In a culture where men are expected to be either stoic or warrior, prince or apologist, many men have learned to keep their wider range of emotions in. Or they let them out in reactive bursts, bringing confusion and damage to those around them—human and otherwise.

A grief and praise ritual is a transformational space where that-which-is-aching-to-be-expressed can be let out and let go. In the offering of your wild expression to the shrines, it becomes food for the otherworld and a direct message to your ancestors. Your willingness breaks a dam within you, so that the water of life may again flow through your being unhindered.

Grief and praise are siblings of a kind. We only grieve that which we love, and deep-rooted love that is alert to consequence has the grief of this will not last in the marrow of its bones.

On this night, we will use our voices to speak to that which matters. The ancestors are old and hard of hearing; we may need to shout. 

BIO

Following his cry for village, Sequoia has become an embodied specimen of a human devoted to be in service to the collective health. His gifts work like the fungi, sometimes unseen, but connecting people to vital nutrients that keeps them thriving. Humble as fungi, he loves to support others in finding their authentic roars and cries. He brings deep love, care and harvestable dedication to ritual and community containers.