A weekend workshop on loss/grieving will take place at The Ardilaun on November 15 and 16.
The event, which will run from 9.30am to 5.30pm daily, will be given by former Galway hurler and psychologist Iggy Clarke and his wife Mariel Forde Clarke, a holistic and spiritual teacher/trainer.
Entitled “Loved Ones – A Whisper Away”, the workshop will enable participants to both find a place for and honour their loss which makes living and survival possible.
The workshop, the framework for which is based on the teachings of the late Dr Elizabeth Kubler-Ross - who identified five stages in the grieving process - will draw on a spiritual and holistic approach to death and dying.
The Clarkes say the weekend will provide a deep empathetic and accessible framework for the bereaved and a caring and sacred environment in which to help them cope with their loss.
“Grief is not a project with a beginning and an end. It is a reflection of a loss that never goes away. We learn to live with it, both in the foreground and in the background. You don’t ever bring the grief over a loved one to a close but with time you bring a level of peace and understanding with that loss.”
The workshop has already been run through adult education programmes in various communities in Galway. It allows participants to realise that it is never too late to say goodbye. It also offers the consolation that people’s loved ones live on in another level of spiritual existence, say the organisers.
Topics covered over the weekend will include saying goodbye, letting go, how to heal the grief, helping children keep memories alive, healing after a loved one’s suicide, what happens when we die, letters of closure and moving forward in peace and grace.
The cost of the course is €180. For further information contact Mariel at (087 ) 9185421 or Iggy at (087 ) 2609607.
