The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief

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Hence the grief rituals that Francis Weller regularly offers—rituals which not only allow people to discharge their grief, but which bond people deeply in an intimate circle of sorrow and celebration. Thisbook is not only a map to navigate some of the most tender and difficult regionsof the psyche, but a work of literary art. In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Blake said we have to go to heaven for form and to hell for energy, and marry the two. The Jung Institute in San Francisco referred me to Clarke along with other analysts, but when I met him, I knew I was in the right place.

The Wild Edge of Sorrow – Radical Discipleship The Wild Edge of Sorrow – Radical Discipleship

Grief is felt, sensed in the viscera of our bellies, the inner walls of our chests, the curve of our shoulders, the heaviness in our thighs. This causes sorrow to linger unexpressed in our bodies, weighing us down and pulling us into the territory of depression and death. For some, these outcast pieces are connected to their sexuality and bodies; for others, it is their anger or sadness—or their joy and exuberance—that has been banished.My grief says that I dared to love, that I allowed another to enter the very core of my being and find a home in my heart.

The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred

That man is psychotherapist and author, Francis Weller, in his new book The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and The Sacred Work of Grief. Insightfully written, warm and with a wonderful poetic sensibility, the deep experience of Weller shines through.Trauma, then, is a soul-shaking experience that ruptures the continuity of our lives and tosses us into an alternate existence. It was arising from the greater pulse of the earth itself, winding its way through sidewalks and grocery lists, traffic snarls and utility bills. His style of writing and speaking is poetic, and yet one feels as though they are in conversation with a neighbor.

The Wild Edge of Sorrow) Francis Weller Quotes (Author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow)

When the complex was formed and splintered off from consciousness, it took a piece of something precious along with it to keep it safe. Too often in modern times our grief becomes private, carrying an invisible mantle of shame forcing our sorrow underground, hidden from the eyes that would offer healing. His words will open your heart to receive your own most tender and vulnerable feelings as a gift to be cherished as they may bring forth a new depth of connection to the soul of the world.It amazes me how long an insight can take to fully develop, sometimes simmering for years while the pieces fall into place. Once the ritual began, people spent time weeping at the water shrine and shouting their outrage to the fire. There is some strange intimacy between grief and aliveness, some sacred exchange between what seems unbearable and what is most exquisitely alive. Gifts are a consequence of authenticity; when we are being true to our natures, the gifts can emerge. We are asked to stand alongside these difficult and painful visitations, these epiphanies of lamentation.