Grief With Grace

Ep 109 Creating Rituals and Ceremonies For Grief & Loss with Jess Wertz

June 07, 2022 Lori Latimer Episode 109
Grief With Grace
Ep 109 Creating Rituals and Ceremonies For Grief & Loss with Jess Wertz
Show Notes

So many women are turning to ceremonies and rituals in ways we haven't for centuries. This week's guest and her sister have created a beautiful company to support anyone looking for a unique way to honor a loved one in Spirit, whether the loss is recent or long past.

Jess Wertz, and her sister Amanda Wertz McClellan founded Spirit Vessel. Jess and I had a magical conversation and covered so many things about the beauty they've brought to a topic people frequently ignore, until they're faced with the most difficult of life's decisions. In this episode, Jess and I talk about:

  • The beginnings of Jess’s journey into art
  • What led her to opening up more conversation around death, rituals and ceremonies
  • The importance of creating personalized rituals and ceremonies that honor the emotions of grief
  • How nature helped her heal from a breakup
  • The impact conversations with friends and family navigating grief had on the creation of Spirit Vessel
  • How my Mom’s preplanning helped me in the aftermath of her sudden return to Spirit
  • The stark difference when my son returned to Spirit with having no plans in place (this underscores the importance of preplanning at any age)
  • Why we need rites of passage in the course of our lives
  • How ritual and ceremony allow us to come back and hold space for our grief and emotions
  • How preplanning allows us to be more present with our grief and with others in times of loss
  • The way in which ceremony and ritual allows the paradox of joy and grief to co-exist
  • Why it’s so important to move our emotions out of our heads and into our bodies
  • How the original intention and vision of Spirit Vessel changed due to the pandemic
  • Why the idea of rewriting the ideas and stories of how things should look around grief and loss is very intriguing and exciting
  • How the traditional ways of experiencing death and grief are disrespectful and uninviting
  • The Ceremony Guidebook Jess created that you can use at any time to honor your loved one and your grief
  • How you can work with Spirit Vessel in creating your own unique ceremonies and rituals
  • Why ceremony and ritual helps us avoid the isolation that’s so prevalent in modern society
  • The passage Jess read from her beautiful Ceremony Guidebook on Opening To Forgiveness


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