In these times of a sorrowful world and all that we love simultaneously aching through our bones, it is a good time to come together to be witnessed in our grief. This is a confirmation for your place in our retreat. Please read the following when you have time and space for it to prepare yourself for our weekend together.
What to Expect:
This is a 7 day event. We will be on ritual time, meaning time is left at the door once you enter.
Our time together will be a combination of singing, poetry, movement, practice in sacred listening, witnessing and being witnessed and sharing with the whole group and in smaller groups.
This ceremony is informed by many tributaries of teachers, including the late Sobonfu and Malidoma Somé, Joanna Macy, the professional mourning women of Greece & Italy, the keeners of Ireland and Scotland, the Mikonenet from the Jewish lineage, Francis Weller, Martin Prechtel, Stephen Jenkinson, the immense amount of compounded grief of our times, Whales & so many more.
This space is an opportunity to share what is moving through us in whatever shape or form it comes in - perhaps numbness, shame, rage, trembling, stillness, wailing or something else.
Our work is also inspired by the five gates of grief from Francis Weller: Everything we love we will lose, the places that have not known love, the sorrows of the world, the things we cannot even name that we ache for, and intergenerational or ancestral grief. Together, we will lean into the vulnerability, trust, and surrender needed to remember how to grieve together as a community.
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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 on the fifth full day of our time together.
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.
Grief - bring something that represents what you are grieving
Transformation - bring something that represents what you are ready to transform (i.e. your relationship to something, something systemic, a behavior, a belief, shame, self critique, etc.)
Resilience - bring something that represents what offers you resilience (i.e. turkey tail, rosemary, a rock, a photo of someone, etc.)
Ancestry- Ancestry can be complicated. From the nuanced reasons for not knowing who they are, to ancestry being a mix of colonizer and colonized, enslaver and enslaved, witch and witch burner… We welcome the ancestors (blood + chosen) with your intention of healing, wholeness and breaking the cycles of intergenerational trauma both caused and endured by our people.
OPTIONAL RITUAL PREP:
INTENTIONS
Spend some time considering your intentions for this ritual. What are your wishes and desires? What are you letting go of? Be clear about what and who are you inviting in as support, and explicitly, what and who you are asking to stay OUTSIDE your ritual environment.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
I feel angry that…
It is unjust that…
My heart aches because…
ENTERING/EXITING RITUAL SPACE
Spend a moment considering how you might mark the end of "linear" time, and the beginning of "ritual time." It could be as simple as taking a ritual bath or shower the day before you leave your home, or lighting a candle and speaking aloud your intentions you have established for this ritual. And doing something similar when you arrive home. Our ceremony will also include opening and closing our ritual time together.
RESOURCES
pre & post care for grief ritual
ahlay blakely, Linda Thai, with two assistants Rain and Issa.
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March 7th evening to March 13th noon, 2026.
Address:
20215 320 Ave. NE
Duvall, Washington 98019
Phone: 425-844-9050
Email: [email protected]
Mosswood Hollow is tucked into 40 acres of forested land in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, in Duvall, Washington: “a quiet sanctuary… abounds in natural beauty and grace.
Rideshares: Uber, Lyft, or other rideshare apps do pickup from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Mosswood. Here is a link that details the pickup process for rideshares for SEA-TAC. Rideshare pickup area is on the 3rd floor of the SEA Airport parking garage. Estimated costs around $90-$120 one way depending on demand.
Here are some contacts for folks who live at the adjacent property who are interested in offering rideshares. They charge $75/trip. Reach out to coordinate:
Enver Wong: +1 (425) 647-9434
Mosswood Hollow has eleven bedrooms that sleep up to twenty-two people. All the rooms are beautifully furnished in a bed and breakfast style, with many antiques. The beds and bedding were chosen to provide the utmost comfort for guests. Beds are made up with bedding, an extra throw, towel, and washcloth. Bathrooms are shared, one for every two or three bedrooms.
For those who want to pitch a tent, there are two bathrooms in the lodge with showers that have outside access.
COSTS/NIGHT per person:
Single Room: $195
Double Room (2 beds): $125
Double Room (1 bed): $118
Group Room (3 or 4): $82
Camping: $52 (does not include bedding or towel. Two bathrooms in lodge with showers that have outside access)
Average high temperatures are usually around 48-55°F (9-13°C). Average low is around 34-40°F (1-4°C). March is typically wet. Snowfall is possible, but rare. Humidity is high, and overcast/gray/damp-chilly days are common. March often brings a mix of drizzle, mist, and cloudy skies. The weather can be unpredictable, so layering + rain jackets are smart. Wool is highly recommended for cool, wet weather.
Bathrooms are shared, one for every two or three bedrooms.
For those who want to pitch a tent, there are two bathrooms in the Lodge with showers that have outside access. The camping option does not include bedding or towel.
Hand soap and shower jell is provided but beyond that please bring your own toiletries.
There is one step into the entry porch to the lodge where we will be eating and sleeping. There is a ramp they can place if needed. There is a road that goes to the big yurt, where we will meet, and a handicap ramp going up to the deck. There is a small step into the yurt from the deck. There are 2 bedrooms and a semi-handicap shower/bathroom on the first floor of the lodge.
Great care and creative inspiration goes into the selection, preparation, and presentation of all food offered at Mosswood Hollow. Menus are drawn from seasonal offerings, utilizing local and organic when available.
Lunch and dinner are served at the table, restaurant style. Breakfast is a bountiful and varied spread, served buffet style.
Mosswood Hollow makes every effort to accommodate people’s dietary needs when given advance notice, and there is space to provide such information during the registration process.
Form for Dietary Needs and Requests for Attendees
TEA & COFFEE:
Hot water for tea will be available 24 hours a day. Coffee will be available first thing in the morning until early afternoon. If you would like coffee later in the day, just let the staff at Mosswood know and they will make you up a pot.
BRINGING YOUR OWN FOOD:
There is no kitchen access. There is a small refrigerator and a microwave available on the covered porch. There is hot water available 24 hours a day. Please bring your own plates, bowls, or whatever utensils you may need.
Hot Tub:
There is a 6 person hot tub located out by the vegetable garden, 150 yards from the house for your use.
Walking Trails:
There is an approximately one mile trail around Mosswood’s beaver pond. While it does have boardwalks over low points, which in the rainy season fill up with water, it is still wet and slippery in the winter so you may want shoes to sport the walk. If you are interested in a longer run or walk, there is a lake close by to which you can get by paved road. From Mosswood Hollow to the lake and back is 2 miles and it is 4 miles if you add going around the lake.
Wifi & cell is reliable
If folks can carpool, it is recommended, but there is good parking. Rain will help direct folks as they arrive to park for maximum efficiency
A scent free body. This will be a scent free space. Thank you.
Altar items
Handkerchief for nose blowing
A bouquet of flowers if you are able to (roses VERY welcomed)
Boughs of Cedar if you are able to
A journal and something to write with
Ear plugs and/or noise canceling headphones if you are sensitive to loud sounds
Water bottle for drinking
Comfort items: i.e. fuzzy blanket, pillow, stuffed animal, etc.
Snacks to share at the snack table (labeled with ingredients)
Seating that feels comfortable for your body
Whatever you need to be comfortable sitting
Mosswood does not require folks’ remove their shoes when coming into the lodge, though some guests enjoy having slippers, especially in the colder months
Extra sweater or shawl is advisable
Bathing suit for hot tub
Toiletries
There are year-round residences at Mosswood. They know it is a retreat center, so they expect folks to be around. They are asked to give participants space. From the lodge and the parking area to the east, where the yurt is, is all workshop space. From the lodge to the west is residence space. There is a mile-long trail around the pond that passes some resident yurts and cottages. It is fine for retreatants to walk through that area. They will be briefed about the nature of the workshop and will have an understanding about the healing sounds of the grief ritual.
Ticket fee: $1,550
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.
$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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