Upcoming events
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Song Circle
First Monday of Each Month 6:30PM-8:30PM
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Tending the Vital Hive
Friday’s | 10:00AM - 2:00PM
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Community Grief Ritual
June 13th | 2:00PM–6:00 PM
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Frame Drum Making & Ritual Weekend
June 13th & 14th | 9:00AM - 6:00PM
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Sacred Plant Gathering
June 18th | 6:30PM - 8:00PM
First Monday of each month | 6:30–8:30 PM | Somatic Wisdom Institute | Grand Rapids, MI | No Registration Necessary
Song Circle
Join us at the Somatic Wisdom Institute as we bring our voices together in the singing of heart songs! We will gather to share and celebrate songs of devotion from all around the world. These songs of love and healing are intended to connect us to our own hearts, to each other, to Mother Earth and to the Great Mystery. You are invited to bring any songs you feel inspired to share, we open sharing to the whole community the last 3o or 40 minutes of the gathering. Dancing and improvisation is encouraged!
April 6th
May 4th
June 1st
Tending the Vital Hive
Every Friday | 10:00AM–2:00PM | The Vital Hive | Lowell, MI | No Registration Necessary
All Summer at The Vital Hive. Below is our spring schedule. More dates to follow
This season, we will gather each Friday to place our hands in the soil, shape pathways and gardens, and build beauty that feeds both people and the bees of the land! Tending the Vital Hive is our weekly community workday devoted to regenerative farming practices, edible landscaping, and living in reciprocity with the earth.
It is our dream to spend our days here on earth creating a place here on earth where the plants, animals and humans can find more and more reciprocity. Please join us!
Some days we plant.
Some days we build.
ome days we clear, compost, and make space for what wants to grow next.
All are welcome. No need to sign up, just show up
Email Micahm1@gmail.com if you don’t know our address
A simple shared meal will be provided at 2:00pm to close our time together.
Please bring:
A water bottle
Work gloves
Weather-appropriate clothing
Come for the whole time or what you can. Your hands matter.
Spring Schedule
May 8th- TBD
May 15th-Beautification Day Prepping. Building beds.
May 22nd- Planting, weeding and ending the new beds
May 29th-WEEK OFF
June 5th- Patio build and garden tending
June 12th-Patio build and garden tending
June 19- TBD
June 26th- TBD
We will be meeting all Fridays until October.. More details to come soon.
Community Grief Ritual
Saturday, June 13th | 2:00PM–6:00 PM | The Vital Hive | Lowell, MI | $65
Hot tub, sauna, and potluck afterwards (optional)
You are not alone in your grief.
Join us in tending our village heart in a communal stirring of grief. Whatever shape your grief takes — loss, unloved places, ancestral, ecological — it is welcome here.
In this ritual, we gather to honor Grief as a natural and deeply human process. Cultures around the world have gathered in rituals for thousands of years to acknowledge the grief that they’ve felt.
When we forget these ways of being with and tending our grief in community, we miss a vital and rich part of our lives- a part that connects us deeply to our joy and compassion. This is a practice of allowing the wild and tender places of sorrow to open us more deeply to our aliveness.
This space welcomes people of all experiences and all griefs — those newly touching grief, those long acquainted with it, and those simply curious about what healing in community can look like.
The ritual will be facilitated by Nic Despres, a ritualist, musician, and grief-tender, inspired by the rituals of friend and teacher Josh Fox, Asheville, NC.
What to expect
To preserve the emergent and spirited nature of this ritual, it will be held tenderly with open palms, following the stream of what is alive within the unique group that attends. We will gather around an altar, orient to the space and each other, and learn how to hold this space together. A few of the ritual technologies we may employ to call in our grief are: storytelling, music, poetry, heart-sharing, breathwork, games, and somatic practices.
What to Bring
Altar items — sacred objects, votive candles, flowers, photos or items representing ancestors, your younger self, family, or beloved places (you will get these back)
Cushion, water bottle, journal & pen
If staying for the sauna and potluck: a dish to share, salad topping, swimsuit, and towel
We want this work to be accessible and affordable. If cost is a barrier, please contact Nic HERE to inquire about financial assistance — no one will be turned away due to a lack of funds.
Address emailed upon registration.
Frame Drum Making + Ritual Weekend
Saturday, June 13th - Sunday, June 14th | 9:00AM–6:00 PM | The Vital Hive | Lowell, MI | $295
This is more than a craft workshop — it’s a chance to connect deeply with community, the earth, and your own rhythm. These drums are sacred tools, and making them is a meaningful, hands-on process that invites presence, gratitude, and connection.
We’ll begin by honoring the animals, trees, and ancestors that are part of each drum. With clear intention, we’ll take time to listen and give thanks before beginning the building process.
You'll create your own drum from start to finish, and adorn it with the meaningful words and art of your choosing. You’ll also make a drum mallet, and we’ll spend time playing together — feeling into the sound and rhythm we create together
On Saturday night, the sauna will be warm and ready for song. This is a space to sing, drum, dance, and pray together in an open-hearted and playful way. I’ll bring a few finished drums for everyone to play. This part is optional, but it adds a deeper layer to the weekend.
You’ll leave with a handmade drum, a deeper connection to its story, and an experience rooted in care, creativity, and community.
Sacred Plant Gathering
Thursday, June 18th | 6:30–8:00 PM | The Vital Hive | Lowell, MI | $35
An invitation for community based integration while exploring the powerful plant teachers Hapé and Sananga hosted by Brie Moblo and Lindsey Lutkenhoff. Both women have been working with these medicines for years and have a deep desire to share the practice and importance of creating humble connections with these sacred allies while understanding that creating space for integration can be as much the medicine as ceremony, big session work, or shifting awareness in our psyches.
Often, these plant medicines are powerful and clear big energies, assisting us in getting into our bodies while also bringing in a sense of deep connection to ourselves, the earth, and each other.
Hapé (also commonly spelled Rapé and pronounced "ha-peh") is a sacred plant medicine traditionally used by various Indigenous tribes of the Amazon rainforest. It is a finely ground powder made from a blend of Nicotiana rustica (a potent variety of tobacco), medicinal plants, herbs, and ashes served as a nasal snuff. The preparation and serving of Hapé is a sacred art, often involving prayer, chants, and song.
Sananga is a traditional eye medicine derived from the roots and bark of the Tabernaemontana genus, a native to the Amazon rainforest. The Sananga will be applied to the eyes in drops, assisting in cleaning and clearing of not only the ocular band but also negative energies. This medicine creates space for deep breathing, embodiment and connection to self, reminding us to be in the present.
Music is a beautiful medicine that assists in the movement of energy, opening of awareness and connecting to the divine. Kyle Joe, singer/songwriter, will be holding live music for the circle to attune to and enjoy throughout this gathering. Kyle has dedicated himself to his passion of medicine music and is deeply gifted in creating space for spirit to move with and into sacred healing spaces.
No previous experience necessary.
Please arrive prepared with a water bottle, a yoga mat, and anything else you may need to comfortably sink into this experience.
Contacts will need to be removed for Sananga to be served.
Address and parking instructions are emailed upon registration.