This article is from the New York Times, Feb. 14, 2021 By George Yancy Photo Credit…Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times This month’s conversation in our series exploring religion and death is with Jacob Kehinde Olupona, a professor of African religious traditions at Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of “City of […]
Bereavement and the Buddhist Bardo
I shared this article by Pema Khandro Rinpoche in the January 2021 issue of our newsletter, The Afterlife Advocate, and want to also post it here, because it’s one of the best pieces on death and grief that I’ve ever seen: Breaking Open in the Bardo
The Ego’s Desire for Deathlessness
The Ego’s Desire for Deathlessness I just watched a movie on Netflix called HOPE FROZEN, about a family in Thailand whose two year-old daughter died of brain cancer, and they have her cryogenically preserved. It makes a powerful statement about science vs. spirituality, family dynamics and complicated grief. I had a very strong emotional (and […]
There Are No “Stages” of Grief
Can We Please Stop Talking About the “Stages of Grief?” In my professional capacity as a pastoral counselor specializing in loss and grief, I hear from bereaved people almost daily about their struggles to find healing and peace after a profound loss. For me, and for my most of my colleagues, it is endlessly frustrating […]
What Flowers Teach Us About Death
Nasturtiums have been my favorite flower since I planted my first garden in 1975. They are colorful, beautiful, prolific and easy to grow, and they can make any landscape look like a fairy tale kingdom. But they are also fragile, and if the sun hits them too hard for too long, the flowers will wilt, […]
How to Support a Terminally Ill Person
This Q&A was originally for an interview with healthcare website The Paper Gown Q: If there were five rules for comforting someone who is terminally ill, what would they be? A. The role of chaplains and counselors who work with end-of-life is to help the patient and his/her family deal with the reality of their […]
I’m an End-of-Life Educator
Originally published on Business Insider, Jan. 24, 2020 I’m a Death and Grief Educator. Here’s What I Teach, and Here’s What I’ve Learned It’s not the kind of career you dream about as a kid. It’s not glamorous like an astronaut or a rock star, and it’s not easy to explain when someone asks […]
A Magical Encounter in Utah
I spent several days in Salt Lake City this month giving presentations and making friends with some extraordinary people. Everywhere you look there are mountains, and it is gorgeous! The only thing I didn’t like about Utah was how difficult it was to buy a bottle of wine. I felt like a criminal going into […]
Abraham-Hicks on Grief
This a brilliant explanation of death, loss, grief and inter-dimensional communication:
Death is a Miracle
DEATH IS A MIRACLE: A Channeled Message by Rev. Terri Daniel, MA, CT Excerpted from Embracing Death: A New Look at Grief, Gratitude and God Death is a miracle. People often say that birth is a miracle, and certainly it is, because the system through which we come to earth through each other’s bodies is […]
What is Complicated Grief?
The term “complicated grief” is greatly misunderstood by the bereaved, in large part because the word “complicated” has recently become a pop culture buzzword. Many people have said to me, “ALL grief is complicated,” which is evidence of this misunderstanding. Because all grief is NOT complicated. The majority of people move toward restoration and healing in […]
Creative Cremations
Creative Cremations, Home Funerals and at-Home Death Care Earlier this month a man in my neighborhood was dying, and his wife contacted me for end-of-life support. She honored their Buddhist tradition of keeping the body at home for three days after death. When it was time for cremation, with the help of home funeral expert […]
Death Education in Schools
Is Death the New Sex? Last year there was a widely-circulated television news story about a ten year-old boy named Kyler Bradley who was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. A news crew filmed Kyler in his classroom surrounded by his friends, who were eagerly listening to the instructions of their teacher, who directed them to “pray for a miracle.” The […]
Forgiveness at end-of-life
Forgiveness at End-of-Life Text and Illustration By Lizzy Miles, MA, MSW, LSW Lizzy is a hospice social worker in Columbus, Ohio and author of Somewhere In Between: The Hokey Pokey, Chocolate Cake and the Shared Death Experience. She is best known for bringing the Death Cafe concept to the United States. As a hospice social worker, I have […]