“Whenever sorrow comes, be kind to it. For God has placed a pearl in sorrow’s hand.” -Rumi

In times of collective change, it is easy to focus on one of two stories: a dystopian or “dark” narrative that frames our current personal and political polycrises as a series of losses, or a utopian or “light” narrative that sees these same events as catalysts for collective awakening and transformation. Within the healing arts, these perspectives often lead to different responses: one calls for collective grief work to honor what is being lost, while the other invites us to step into our power as creative manifestors to build a new world.

While both approaches are essential, most practices tend to emphasize one at the expense of the other. This overlooks the reality that grief work and manifesting work are not separate, but mutually enhancing. Loss itself can be a catalyst for growth; a conscious grief practice creates space for calling in abundance without spiritual bypassing. At the same time, a grounded manifesting practice helps ensure that grief does not harden into hopelessness or despair.

This course will explore how grief and manifestation can be approached as complementary practices that alchemically transform one another. Drawing on Francis Weller’s “Five Gates of Grief,” each session will focus on writing through a specific experience of loss. After collectively processing these losses, we will then engage a parallel process of drafting a manifest to invite new blessings into our lives. Between sessions, participants will be encouraged to track both losses and their corresponding emergent possibilities, cultivating an awareness of the dynamic interplay between dark and light within themselves and the world at large.

Textbooks: Francis Weller’s The Wild Edge of Sorrow (2016); Francis Weller’s Entering the Healing Ground: The Wild Edge of Sorrow Official Workbook (2026)

Note: This is an online course that is open to the public and being offered through Morbid Anatomy. Click here to sign up & register.