A year ago, I almost completely gave up on my work. Emerging from the early years of motherhood and feeling my creative spark again, I felt motivated to get back into the deeper aspects of my sacred work.

So, in a flash of creative impulse, I announced a new program to the world in the place we announce things these days: on Instagram. It was received mostly with a good deal of excitement and interest, and…it was also received with some intense criticism - primarily in the form of snarky comments and DMs from complete strangers who were making a lot of assumptions about me. Assumptions without curiosity. Assumptions wrapped in judgment. Over a period of 72 hours, I received wave after wave of comments that felt challenging to hold on my own.

In this episode, I tell the story of grief, shame and how being in sacred council helped me heal and grow through this experience.

Tune in to hear more from me on:

• The grief of feeling misunderstood and shamed in a parasocial format, which left me raw and confused.
• The divine timing of an in-person retreat with an intimate council of women space holders, and the cacao ceremony that held me at my most vulnerable.
• Emerging lighter and less bothered and leaving that retreat weekend with a renewed vision in the purpose and power of this work I do.
• Everything I learned from that rupture and the gratitude I feel now for what happened.
• The one thing that had me not throw in the towel and heal from this experience: being held in a sacred council.
• My own council BEHELD which is now open for enrollment again.

Resources + Links

• Find out more about BEHELD, an intimate council of space holders
• My book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self
• Connect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelli

Timestamps

[0:00] Introduction [2:45] Sharing the story of almost giving up my sacred work after receiving criticism [9:23] The divine timing of an in-person retreat weekend [9:50] Unfurling during the cacao ceremony [12:06] The power of sacred councils [15:31] Continuing despite challenges and feeling tender [16:02] The offering it all started with and hosting it again [17:16] Join BEHELD - a sacred council for space holders