Grieving Well – Living Well
Practices, processes and support for accessing the deep well of sources we can call on to live life well supported, with our griefs and with gratitude and joy, in a welcoming place – connecting with ourselves, others and the earth.
The Welcome Connective was launched in 2021 in response to the many challenges the human and more-than-human world are facing. It is for people like you and me, who are or have been struggling with challenges, losses, or hurdles that impact on your own health and wellbeing, and that you see impacting on the wellbeing of your community and the earth.
We are ready to welcome you if you feel ready to face and transform your relationship to these challenges in a gentle, supported, and powerful way. Turning towards seemingly massive and ‘impossible’ issues may feel like the last thing you would want to do, yet…
… you can learn how to generate more warmth and flow in your life with the power of imagery, poetry, body-centred practices, (re-)connecting with yourself, your own sense of the sacred, with the earth and your ancestral roots, individually or in a small group, AND find ways to share your contribution of ‘active hope’ in response to a struggling and challenging world.
Grieving Well
Grief is a personal experience that follows many kinds of loss, often pulling us into our deepest vulnerability and sorrow. Grief can feel painfully individual and isolating. Yet when we start carefully crafting an “apprenticeship with sorrow” (Francis Weller), we find that we are not alone in this experience; we find that in our grief lies our deepest connection with humanity and love, our ancestors, the earth itself. Grief is something we share with every other human being on earth.
Feeling the call and would like to know more? Contact me here
… or send an email, or make a phone-call to set up a free exploratory session to discuss what your needs are and how we could best work together.
Living Well
Would you like to live a life with greater wellbeing and resilience, more in harmony with yourself, others and the earth? Come and find out how, from wherever you find yourself in your life in the next “Living Well, A Deep Dive into Wellbeing” group programme.
This process takes you gently into your own deepest inner and outer resources, connects you in a new way with what you know to be true for you, and guides you into seeing new steps forwards into what living well and greater wellbeing means for you, that you may not have realised until now.
Get in touch if you’d like to know more..
If you would prefer to work individually, or would like to know more, please get in touch, send me an email, or give me a call to organise a free exploratory session, online or in-person.
Retreats
Grieving Well and/or Living Well Retreats will be offered in person (in a small group) in a welcoming, nurturing and restorative environment.
Participating offers an opportunity to take time out and connect deeply with yourself and with others, the practices and nature, in a sustained and nourishing way.
Curious to know more? Contact me
… or give me a call if you would like to know more, or want to register your interest.
Why The Welcome Connective?
There is no better time than now to connect with yourself, each other and nature, and tap into the well of wisdom and support that is available to us all, to live and contribute to a more connected, grounded life and with greater ease, wellbeing and resilience.
On your own you may feel overwhelmed and isolated, whatever challenges and uncertainties you are facing; it can be easy to lose hope and feel unsure of how to be, what to do or where to go next. Together with others you can find sustenance and support for the journey.
The Welcome Connective uses evidence-based approaches to greater health and wellbeing, for example:
- developing mindful, compassionate awareness and insight
- building relationships and social connections
- discover or deepen your fundamental interconnection with the natural world
- finding purpose, meaning and healing in what you do, for yourself and the world around you.
Marlies Dorrestein, the founder and facilitator of The Welcome Connective, has a wealth of knowledge and experience to support you in this work (for more details, see About).
“To be truly well, we don’t need juice fasts or yoga fads. We need to detox from a culture rooted in perfectionism, white supremacy, and individualism–and move toward a model that embodies mutual responsibility and extends beyond self-help to collective care.”
June-Kerri Kelly
Is this for you?
Our services are for women who have some freedom after child-rearing years, who want to explore how they can increase their own wellbeing and resilience, and want to play an active role in addressing the challenges our society faces, and who resonate with the “what” and the “why” of The Welcome Connective.
We offer services that are complementary to what your regular health-practitioners recommend for you. We recommend that don’t make any changes to your regular health approaches such as your medication, without consulting with e.g. your GP, or your specialist first.
If you have acute mental health challenges, this service may not be the best place for you to start. However, please feel free to contact me for more information and some exploration of what you are looking for.
Are you interested in signing up or do you have questions whether and how one of our services may be right for you or your group or organisation? Send me a message or give me a call for more information.
Stay up to date with what’s coming up in the Welcome Connective by signing up for the newsletter.