Earth-based Rituals and Mentorship
Guiding people back home to the earth,
their true nature, and true selves.
Grief is the Gateway
“It was through the dark waters of grief that I came to touch my un-lived life.”
Through a combination of somatic (body-based) practices, the creation of ritual space, and through the care, intelligence, and generosity of the natural world, I guide individuals and groups through life’s hard transitions in order release what is ready to go or has departed their lives. This offers them a greater inner peace and freedom in order to gain the clarity and confidence needed to step into the next chapter of their lives.
“Honestly, I had no idea how touched I would be by Rosalyn and her expertise in holding space so gently and effectively. I’ve done my work, yet Rosalyn opened more channels and cleared more paths that I wasn’t aware needed clearing. I’m deeply touched by the work of Rosalyn Fay.”
“Within a two hour timespan, I have adventured through a profound experience. I metabolized grief stemming from current circumstances and unmet childhood needs. I walked away feeling nourished in body, mind, spirit, and soul. My only wish now is for others to share this experience. ”
Who is this work for?
In these intense times our collective grief is right under the surface. Many are feeling grief over the isolation, loss, and mass changes brought on by a world that feels increasingly unstable and chaotic. Grief can also come about suddenly through personal losses such as the death of a loved one, a divorce, a breakup, an injury, losing a pet, or a job.
Grief is often many-layered. One loss can touch upon older unprocessed grief. Because of the layered nature of grief, it can often be confusing as to what our grief is about. It may feel like a general sadness, melancholy, or depression.
Signs you might be grieving
Feeling chronically tired or exhausted
Feeling alone
Feeling numb
Lacking energy, vitality or motivation
Having difficulty functioning and doing basic tasks
Feeling “flatlined” where things that once brought you joy no longer do
Finding yourself hiding or feeling shame about your feelings
If these signs resonate with you, I invite you to get in touch with me. I help people gently begin to feel their grief and form a new healthy relationship to their emotions at a pace that is comfortable for them.
The landscape of Grief is multifaceted
We often hold many layers of grief at once. How many of the following types of grief can you relate to?
Grief from personal losses: grief over losses in our personal lives such as a death, divorce, a breakup, injury, losing a pet, losing a job, etc.
Community grief: grief for the loss of community in our culture and the feelings of not belonging and isolation it brings.
Grief of social betrayal: Grief for being brought up in a culture and economic system that doesn’t honor who we are or our natural gifts and talents (especially if they don’t conform to the dominant culture), thereby forcing us into identities and life paths that don’t honor our unique souls and what we are here to offer.
Childhood grief: grief from traumatic events, betrayals, bullying or abuse that happened to us during our childhood.
Ancestral grief: grief passed down through the generations from parent to child.
Trauma grief: the grief related to a singular traumatic event, or a sustained period of complex trauma often from abuse.
World grief: grief for all the horrors and traumatic events happening in the world including famines, wars, refugee crisis’, children detained at our border, pandemics, etc.
Eco-grief: grief for what is happening to our earth.
Anticipatory grief: Grief based in the knowledge of the suffering that is to come as dominant systems of our world collapse.
Grief Rituals
Grief Rituals offer a spirit of support and belonging during times of transition and loss. They remind us that we are not alone in our grief and that it is often our grief that re-weaves us back into connection with ourselves and each other. Traditionally in parts of Africa, grief rituals are considered a form of good emotional hygiene and are offered regularly in the village. Loss is seen and accepted as a regular and ongoing part of life. Sadly, in the West grief is often expressed in isolation. There is an implicit cultural message that grief is a private matter and that we shouldn’t burden others with it. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s time to bring our grief out from behind closed doors into safe and trusted spaces. It’s time to reweave ourselves back into the tapestry of life, allowing our beautifully vulnerable and broken-hearts to lead us back into a deeper relationship with each other and the world.
My clients have found immense healing bringing their grief out of isolation and into ritual space in partnership with nature and the deeply rooted redwood trees, creeks, birds, animals and their higher power, all who are our allies in healing.
Our grief truly is a gateway Home
I lead both group and personal/one-on-one grief rituals in nature. My individual rituals are held in beautiful, private locations in the Northern CA Sonoma coastal redwoods. They are personalized to honor your specific needs.
“Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” - Oscar Wilde
The Ritual
The ritual is a guided, multi-stage, 3 hour journey that begins with opening a sacred space, honoring the land we are on, and invoking one’s higher power and/or ancestors for support. We create an intimate space with what/who has been lost, feeling into the pain and releasing new and old stuck emotion. When emptied and ready, stepping over a threshold into a new experience of acceptance, beauty, possibility, and intentions for the next chapter of their lives. Read a detailed testimonial here.
Releasing our emotions is not only a gift to ourselves, but to all we are in connection with. Freeing us of heaviness, it renews our energy and expands our capacity for all that life has to offer us.
If you’ve had a recent loss, or would like to release old, stuck emotions that are preventing you from moving forward through the power of sacred ritual, I am available as a guide.
The ritual is $300. (I offer a sliding scale fee for those with limited means.)
For more information, go to my FAQ page or email me at rosalyn@rosalynfay.com
“The Grief Ritual Rosalyn crafted for me was the exact medicine my soul was calling for, and Rosalyn the perfect facilitator. She “led” the journey but I was the focus. I felt complete trust in Rosalyn as she moved me gently through a transformative process. When I arrived on the day of the journey, my intention became very clear: sovereignty. I have experienced a profound shift and spaciousness since the ritual. When my mind clicks into panic mode, my mother voice comes in to soothe. I am learning to validate my own feelings instead of shaming myself. I’m looking at myself with loving, compassionate, nurturing eyes. I am finally able to be the mother I’ve always wanted for myself and I feel myself showing up as that mom for my daughter with more ease. Rosalyn led me to a crossroads and with her as my witness I stepped fully, wholly...holy... into motherhood. I am eternally grateful. ”
“I was surprised by how much grief I was still carrying about my divorce 3 years ago and how much of that grief got resolved and cleared during the ritual. The experience has opened my heart even more, allowing me to fully ground and settle into my current relationship and life.
Rosalyn is a midwife of grief. Her ease and comfort with emotions, the ritual process, and nature allowed me to grieve almost immediately and to go fully into my process. It was a powerful and complete experience of intention, release, and integration. I would definitely recommend Rosalyn for anyone needing support with their grief.”
Here’s how to connect with me
1.5 hour in person grief support session (or Zoom calls for non-locals) $125
3 hour grief ritual journey in Sonoma county coastal redwoods $300 (I offer a sliding scale for those with limited means. Scroll for details)
Nature-based coaching for women and girls (scroll for details)
Community grief rituals (sign up for my newsletter for updates on my next group ritual)
Community Grief Rituals
On beautiful, Eden-like land in west Sonoma county, and in collaboration with vocal coach and singer/songwriter Diana Egizi we rest in the loving embrace of nature as we bring our grief out of isolation and into belonging in community.
Sign up for my newsletter for updates on our next group ritual. You can read more details here.
“Sitting in circle with Rosalyn is an experience of honesty and connection with self and others. Rosalyn creates a safe space to cry, talk, explore, learn and grow. I have gotten so much from Rosalyn’s grief circles, and I feel I’ve made good friends with deep bonds.”
One-on-one earth-based coaching for women and girls.
I work in collaboration with nature to gently guide you back into your deeply feeling, sensing, sharply intuitive body. From an embodied place, you will develop a stronger discernment, begin to assert your needs more confidently, establish boundaries where needed, and come trust yourself again.
Currently many girls and women lack this personal sovereignty and it is preventing them from being the powerful creators and decision makers humanity needs right now. Nature is the embodiment of both sovereignty and intimate relationship. Each micro-organism, plant, fungus, insect, animal, tree and bird knows its integral role in the circle and yet will fiercely defend any threats to its autonomous self. Our female ancestors once understood how to be both fiercely sovereign and in intimate, harmonious relationship with their communities and the natural world. This is the work of remembering. Our bodies know how to do this. It’s in our DNA. Through nature connection, somatic (body-based) practices, and emotional healing work, this organic process of remembering begins to take root.
Our culture tells us we are separate and not good enough. However, it only takes stepping into a forest and sitting next to a bug wandering past to remember that we are not separate, isolated and alone, but belong just as much as that bug or bird on the branch above us. We have all stepped outside of the circle of life, but we can step back in. As little girls, we knew this interconnected feeling and had an unshakeable confidence in our belonging. It’s time to reclaim and welcome Home the parts of us that society or others deemed unacceptable or not enough and remember we’ve always been whole and more than enough.
“With Rosalyn’s gentle guidance, I connected to the source of my very own being - my inner child. This connection opened me up and allowed for deeper healing, understanding, and such pure transformation. I was able to see the connections laid out before me, and I gained a greater understanding of my own personal power.
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“Rosalyn is excellent at drawing revelatory connections between areas in your life that you never thought were connected. Her empathic nature also allows her to really put herself in your shoes and help guide you through the obstacles that are blocking your path forward. ”
Women have an important role to play at this time in re-directing humanity back into harmony with the planet. However, we cannot fulfill that role until we ourselves have come back into right relationship with ourselves and the earth. This isn’t something that can be simply understood as an intellectual concept while we continue to live our disconnected lives. As we slowly learn how to come back into direct relationship with the living land and all her inhabitants through new daily practices, and new choices, we find ourselves joyfully rejoining the circle of life once again.
My work centers around earth-based rituals, somatic/body-based practices, art therapies, and the co-active coaching model. To schedule a free consultation to assess if working with me is right for you, send an email to rosalyn@rosalynfay.com
I also offer day-long or weekend-long packages that include beautiful, serene accommodations for those who would like an extra spacious and nurturing experience with additional mentoring and ample time for reflection and integration. Email me for additional details.
Check back for my 2023 schedule of local workshops and retreats in the beautiful Redwoods of Sonoma County, California.
