A Journey Inward
The Cailleach’s Descent to the Underworld
Crossing the Dark Seas of Loss into Strange Country
Samhain marks the beginning of the darkest part of the year, the beginning of Winter. In the Celtic tradition, at Samhain, the Cailleach, the old hag or the wise crone of winter, leaves the mountains and begins her walk across the lands, bringing the winter storms, snow, and darkness with her. It is the time of the year when she descends into the underworld to incubate the seeds of new life.
What meaning can we glean from these challenging times on our journey? How can we support ourselves in this darkness to find a new ground?
Darkness is associated with new beginnings, with the seed's potential below the ground. These are liminal threshold times in the changing seasons of our lives. Every change comes with grief and loss, and we are asked to let something go even when we welcome positive changes. There are many transitions and milestones that we meet on life’s journey - becoming a parent, losing a loved one, adjusting to an illness, children moving away, miscarriage, losing a job or a relationship coming to an end, or indeed, the dream of something that did not bear fruit. During these times of change and transition, we often feel bewildered and lost, frightened and overwhelmed, no longer sure of the path ahead. We think we have no anchor any more. We are standing in a strange country.
In the self-abandonment wound, when we start to come out of survival mode, we often experience a layer of grief and loss when the freeze of survival thaws. This loss may be a loss of what we didn’t get to meet when we were younger.
Together, we will create time for reflection, to connect and reconnect in an embodied way to our inner ground, and to hear with the inner ear. What seeds will we sow in this Samhain darkness, and what will we bring forth into the Spring, at Imbolg, and the new life?
It is believed that the veil between the physical world and the otherworld is thin at Samhain. This means that the spirits, the Aois Si, the Tuatha de Danann, can cross between the realms. We will explore the ancient world of the Celts and their rituals and customs to support life transitions and the natural rhythm of life, death, and rebirth. This course will be a space to set our intention for the coming darker months, what seeds need to be sown in the darkness this Samhain that we can bring forth, at Spring, into new life.
Join Eileen on a journey inward. Together, we will explore, through the work of Psychotherapy, Depth Psychology and Irish Mythology, how we can honour the grief of transitions and open ourselves up to transformation and change.
What’s Included?
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We will begin by Crossing the Threshold—the Opening Ritual that guides all of my Deepening the Senses Programs, Courses, and Workshops. In this space, we create a container for our work together and set our individual and collective intentions.
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In the second section, we will deepen into story and mythology. For our ancestors, the world of storytelling, poetry, songs, and folktales shared around the hearth at night provided an escape from a harsh existence—an escape that brought them into the unseen world of imagination, psyche, and spirit. We will become curious about what images are stirring our own imagination today from these ancient stories and images, as they guide us on this journey inward.
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Next, we will have two seminars, where we will explore ideas, images, and reflections from the world of Depth psychology, philosophy, literature, Irish folklore, and poetry. We will explore the emotions that are stirring within and how this learning can be a rich source of knowledge to support us in developing a relationship with our inner world and soul self.
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After each seminar, there will be a time for reflection, a space for you to note your experience through awareness, journal invitations, and personal reflection.
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Once we have emerged from the last reflection section, we will cross back over the threshold again, returning to our initial starting place of ritual, the container of our work together, where we will close this work again in ritual. From here, we return to our everyday lives, inspired and curious about what new perspectives, new understandings, and awareness we can bring with us, from the journey inward experience.
You will learn how to…
… deepen your understanding of your self-abandonment wound and its connection to your unlived life, your self-worth and our deservedness.
… recognize and identify how the self-abandonment wound interrupts you from fully connecting to yourself and others.
… allow space for grief and recognize how the fear of the unknown manifests and prevents you from moving to a new chapter.
… move through thresholds in your life journey and how to meet them and glean the gold of transformation from them
… how to support yourself as you experience the grief of change.
… create a space for yourself to deepen your understanding of yourself and honour yourself in the transformation process.
… support your body to feel ease and presence while grieving the past versions of yourself.
… recognize the hidden gold at these threshold times.
… deepen into ritual and how our ancestors navigated the seas of grief and loss through the ages.
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Depth psychotherapy research, theories and practices, somatic psychotherapy, psychology and neuroscience, Celtic mythology, ancient Gaelic wisdom in folklore and stories, the medium of poetry, art images, symbol and metaphor.
Photo Credit: Seán Mac an tSíthigh
What A Journey Inward Participants have said...
FAQ
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All workshops, courses, programs and products are designed to support your personal development. They are not designed to diagnose, prescribe or recommend any specific psychological, psychiatric or physical health interventions. Anyone engaging in this work agrees to take responsibility for their own personal wellbeing and should they need to consult an individual licensed, qualified healthcare professional, they will do so at their own discretion.
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I wanted to translate the live workshops into a more impactful video-infused format that creates a more immersive and enjoyable experience. You can go at your own pace and start whenever you feel called to step into the journey inward. The essence of the courses is the same as the live workshop versions and still draws on aspects closest to my heart, from mythology, poetry, and the ancient Gaelic Celtic world, connecting to the body and the deeper symbolic, soul self.
I have added extra sections for deeper reflection, videos that share the myths in a visual format, and journal invitations to help you directly apply the work to your daily life.
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New A Journey Inward courses may be added in the future; please join the mailing list to be the first to be notified.
About
Eileen Ní Shuilleabháin
BSocSc, MSW, MA Psychotherapy, Dip Supervision, Dip Jungian Studies, Certified Coach (WCI)
I am a Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Coach with over 20 years of experience. I am dual-located in the US and Ireland (In Northern Nevada and on the West Coast of Ireland, in Galway).
I grew up in Connemara, a wild and rugged landscape on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Oscar Wilde famously said of the region, “Connemara is a savage beauty”. I grew up in a small, rural Gaelic (Irish) speaking community where Gaelic is still spoken today in people's homes. This area was a major centre for the work of the Irish Folklore Commission, recording endangered folklore, mythology, sean-nós (old-style) songs, and oral literature. I have been greatly influenced by the wild physical landscape and immersed in those ancient songs, stories, customs, myths, legends, and music since childhood.
I desire to share with you a sense of that culture and spirit and, as a Psychotherapist, to support how that connection can nourish and guide you on your personal development journey.
A Journey Inward Course Series
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Embodiment, Soul and the Celtic Spirit
Healing the Wounds of the Abandoning Self
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The Cailleach's Descent to the Underworld
Crossing the Dark Seas of Loss into Strange Country
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Resting Under Brigid’s Mantle
Cultivating Sanctuary and Self Compassion in Daily Life
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Awakening Bealtaine
Embracing Our Authentic Power
A Celebration of Granuaile -
Celebrating the Harvest at Lúnasa
Taking Your Seat at the Banquet of Life