Grief Into Beauty: Creating Nature Altars to Transform and Heal from This Year

We’ve all been tested this year. Many of us have been isolated, lonely, and stretched far too thin. Waking up anxious and going to bed worried, many of our relationships have been strained from so much time together, too much time apart, and too much time indoors. We need simple, accessible, and even delightful ways to make sense of this chaos – not by increasing our use of high speed tech, but by slowing down, listening deeply, and collaborating with the living world. 

Join internationally renowned author and artist Day Schildkret of Morning Altars to learn how to use nature, art, and ritual to transform, heal, and make meaning from this time. Nature will be our collaborator in accessing creativity and time-tested ways to practice mindfulness, and in cultivating a place-based resilience in the face of change.

Based on the practice conceived and popularized by Day’s first book, Morning Altars: A 7-Step Practice to Nourish Your Spirit through Nature, Art and Ritual, this workshop will guide you through Day’s unique seven-step practice and help you strengthen your skills of wonder, belonging, gratitude, creativity, wholeness and non-attachment. In the mornings we will be in nature, opening our eyes, our senses, and hearts while practicing the first two steps (Wander & Wonder and Place). In the afternoon, we will be making nature altars for all the losses, celebrations and changes that happened this past year, using pattern literacy and symbols to represent our stories. The workshop will conclude with an altar ritual, where we go around and witness each other’s hearts and art. 

We will practice: 

• Nature Connection for more calm, embodiment and connection
• Ritual and Meaning Making for sane-making, deeper understanding and wisdom
• Creative Expression for finding fulfillment, facing fear and courageous living
• Relating to Impermanence for skills of mindfulness, non attachment and resilience
• Wonder for renewing a sense of awe, curiosity and aliveness.

In this nourishing workshop, you will learn not only how to craft a nature altar, but also how and why they have been used for thousands of years in cultures all over the world as a resource to move through emotion, make meaning, celebrate life, and connect more deeply with the inner and outer nature of existence. The opportunity to change your life is here, in your grasp.

Students will be moving around the property, working outdoors, and should be prepared with layered clothing and appropriate footwear to offer them the greatest mobility. 

Recommended reading: Schildkret, Morning Altars: A 7-Step Practice to Nourish Your Spirit through Nature, Art and Ritual.