Mourning Movement & Recipe Series

1. Co-Regulation with nature to support grieving

The recommendation is to move through these 8 videos and recipes at your own pace, beginning with the opening video above: Co-regulation with nature.

All Video Credits:

• I originally made these videos as bonus resources for my self-guided mourning ritual bundle. Check it out if you’re in need of support processing acute or lingering grief about the death transition of a loved one (human or companion animal), ecological grief, or the death of a circumstance (i.e. relationship, job, home).

• Mourning singer FayePatrick Kennedy created the score for these videos.

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2. Seastar Shimmer somatic movement... and Pumpkin Soup three ways

Pumpkin Soup Three ways…

One of my favorite takeaways from a grief literacy training (Being Here, Human) I underwent was likening grieving to digestion. If we don’t process our grief, it can lead to both physical and mental un-wellness (stagnation and frozenness in the body, depression etc), and eventual death; just as if we don’t absorb nutrients from food, and release our bowels, we will become ill, and eventually die. Thus- pumpkin soup!

Pumpkin is the patron saint of digestion in my home, after experimenting with soup making for many seasons, I’ve found these three variations are tasty. All of the recipes below make a large batch.

It may be rather literal of me, but I do find that when our digestion is moving smoothly, it’s easier to move grief around in the body.

FIRST WAY Pumpkin Soup Ingredients:

• 2 cups cashews*

• pumpkin spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice etc.)

• 2 cans of pumpkin

• 4-8 cups stock (vegetable, meat or bone broth)

• mirepoix (2-4 stalks celery, carrots, and an onion)

• garlic (2-5 cloves depending on your garlic tolerance and immunity needs)

• dash of soy sauce

• dash of vinegar

• many pinches of sea salt

• ample olive oil

SECOND WAY Pumpkin Soup Ingredients:

• 1 can coconut milk

• curry powder

• cinnamon

• 2 cans of pumpkin

• 4-8 cups stock (vegetable, meat or bone broth)

• mirepoix (2-4 stalks celery, carrots, and an onion)

• garlic (2-5 cloves depending on your garlic tolerance and immunity needs)

• dash of soy sauce

• dash of vinegar

• many pinches of sea salt

• ample olive oil

THIRD WAY Pumpkin Soup Ingredients:

• Hearty Greens (spinach, kale etc.)

• herbs de provence

• 2 cans of pumpkin

• 4-8 cups stock (vegetable, meat or bone broth)

• mirepoix (2-4 stalks celery, carrots, and an onion)

• garlic (2-5 cloves depending on your garlic tolerance and immunity needs)

• dash of soy sauce

• dash of vinegar

• many pinches of sea salt

• ample olive oil

The preparation for each variation is the same~

1. Chop up your garlic and mirepoix, sauté it in the bottom of your soup pot on medium with olive oil and sea salt.

2. When step 1 is almost done, add your seasonings (first way pumpkin spices, second way curry powder, third way herbs de provence)

3. When step 1’s mirepoix is al dente, add

   1. the stock

   2. the cans of pumpkin

   3. Here’s where it differs:

      1. First way: *soak the cashews in a separate bowl and leave out of soup, and turn your soup down to a simmer

      2. Second way: add one can of coconut and turn it down to a simmer

      3. Third way: add the hearty greens (chopped up) and turn it down to a simmer

4. Add your dashes and pinches to season and top if off with some olive oil

5. Here’s where it differs again:

   1. First way: drain the cashews, put in blender, add soup to blender, blend everything together, and serve!

   2. Second way: put it all in a blender, blend, serve!

   3. Third way: simmer for as long as you need the hearty greens to taste done, and serve!

Play with all these variations, sub things out, you can’t go wrong or experiment too much with soup. Pumpkins are incredible for our digestion (and for cats and dog’s as well~)… and one more thing…

As you make the soup, notice your feet, feel your breath, smell each ingredient, taste the soup often during each step, and perhaps even hum or sing as you do all this.

Can you cook in a way that is meditative?

Can you delight all your senses and engage them as you cook?

Try the sea star shimmer after imbibing one of these soups and notice if physical digestion can aid with the metabolization of your grief.

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3. Elephant Stomping to ground... & Burdock Mushroom Chocolate Elixir