Grace Alvarez Sesma – Turn Your Grief Into an Affirmation of Life 2022
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Grace Alvarez Sesma – Turn Your Grief Into an Affirmation of Life 2022
Connect with your ancestors through the rich traditions of the Mexican observance Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) and release yourself from grief, anger, and painful interactions with relatives who have passed, to receive deeper heart-healing and peace — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living.
Did you know that your presence is so powerful that it can ripple through your whole lineage?
In Mexican tradition, our ancestors can be our most important guides and positive influences on the subtle planes. When we work consciously and actively with them, we send a healing wave of energy through our whole lineage and life.
The living traditions of the Mexican Day of the Dead bring focus to our relationship with ancestors. They weave remembrance rituals such as face painting, prayers, flowers, music, altars, and processionals into sacred places for this very reason…
… to help you grieve, ease pain, and heal trauma.
The Mexican people who generously share Mexican Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, show us how these life-giving rituals guide us to a deeper understanding and acceptance of death — which actually brings greater joy and celebration of our own lives.
In an unprecedented 7-module course with curandera Grace Alvarez Sesma, a leading figure in understanding the spiritual importance and practices of Mexican traditions, you’ll be immersed in Día de Muertos’ rituals, wisdom, and healing power as a path that leads to the sacred within you and your own ancestral roots.
If you’ve been intrigued by Día de Muertos, you’ll learn how its traditions can be reverently explored and celebrated by everyone as they ultimately teach us how to reclaim our own ancestral traditions as a path to healing and wholeness.
In understanding a tradition at its deepest levels, we can craft a relationship with our own ancestors in a way that most honors them and blesses our lineage — giving you peace and freedom from the past, and setting you up for healthier relationships and friendships for your future.
From an early age, Grace was urged to return to the ways of the Ancestors and Indigenous medicine during dreams with a group of Indigenous Grandmothers of various Native nations. The Grandmothers gave her teachings to help usher in a return to feminine leadership, and help restore balance on Mother Earth, including respect and protection of land, water, and holy places.
She currently educates conventional healthcare providers on how to respectfully integrate curanderismo cultural healing traditions with Western medicine in a way that addresses the whole person.
As you journey with Grace into the living traditions of Día de Muertos to understand how this cultural practice can apply to your own lineage, you’ll experience a Soul-Mending Ceremony to help you reclaim the parts of yourself that have become fragmented…
… by letting go of trapped emotional energy that resides within you and dissolving connections with deceased loved ones that may be draining your energy.
In doing so, you’ll heal unhealthy connections to those who have passed and begin to rebuild these relationships in a way that uplifts your life — and that of future generations.
You’ll learn how to reverently celebrate Día de Muertos observances without appropriation, prayerfully experiencing its spiritual dimensions and those of your own ancestry…
… and how to move through life with a deeper understanding of the purpose of death.
You’ll gain a new perspective of the impact of trauma through the Mesoamerican view of the human body, and explore how Indigenous cultural practices can help you shift out of unhealthy mental and emotional patterns.
Grace will also share how Día de Muertos’ cultural icons, La Catrina and El Catrin, can be catalysts for you to live your life with greater connection and authenticity — and how death and your inner wisdom prompts you to align your heart, identity, lifeways, and spirit.
Are you ready to access the rich living traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living?
What Happens When We Don’t Acknowledge Unresolved Grief?
During this immersion into the living traditions of Día de Muertos, you’ll:
- Discover and be guided by the ancestral wisdom of Día de Muertos — and learn how to reverently participate in Día de Muertos celebrations
- Participate in a healing Soul-Mending Ceremony to let go of stuck emotional energy — and re-member the parts of yourself that have been fragmented as a result of conflict or trauma
- Rediscover ancestral connections as a path to healing — and those parts of you that have been hiding and hindering relationships
- Dissolve connections to deceased loved ones that may be draining your personal energy
- Discover the real meaning behind La Catrina and El Catrin — popularly used as the models for painting one’s face as a skull or skeleton during Día de Muertos
- Heal unhealthy connections to those who have passed
- Explore the Mesoamerican view of the human body — and how trauma affects your body, mind, and spirit
- Learn how to prayerfully experience the spiritual dimensions of Día de Muertos
- Learn about Indigenous cosmology and cultural practices that are embedded in Día de Muertos observances
- Explore how your presence influences sacred places — including where your loved ones are laid to rest
- Learn which purification herbs and foods to use for your Día de Muertos ofrenda (altar)
- Experience a meditation practice using the phases of the moon to support your healing
In conjunction with this course, The Shift Network is donating $2500 to House of the Moon, a grassroots and Indigenous-led organization that focuses on empowering and training Native women to end the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls epidemic. It is our intention to further their efforts with Grace, who serves on their Circle of Advisors, with this donation to support the holistic empowerment and self-defense facilitator training they provide to Indigenous women.
What You’ll Discover in These 7 Modules
In this 7-part transformational intensive, Grace will guide you through the fundamental skills you’ll need to connect with your ancestors through the rich traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living.
This course will feature step-by-step teachings and experiential practices with Grace. Each session will build harmoniously upon the previous ones, so you’ll develop a complete holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to connect with your ancestors through the rich traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living.
Module 1: Engage the Living Traditions of the Mexican Day of the Dead
Grace will welcome you and your ancestors into her circle with reflection and prayer during the opening class, and set the intention that will guide the course pláticas, or heart-to-heart talks.
You’ll explore the meaning and importance of Día de Muertos for mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing, and for healing ancestral-lineage and intergenerational wounds.
You’ll learn how the rituals and practices that are part of this observance can help you begin mending your relationship with someone who has died…
… and experience Día de Muertos as a vibrant, joyous, living tradition that continues to be revered and celebrated by Mexican, Chicanx, and Indigenous communities in Mexico and the United States.
You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of the spiritual dimensions of your ancestry from an Indigenous perspective, rather than the Western approach of interpreting spiritual phenomena as archetypical or symbolic.
Grace will also encourage you to begin a journal of the blessings and lessons of Día de Muertos, which you can track throughout the course.
As you explore the living traditions of Día de Muertos, you’ll:
- Reclaim ancestral traditions as a path to healing
- Unlearn colonized worldviews that have frayed your connection to your ancestors and how you view death and dying
- Be inspired to live your life guided by the legacy you wish to leave your descendants
- Learn how to prayerfully experience the spiritual dimensions of Día de Muertos
- Disengage from mental conversations with problematic ancestors that keep you from being fully present
- Learn about Indigenous cosmology and cultural practices that are embedded in Día de Muertos observances
Module 2: Honoring the Sacred — Vibrant Ancestral Remembrance Rituals
Rituals that transcend the mundane are central to worldwide observances that honor ancestors. Ceremonies, incense, prayers, and flowers are universally accepted as ways in which we can show respect and honor what is sacred to us.
You’ll learn why Día de Muertos is not Halloween, and how you can reverently participate in Día de Muertos celebrations to connect with your ancestors in a respectful way — one that honors the sacred in you and that of the Mexican people who generously share Día de Muertos with you.
You’ll also learn how your presence influences the energies of sacred places, including the campos santos, where your loved ones are laid to rest…
… and how Día de Muertos holds profound wisdom that can help guide your life choices.
Lastly, you’ll expand your understanding of Día de Muertos’ origins in Mesoamerica to today’s blending of Catholicism and Native Mexican philosophy.
In this module, you’ll:
- Discover and be guided by the ancestral wisdom of Día de Muertos — and learn how to reverently participate in Día de Muertos celebrations
- Explore how your presence influences sacred places — including where your loved ones are laid to rest
- Learn about vibrant ancestral remembrance rituals from around the world
- Explore how you can become a good ally and a good ancestor
- Learn how to celebrate through appreciation, not appropriation
- Honor the sacred in you and that of the Mexican people who generously share Día de Muertos with you
Module 3: La Catrina — Being Your Authentic Self
During Día de Muertos, you see adults and children wearing fancy hats and clothes, and very white makeup applied to evoke the faces of skeletons.
This reflects the tradition of La Catrina and El Catrin, the female and male iconic representations of faces of death in Día de Muertos. Within the festive attire of La Catrina and El Catrin are lessons of social justice, cultural resistance, and the notion of death as the great equalizer.
You’ll discover what you may have in common with La Catrina and El Catrin, and when it is and isn’t appropriate to dress as them.
Grace will also guide deeper reflection and discussion on how La Catrina and El Catrin can be catalysts for you to live your life with greater authenticity.
During the third class, you’ll:
- Discover the real meaning behind La Catrina and El Catrin — the skeletal woman and man dressed in fancy attire during Día de Muertos
- Explore when it is and isn’t appropriate to dress as La Catrina and El Catrin
- Learn how they embody lessons of social justice, cultural resistance, and the notion of death as the great equalizer
- Delve into how La Catrina and El Catrin can be catalysts for you to live your life with greater authenticity
Module 4: Healing Our Ancestors & Ourselves
The effects of colonization in the U.S. have contributed to a feeling of soul wounding and uncertainty for many — of susto, or soul fright. Many have lost their connection to ancestral practices, giving rise to a feeling of rootlessness.
Seeing Día de Muertos celebrations, you may question whether challenging relationships with your grandparents, parents, and other family members merit honoring them on Día de Muertos.
You may long to remember your culture and customs, but don’t know how to reclaim your ancestral practices and worry about misappropriating another culture.
Your journey of reclaiming your ancestral customs and heritage can be difficult as many of us carry more than one lineage… yet it can also be life-affirming and empowering.
The call you feel to remember your ancestors is one way that your inner wisdom prompts you to align your heart, identity, lifeways, and spirit.
Upon reflection, you may recognize that healing is needed — for yourself and those who come after you.
You will be invited to compassionately acknowledge those parts of yourself that have been impacted by the actions and decisions your dead beloveds made — decisions that may be making you feel less present and engaged in your day-to-day life, and with others.
As you reflect on how to heal your ancestors and yourself, you’ll:
- Discover ways to respectfully reclaim your original customs
- Rediscover those parts of you that have been hiding and hindering relationships — to align your heart, identity, lifeways, and spirit
- Heal connections to those who have passed
- Mend your ancestral lineage by compassionately acknowledging the parts of yourself that have been impacted by decisions your ancestors made
Module 5: Mending-Relationships Ceremony & the Mesoamerican View of the Human Body
In this module, with your permission, Grace will guide you with loving-kindness in a Soul-Mending ceremony, a re-membering of the parts of yourself that have been fragmented as a result of harmful energetic ties to people, situations, grief, and loss.
You’ll learn how to set your intention for the ceremony in order to dissolve spiritual connections with deceased loved ones that keep harmful energy trapped within your energy field…
… which may be draining your energy and affecting your ability to have healthy relationships.
Grace will share an overview of the Mesoamerican understanding of the human body and how trauma affects your body, mind, and spirit.
You’ll also explore how the Ancestors are calling on us to do the work that’s needed to heal ourselves, our families, and our communities — through our daily actions and in our larger world.
You’ll discover how in ways big and small, they are nudging us toward transformation and joyous rebirths — and how reflecting, praying, releasing, mending, and resting are all part of your transformational journey on this Earthwalk.
During the fifth class, you’ll:
- Participate in a healing Soul-Mending Ceremony to let go of trapped emotional energy — and re-member the parts of yourself that have been fragmented
- Learn how to set your intention for healing
- Learn about the Mesoamerican view of the human body — and how trauma affects your body, mind, and spirit
- Dissolve connections to deceased loved ones that may be draining your personal energy
- Discover the transformational power of reflecting, praying, releasing, mending, and resting
Module 6: Welcoming the Dead With an Ofrenda
As Día de Muertos draws near, it’s time to begin gathering all that you’ll need for the construction of your unique ofrenda, or altar.
You’ll learn the meaning of the various elements of an ofrenda — beginning with how your family altar is an invitation to your deceased loved ones to visit for a joyous family reunion!
You’ll explore how personal and community altars can be dedicated to the memory of persons you do not know personally, but wish to honor — or to a cause dear to your heart such as missing and murdered Indigenous women, Mother Earth, the oceans, or animal relatives.
Grace will share how your cultural identity, family history, and commitment to preserving ancestral traditions in a respectful and humble manner will guide the creation of your altar — and the items you place on it.
You’ll be guided on how to welcome your special guests with prayers, how to say farewell, and how to respectfully take down the altar until next year.
As you plan this very special party, your checklist includes your guests’ favorite delicacies, beautiful flowers, drinks, fragrant incense, and of course, music!
As you learn how to welcome your beloved dead, you’ll:
- Develop a timeline for your Día de Muertos celebration
- Learn which Día de Muertos days are for honoring babies and children who have died and which ones are for adults as well, including other days for lighting the way for those who died without family to remember them
- Allow your cultural identity and ancestral traditions to guide the creation of your Día de Muertos ofrenda
- Explore what the different levels of an altar mean and how that may fit with your spiritual or religious path
- Learn which purification herbs to use for your ofrenda, depending on your cultural heritage
- Gain an understanding of why specific items are used for Día de Muertos
- Learn which foods will honor your deceased loved ones
- Create your unique Día de Muertos family tradition
Module 7: Becoming a Good Ancestor — Linking Breath, Mind & Spirit With Prayer
Being a good ancestor means planting seeds of good memories and actions today.
During the concluding class, you’ll explore how to include family, children, and friends in your Día de Muertos celebration so that your family stories are preserved and passed to the next generation with every altar that is created.
You’ll learn ways of helping preserve the beautiful soul of this tradition by actively supporting Mexican, Chicanx, and Indigenous artists, craftspeople, and families who are working to preserve the integrity of their traditions.
Grace will also share a meditation practice using the phases of the moon to continue the healing that she has shared with you during this course.
Bringing the circle to a close, you will link your breath, mind, and spirit in prayer with Grace and set your intentions for being a good ancestor and an ally for intercultural healing in your community.
During the final class, you’ll:
- Remember those who passed to inform how you engage with your children and family now
- Experience a meditation practice using the phases of the moon to support healing
- Create the next steps to an enduring family legacy
- Link your breath, mind, and spirit in prayer and set your intention to be a good ancestor and an ally for intercultural healing in your community
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