Exciting March Virtual Events for the Childless & Childfree Community
Happy March, friends!
I’m sending this note to you from the depths of thesis season. Aside from nurturing my therapy practice and Substack community, I also serve as a Research Associate in the thesis department at my alma mater, Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Every year around this time, I get to shepherd students through the finalization and publishing of their thesis projects. Although it is hard to have a life during this season, it is always a sincere joy to witness the culmination of such an arduous journey that unfolds for each student over a year’s time. Plus, I get to be immersed in a rich environment of potent, innovative research by these amazing authors; I am always transformed by their work every single year.
I feel so lucky to be able to learn from their soul-full studies.
As I think about the upcoming community events here on Making Meaning Without Kids, I can’t help but appreciate the sense of community, mentorship, and connections that are made within bonding educational experiences such as a Master’s program.
While the research portion of writing a thesis can be lonely, it’s the community of peers and mentors that help graduate students overcome obstacles, find clarity, and learn about themselves through the entire process.
As I’ve talked about on this Substack, being a childfree or childless individual can be lonely in our culture as well. But my goal here is to create a community of peers and mentors who can support us to find our path in life–in much the same way a thesis topic can.
Speaking of, I am honored to be hosting some dear mentors and wise guides over the next couple of months right here on Making Meaning Without Kids, and I can’t wait to share more with you!
March Event: Creating an Intimacy-Rich Life: An Interactive Discussion with Special Guest Shauna Janz, founder of Sacred Grief
Thursday, March 19 from 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. PST
Can’t make it live? A recording will be available for 1 week after the event
$35.00 | General Public and Free Subscribers to Jackie’s Substack, Making Meaning Without Kids
$25.00 | Paid Subscribers to Jackie’s Substack, Making Meaning Without Kids
(No one will be turned away due to financial hardship. Please reach out to me if you need to discuss alternative payment options.)
How do you create an intimacy-rich life as a childfree or childless-not-by-choice person?
Join me and my esteemed guest, educator, grief activist, and edge-dweller Shauna Janz for an interactive discussion on how connection, community, and identity can be re-visioned — beyond cultural norms.
I met Shauna several years ago through her online school Sacred Grief, which focuses on the reclamation of life-ways for grieving, ritual healing, ancestral connection, and animate living towards new culture building.
Shauna is a cis-gendered queer woman of Northern European descent who lives with an invisible disability, is a survivor of complex trauma, and who has chosen to be childless, to live solo, and to nurture chosen family and relationship structures outside of heternormative monogamous ideals. You can read her full bio here.
Here’s what to expect from this event:
We will begin with a rich dialog on the meaning of intimacy, and I will explore with Shauna how she has integrated intimacy into her own life. We will also discuss how intimacy intersects with our lived experiences of not having kids.
Then, space will be open for attendees to share, reflect, and ask Shauna questions.
She will then guide us into collective sharing and experiential reflections to explore our own longings around intimacy as childless/childfree individuals.
We will conclude with more time to share, reflect, and engage with Shauna.
Bring a journal and an open heart and mind as we create a beautiful connective time together that uplifts the many ways that both our joy and grief and the presences and absences in our life can be grounds for deep intimacy and fulfillment.
You can read more about the event here.
I am beyond delighted to host Shauna in this space after attending many of her workshops, consultations, and gatherings over the years. It has been an honor to join her in a collegial space of childlessness, and our conversations working up to this event have been transformative and joy-inducing. Shauna is an eloquent speaker, truly gifted in channeling wisdom in a down-to-earth way. Her humor and compassion create a warm atmosphere for those in her presence. I trust that you will be moved, stirred, and inspired by Shauna, just as I have.
Event Details:
We will meet on Zoom — you’ll receive the link after you register.
A recording will be available for 1 week after the event for anyone who can’t attend live.
Tickets are $25 for paid members of Making Meaning Without Kids, and $35 to the general public.
Want to join Making Meaning Without Kids to get access to this event at a discount, along with upcoming events at no cost/a discounted rate? Join the Paid Tier here.
Meaning Making for Childfree and Childless Women in Mid-Life and Beyond: An 8-Week Support Group
Held Weekly on Wednesdays from 5:00 - 6:30 pm PST
Sessions Held on Zoom | Max 10 people
I currently have a few openings, so contact me for a screening!
Childfree people approaching or arriving upon middle age may begin to internalize negative messages around the taboo of not becoming mothers or following a non-traditional life script, resulting in feeling depressed, anxious, or like they are a failure or let their loved ones or ancestors down. Self-doubt and regret are prone to creep in at this time, even if an individual has felt confident about their choices throughout their life.
Loneliness and isolation are common, and feelings of loss and grief often emerge. Questions on the legacy one wishes to leave—or even how to leave a legacy without signing on to a traditional script—can cause feelings of being lost, un-anchored, or without value or purpose. This time of life brings up the importance of having a community of support that can provide us with validation and a space to be seen and heard in our unique stories. Having a community of support helps us see ourselves more clearly, encouraging us to embrace our present with more vigor and face our futures with more hope and purpose.
Join us in a welcoming space where you are invited to sharpen your sense of identity in order to reclaim your voice and inspiration that can lead to reconnecting with a happy and meaningful life.
To schedule your initial screening or to get more information on the group, please contact me at jacquelyntoth.com/contact.
Upcoming April Events:
Sensory Awareness for Childfree and Childless Individuals with Ayana Amoa: Saturday, April 11, 10-11:15 a.m. PST
$25.00 | General Public and Free Subscribers to Jackie’s Substack, Making Meaning Without Kids
$10.00 | Paid Subscribers to Jackie’s Substack, Making Meaning Without Kids
Our first Sensory Awareness event in January hosted by Ayana was a surprisingly powerful and unifying event for all who attended.
Ayana’s steady guidance to make contact with our bellies turned out to be a potent experience that attendees were able to reflect upon during the sharing period.
Here is a comment from one of the attendees:
“From beginning to end, the experience was calming and heart opening, giving me a new sense of listening from within.... Ayana is a gentle and gifted guide into the realm of the senses.”
For me, this session inspired me to write my latest Substack post titled My Big, Fat, Childfree Belly, which includes not only a more detailed description of this event but also a consideration of how childless and childfree individuals can reclaim our childfree bellies from the grips of patriarchal, pronatalist culture.
This time, Ayana will be picking up the thread of intimacy from Shauna’s March event, guiding attendees to explore what may be encountered in the contemplation of self-intimacy.
Ayana is a certified Somatic Awareness facilitator. Here is how she explains this practice:
“Sensory awareness is a somatic practice that gives space for one to discover, be with, and hold oneself for all that you innately come with. This practice embodies and supports the flow of what is already here and offers an opportunity to connect deeper into what is already within. To be aware of who you are. All of you.
This practice is an invitation from you to you in order to explore the moments of each moment anew, fresh, and alive. It is an exploration of the body, breath, and environment.”
Creative Rest Vigil with Jackie Toth, Childfree LMFT: April Date TBD
Exclusively for paid subscribers to Making Meaning Without Kids! Creative rest vigils are intended to be a place where you can make a soft landing, with no expectations to “produce,” “process,” or “work through” anything.
You are welcome to simply “be” and share a quiet, undemanding space with other childless and childfree folks.
An evocative playlist will be offered in the background as you choose your mode of rest: draw, paint, meditate, grieve, dance, nap, daydream, create or tend to your altar. There is no wrong way to creatively rest together!
You can click here to read more about past vigils.
Always free to paid subscribers.
I hope to see you at one of these upcoming events—and in the meantime, stay warm and dry out there! Remember: Spring is right around the corner!
XO,
