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“Grief can destroy you --or focus you. You can decide a relationship was all for nothing if it had to end in death, and you alone. OR you can realize that every moment of it had more meaning than you dared to recognize at the time, so much meaning it scared you, so you just lived, just took for ... Views: 6
This is something that can affect someone in many ways and as a result of many things. Some losses can simply be ignored and forgotten about and then there are others can are harder to forget.
One can also lose something and never forget the loss; regardless of how much times goes by or what ... Views: 26
Dear Dr. Romance:
What Is The Grieving Process?
What are the stages of the grieving process? How long does it take to go through each stage? Can one stage be relived over and over again? Is there a way to help someone through each stage?
Dear Reader:
If you've had a personal ... Views: 33
When someone advises you to "take a deep breath" what do you actually do? How does it feel in your body? Try it right now, paying close attention to the front of your body. Where does the movement of the breath come in?
I'm guessing you probably felt it most in your chest. You also probably ... Views: 20
The Butterfly in all its glory is a symbol of transformation, hope, faith, and love. Its most important role however is the remarkable gift it gives to us, in understanding death and rebirth unveiling the process of re-incarnation.
Another extraordinary example of the butterfly is its ability ... Views: 160
The Power of Love
A number of years ago, while attending the Trauma Recovery Certification training, a teacher who worked with troubled youth remarked that by the end of the year she wanted all the children to know that God loves them. In response, I invited her to ponder if a better ... Views: 250
Irishman Walking is about my walking the coastal roads of Japan through a series of summer, winter, spring, and autumn stages. Stage 2 began in the city of Noshiro, Akita Prefecture in the winter of 2009, and ended in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata four weeks later in January 2010. Last summer (2012), ... Views: 252
Healing our heart is a multifaceted process that takes patience. The first step is to acknowledge that our heart is broken. Whether it is through the death of a loved one, a relationship ending or a betrayal in a close relationship the broken heart will heal.
Once we accept the pain and ... Views: 279
We all have a story to tell that makes us who we are today. We ask people to tell their transformational stories in this magazine; therefore, I am going to share my story here this month. Through this letter to my brother, I will share how our enlightened relationship transformed my ... Views: 312
Did you know Happiness is a choice? You are the one in control of making that decision every single day. It's hard to fathom when it feels like the whole world and the economy are in chaos. However, I learned through tragedy and ultimately triumph, I could choose "happy," no matter ... Views: 375
A school’s complete body of students will be impacted upon when the sudden death of a student’s parent becomes known.
Come morning, usually, the school’s administration has been notified allowing them to brief their staff before the school’s day starts. The school board’s psychologist will ... Views: 287
The holidays are supposed to be a happy time of the year. We have time off, we get to see our families, our kids are excited about this magical time of the year, etc. But for many people the holidays only mean stress, anxiety, and grief. If you have lost a loved one, you may be experiencing this ... Views: 361
There are many facts about Near Death Experiences that have come to light through the research in that field over the last 30 years. The more we look into them, the more we receive wonderful messages about the wider truths.
The near death experiences (NDEs) that occur following an accident ... Views: 452
I know I'm not alone in the fact that I've lost someone very special to breast cancer, and I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that it still hurts after nearly twenty years. My mom passed away in 1993, a victim of this horrible disease, and getting over her death has taken most of my adult life. ... Views: 696
Recently a phrase popped into my head, "Inexplicably predictably happy." That's one way I experience God--words come to me and I can tell they are not mine (some people call this "channeling").
I was actually grieving at the time I "heard" those words, but even though I was grieving, I ... Views: 501
Just before Christmas when I was 7 years old my dad died and I experienced a life altering paradigm shift. It was as if the curtains closed at the end of an act on the stage of my life and when they reopened, the scenery had completely changed leaving me feeling unsafe and bewildered. As a ... Views: 357
You experienced a horrible loss. The grief has nearly destroyed you.
Although you are aware grief has no schedule or timetable, you are a year into your extended mourning session and want it to stop. In fact, you have become nearly paralyzed with sadness and know this can’t go on. What can ... Views: 489
Recently I made a trip to the supermarket, and was delighted to be able to help an elderly couple with some of shopping’s little snags such as pulling the trolley out and reaching for higher goods. They reminded me of my parents, and I so wanted to go home with them. As we chatted, the woman ... Views: 496
I was listening to the weather guy last night saying he knows that many of us are upset that summer is gone, but then reminded listeners that fall that is quite spectacular. I have to agree with him. Of course, it depends where you live. In the Northeast, we get to see all those incredible fall ... Views: 445
We all long for a peaceful life. We search for peace through the mediums that our culture sells: through spending, watching television, searching the Internet, finding the “perfect” partner, having a baby, and a variety of other misguided methods. We even meditate, practice yoga, and attend ... Views: 628
There IS light at the end of the tunnel!
Feel like you are suffocating in the darkness of your pain? Don’t think there’s any hope?
When you are in the midst of despair, I want you to know there IS light at the end of your tunnel. You may not think so right now, but it’s there. Many have ... Views: 614
Has Your Pain Turned into Anguish and Despair?
Today, I want to talk about something that is very painful and deep inside some of us. Something that eats at you and gnaws away at your very being. It seems like it never gets better, but only worse.
What I am talking about is our pain, but ... Views: 633
Are you someone who has experienced loss? Do you find yourself grieving alone or suppressing your feelings altogether? If so, you may be afraid of burdening friends and family with your grief. Or, perhaps you feel like no one understands what you are going through, so you hide your deepest ... Views: 556
Each day that we awaken is a new day to take our lives forward. It is an opportunity to create something new, something fresh. No matter what you have gone thru, no matter how painful, how heart-wrenching, you don’t have to be in that situation forever. You do not have to be in pain forever. ... Views: 506
Living in the Bottom of a Well
By Sheri N Hall
You look up, you see a small circle of light- no it is not ‘Gods light’ but it is the way out. It is seemingly far away but closer than you think. It is very small; sometimes non-existent sometimes you cannot see it because you don’t want to ... Views: 802
Unpredictable circumstances in life can make us feel as though the results of our actions are beyond our immediate influence. Events including job loss, death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or even a car accident can leave us feeling helpless: as though the reigns have slipped away ... Views: 858
Loss causes us to ask the tough questions, “Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? It sends us on a journey of self exploration and discovery. It causes us to question the nature of reality. Who we thought we were is no longer. All that we knew to be true, all of our assumptions about ... Views: 1030
A friend of mine recently said to me, “Suzane, you are the only person I know who shows your garden to everyone from your Blackberry.” I just looked at her and thought, “In this day and age of electronic wizardry, is it so strange that a girl from farming stock on both sides her family is ... Views: 839
We are all connected. A tragedy such as this is proof that though we may not know any of those who have passed personally (or their family members and friends), the experience nonetheless hits a core in all of us.
Death — especially one of this magnitude — awakens the fragility of life. Most ... Views: 1002
How to heal a broken heart is a multifaceted process that takes patience. The first step is to accept that our heart is broken. Whether it is through the death of a loved one, a relationship ending or a betrayal in a close relationship the broken heart will heal when we focus on that ... Views: 735
"...when you fully understand that each day you awaken could be the last you have, you take the time that day to grow, to become more of who you really are, to reach out to other human beings."
-- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Death The Final Stage of Growth
I wrote the following piece after a ... Views: 933
The Grieving of America
We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in childhood, and we find that life alters our plans.
—Ben Oki
We have seen and heard of job losses within our economy. As a result, individuals have lost their homes, status/lifestyle, dreams, and ... Views: 1040
When you are going through a rough time the last thing you think about is the light at the end of the tunnel. Regardless of what the situation is, you are drowning in it. Your emotions are running rapid and you can’t quite get a grip on things. You have tunnel vision at this point and the ... Views: 1313
I’ve lost many things in my life. Jobs. Grandparents. Pets. Money. A house. A business. Even my identity at one point.
I’ve watched my parents lose their parents, my husband lose his father, my daughter lose teenage friends.
I’ve seen that in the moment these losses feel insurmountable. ... Views: 832
I am a hospice social worker and grief therapist. Before I used Emotional Freedom Techniques I spent a lot of hours hoping I was making a difference providing grief support. It’s a proven fact that people who are grieving need to tell their stories so that they can process their grief, but ... Views: 697
If you were given the choice between diving freely into the darkest depths of the ocean fully equipped with all of the proper gear you would need to handle anything you might encounter OR being slowly dragged down by an eighty pound anchor that is chained to your legs while you frantically tread ... Views: 752
Often we think of a mid life crisis striking in the middle of one's life. And maybe it's called middle life crisis because that's when most of them strike. Yet today, that age could range easily between 30 and 60 years of age. Carl Jung, psychologist, described the middle age crisis as part and ... Views: 988
Three months after my beloved Teacher in doggie form, Suki, left her body, I found myself still feeling an enormous ache in my heart whenever I thought of her. I knew enough to realize that how we feel is a choice, usually based on a belief. As a healer and dedicated spiritual practitioner for ... Views: 1363
Living a spiritual life while maintaining a regular meditative (reflective) attitude toward life, death, and dying is important to our ultimate death. Socrates said “the unexamined life is not worth living” and if death is a part of life, the final stage or the stage in between, then “an ... Views: 1049
When difficult or traumatic experiences occur in our lives, we naturally wonder, “Why did this happen? What does it mean?” Often, such experiences may appear not to have any particular meaning; they may seem to be nothing more than purposeless suffering. Yet, in my years as a spiritual author ... Views: 1605
None of us wants to think about it, but the standard definition of a totally successful relationship is the old, traditional “til death do us part.” Any time we love, whether it’s a life partner, a dear friend, a child, a sibling, a parent or even a beloved pet, we are risking the loss of that ... Views: 834
WHY ARE WE STILL talking about the murder of 14-year-old Emmett TilL some 50-plus years postmortem? I blogged on the topic last August upon the 56th anniversary of this young African American boy’s brutal death back in 1955.
Now his name is frequently appearing as national and international ... Views: 968
At a distance we noticed a hawk flying. In the next moment, it headed straight towards us and circled over head. Smiling, I knew that Kyle was with us as we celebrated the 13-year anniversary of his death. We made a ritual of hiking to his tree, a small oak ling; we planted in his honor, a year ... Views: 1401
Who hasn’t heard or said themselves “I just don’t know what to say.” Or “I feel so helpless – there’s nothing I can do!!” Well there ARE things that you can do or say to help those in pain due to the death of a loved one. We can help, and not just in little ways, and it makes a tremendous ... Views: 710
Our lives send us through ups and downs.
We expect that we will find a “key” that will unlock the mystery of perennial happiness, total clarity about what is going on, a firm and unending grasp upon the helm of our lives.
But inevitably, as night follows day, we find ourselves back in the ... Views: 648
Where two rivers joined, I spotted a large dead Ponderosa pine which had fallen down a steep ravine on its side, half of its trunk submerged in the water. Carefully navigating my way down the ravine, I felt excited….This was the first day of my vacation and the tree was the perfect place for me ... Views: 807
Haven’t we all felt the pit in our stomach, the disbelief it’s happening, feeling pissed off, calling up to get back together, and the sadness, when we go through the loss of a romantic relationship that we cared a lot about? Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote originally about these stages in terms of ... Views: 772
Why? This is a question which anyone whose life is touched by suicide will find themselves asking. Why would anyone willingly cause his or her own death? The answer to this question is simple but the grief experienced by anyone who is dealing with suicide is anything but simple.
Suicide is a ... Views: 1264
I have had many memorable moments performing magic over the years.
I have been fortunate to have been honored with awards from my peers. I have been hired by celebrities like Pirece Brosnan, Minnie Driver Steven Segal. I have worked on movies with Sean Penn and Albert Finney and Jack ... Views: 895
During my ten years of assisting families with making burial arrangements, I listened to countless expressions of regret by loved ones on behalf of the deceased. “I regret that he didn’t, she didn’t, I didn’t, we didn’t, or they didn’t.” This remorse that the deceased didn’t get a chance to ... Views: 1335