions? Contact: conor@trimtabtherapy.com)
Space is limited to 15 participants
If you feel the stirrings of unwept tears, the heaviness of unspoken losses, or simply the longing to reconnect with others in a meaningful and honest way, you are welcome here. Bring your tenderness, your stories, your weariness, your hesitations, your fears, and your hope. All are welcome. Together, we will create a field where grief can flow, and where the seeds of healing and new life can take root.
Our Team
Ramon Aleman LMHC: As a therapist, I specialize in grief, trauma, psychedelic integration, and spiritual exploration, drawing from my training in EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and grief ritual work with Francis Weller. My path has also been shaped by learning from indigenous plant medicine traditions and ongoing study in Jungian dream work.
Conor Mitchell LMHC: I am a licensed psychotherapist with over a decade of experience in ritual and ceremony through a mythopoetic lens. Having lived abroad in Southeast Asia for a number of years, I have connected to mendicants and laypeople alike, and am rooted in meditation and mindfulness practices. The opportunity to be of service and share community is a fundamental tenet of my life’s work. (Counseling with Conor Mitchell)
Lexi Braun: I am an artist and musician whose work centers around grief as a portal into creativity, building community, and building capacity for social change.
