Testimonials
Having been in this community for over a decade, I found myself grieving the loss of having never related in this way with one another. I realized then another element of unfortunate circumstance our Western culture creates and how very important it is for me to influence it! I felt both relieved and liberated to see and feel one another as a collective rather than through our personal, individual relationships. To me, this was an incredibly courageous action to call forth in the community, and Sienna facilitated our time together impeccably.
-Tara, Santa Fe, NM
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(this is a great description of the event)
The ritual helped me move some things that have been standing at the ready, waiting for a time to flow back into the whole. I was able to scream and cry and just let my body howl out all the things I've been holding in--mostly old things that never got expressed because I didn't feel supported around doing that then. We all had the chance in the beginning to make a grief-prayer bundle with the things we want to release (these will be buried in a good way). Then there was a sharing circle where people could tell a short story, or share a song or poem etc about what they're letting go today, what has brought them to the circle. This was a really awesome sharing experience. And rest assured, Mother Nature and the divine feminine were mentioned several times as aspects to grieve for both men and women.
Then there is a beautiful ritual where there's a grief alter and an ancestral alter set up. The "village" of people stay in one corner of the room opposite the grief alter and sing, dance and play music, so that when the grievers are done (everyone is a griever at some point), they're welcomed back into the community with song, dance, hugs and celebration. It was really wonderful to share in this with others and be witnessed in my own grief and then welcomed into life in this way, after having grieved and let go. It was an all day affair with about 15 people or maybe more, but the traditional way is to do it for 3 days, and often!
I learned so much about grief and how connected it is with love. How we try so hard to avoid it and then "bad" things happen, or tragedy strikes and we grieve sometimes forever...but if we can maybe bring this into our lives in a way that is more fluid and connected, maybe we can actually heal some of the wounds that cause(ed) our grief in the first place...to recognize those things as a connection with each other like any other.
- Claire, Santa Fe, NM
"Sienna brings all of herself fully into her sessions so that the client can discover all of who they are. Anyone would greatly benefit from working with her, and I see how she especially benefits teen girls and women in their 20/30's looking for a more spiritual perspective to their lives." -Jonathan, CMT, Psychotherapist, Yoga Teacher
"Sienna's holds a space that has room for a vast array of experiences both light and dark, playful and serious, ecstatic and tragic. Teaching from a place of authenticity and heart she has a unique grasp on what it means to be a full and whole woman in today's world."
-Payton, Psychotherapist
Grief Ritual
April 25th in Santa Fe, NM
May 1st in Portland, OR
Come...
Step fully into life by relinquishing your grief
...your sorrows from death, illness, loss, change, fear, vulnerability...
make room for the new life of spring
and the celebration of life in its full glory of summer...
Letting our tears fall on the seeds of new possibility
and opening into a space of freedom from our burdens,
fully honoring and celebrating, with gratitude, the full cycle of life.
Grieving the daily losses, the unbearable losses, the individual as well as the collective,
the remembered and the still forgotten.
Our ritual can be a form of a prayer to all who grieve and an honoring of our ancestors'
passings which have allowed us to come into being for our own chance
at experiencing the cycles of life in this human form
where we have a chance at contributing to the evolution of soul.
Offering gratitude for all that we have been blessed to experience
and celebrating all that has moved on to make space for transformation,
that which is still unimaginable - that which is yet to come.
We create great beauty together, metabolizing our grief
by stepping into it and letting go,
A contribution to ourselves and all, for greater joy and peace.
April 25th in Santa Fe, NM
Time: 11am - 6:30pm
Place: In Santa Fe, TBD
Cost: $30 - $50 if payment received before April 22nd, $50 - $80 thereafter
Space is limited. Pre-registration required. Work scholarships offered.
May 1st in Portland, OR
Time: 12am - 7:00pm
Place: SomaSpace, 4050 NE Broadway Street, PDX
Cost: $30 - $50 if payment received before April 25nd, $50 - $80 thereafter
Space is limited. Pre-registration required. Work scholarships offered.
This is a fully participatory ritual that we create together sharing poetry, storytelling, drumming, altar-building and chanting. Based on the ritual of the Dagara tribe of West Africa as taught to me by Sobonfu Some and students of Malidoma Some. In this ritual we grieve as a village. We each grieve at the altar, when we feel called, and return to the welcoming arms of the singing village when we have completed. While standing with the celebrating village we sing and dance and welcome back each griever until we are ourselves are called once again by the waves of grief to return to the altar to give forth. For Men and Women ages 16 and up.
Contact Sienna at 505-903-7252 or siennasteiner@gmail.com with any further inquiries.
I welcome you to invite friends as this is a ritual of the village for the village!
...We each play a part in calling in the village,
welcoming those who need space to lay their heavy burdens.
I invite you to listen to Sobonfu Some speaking about the meaning of grief and the cycle of death and new life. This will give you a sense of the foundation upon which our ritual is built.
