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Death and Dying Articles
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- Moore To Consider About... The Mass Exodus - by Submitted on May 13, 2008 from Profile RemovedOn September 11, 2001, I was inspired to write this piece for the The Black & White Book site I was maintaining at the time. That paralyzing event rapidly revealed itself to be far more than just a United States tragedy in more ways than one. It has proven to be a cornerstone to a phenomenon we ...
Views: 923 - Six Months To Live - by Submitted on Apr 21, 2008 from Diane Goble“I’m sorry, Martha,” the doctor said sadly, “there is nothing more medical science can offer you. It’s time to go home and call hospice, get your affairs in order and prepare to die.” What goes through someone’s mind when they hear something like that and how does one prepare to die? If it’s ...
Views: 1159 - Death Is Another Country - by Submitted on Apr 10, 2008 from Hollis PolkI heard the news today oh boy About a lucky man who made the change (To paraphrase the Beatles) So another friend left his body rather permanently. I heard the news from a mutual friend. Dan was in his mid-50s, with a grown son and a college-age daughter. He wasn’t sick, except he ...
Views: 1825 - Fictions: On Grief - by Submitted on Mar 20, 2008 from Niama WilliamsI don’t like these modern fictions, these post-modern, post-Western mythos of bravado and in-the-face-of-death steelinesses. I was afraid it would be him; of all of them he was the one I preferred most; more than the redhead, more than the Southern belle. And oddly, it was the black ...
Views: 1251 - A Dream Of Dying - by Submitted on Mar 19, 2008 from Elaine WilliamsMy husband was ill ten months with cancer when I had the dream. I had been taking care of his needs for almost eleven months, and even though some days there seemed to be progress, in hindsight I see it was really a steady progression on a downhill curve. One night I had a dream I was upstairs ...
Views: 1128 - The Hand - by Submitted on Mar 16, 2008 from Dzagbe CudjoeThe eyes gazing into mine are young, full of sympathy and deep hurt. Those eyes will never acquire a hard, cynical expression. How long will this young man remain in a job suffused with such profound pain and distress I think to myself? Slowly I turn my head to stare fearfully at a small table ...
Views: 899 - Receiving The Gift Of Death - by Submitted on Mar 16, 2008 from Deborah MaragopoulosEddie. He came to me in the fall of 2002, diagnosed with lung cancer. His lawyer, a patient of mine, suggested he consult with me, as a clinical endocrine advisor in a research project using natural progesterone to treat cancer at the Sansum Medical Clinic. Cancer is not my specialty. I ...
Views: 1069 - Death Is The Doorway To Life — Three Ways To Prepare (Part 3 of 3) - by Submitted on Mar 13, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock3. Dying peacefully (From a talk by Ajahn Jagaro, the abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat when Janet and I trained in Thailand as a Buddhist monk and nun in 1981) "Having considered all of this, if dying becomes no longer a contemplation but an actual experience, we can face it without fear. Not only ...
Views: 871 - Home Funeral ... Or Funeral Home? - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2008 from Donna BelkA hundred years ago home funerals were the norm. Today, however, many people don’t realize they still have the option of choosing a home funeral. In most states, home funerals can be offered without the use of a funeral home or funeral director. The family can act as its own funeral ...
Views: 2015 - Practical Things You Can Do For Someone Who Is Dying - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2008 from Donna BelkIf you have a friend or loved one who is dying and don’t feel you know what to do, here are some practical suggestions for things you can do to feel more useful and more at ease with the situation. These suggests are also gifts for the dying person and can help them feel more peaceful and ...
Views: 31401(2 votes) - Dying: You Can't Do It Wrong - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2008 from Donna BelkAs a hospice volunteer I am blessed to be included at the end of people’s lives. My daughters and friends sometimes ask me how I can do it. They think that it is icky or heart-wrenching. But to me I am the one receiving the benefit! I get to observe many approaches to the end of life. ...
Views: 1643 - The Path To Heaven. Short Story.For Reflection - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2008 from Oscar Basurto CarbonellThe child looked at the sky as trying to understand its meaning, dimension, depth. He had heard some stories, some happy and others sad. The happy ones said that the inhabitants of heaven were always joyful, as if the celebration would last forever. But he had also heard that heaven is the place ...
Views: 4638 - Death Is The Doorway To Life — Three Ways To Prepare (Part 2 Of 3) - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock2. Living consciously. (From a talk by Ajahn Jagaro, the abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat when Janet and I trained in Thailand as a Buddhist monk and nun in 1981) "Now this (contemplating death) really does free us up, enabling us to live our lives more fully. The contemplation of death, rather than ...
Views: 777 - Death Is The Doorway To Life — Three Ways To Prepare (Part 1 of 3) - by Submitted on Mar 10, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockApproximately 100 million people die every year.That's a lot of people. Death is a common occurrence, but we hide from death's reality in many ways. In third world countries, there is no funeral director that takes care of everything and neatly makes up the body as if it is asleep. In third ...
Views: 1148 - How To Minimize Self-Imposed Isolation In Grief And Loss - by Submitted on Feb 26, 2008 from Louis LaGrandYou can reduce unnecessary suffering when grieving by limiting the time you either knowingly or unknowingly isolate yourself. Self-imposed isolation is a common response to the death of a loved one. Although some alone time is necessary during all grief work, the bereaved all too often withdraw ...
Views: 6429 - Can Our Dead Loved Ones Speak To Us? - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2008 from Dr. Richard RuhlingRecommended websites on health topics Bible information www.selfgrowth.com Psychic and spiritualist experiences abound on the internet. As a physician who rotated through psychiatric wards in medical school, I interviewed more than one person whose problem included an encounter with a ...
Views: 1930 - Tomorrow Is A Gift - by Submitted on Feb 14, 2008 from Elaine Williams©2008 My husband chose to be cremated, and to that end I had arranged a time for friends and family to gather for a memorial service in remembrance. I gathered pictures of our twenty plus years together, creating a wonderful collage in pictures for the service. On this evening, the hospice ...
Views: 845 - Hope - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2008 from John SeeleyThis is an article to give people information and suggestions to help ourselves and the people we love. Please read and pass this on to everyone on your address list, you never know who needs this. “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly “ -anonymous ...
Views: 929 - Sudden Spouse Death - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2008 from Lanky LevyBaby boomers are coming of age. 60 is the magical number, but to a "Boomer", that is really not old, and most can't understand how this age has suddenly made them "old" to society. They are still vibrant, full of life, living and going about their business. But what happens when a spouse ...
Views: 1338 - What To Do When Children Are Grieving Death - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2008 from Lisa ManyonThe loss of loved ones is not a topic many people like to discuss. In general, society is uncomfortable with this loss. However, death has a very real impact on those who knew and loved the departed. Death impacts us all in specific and unique ways and each person deals with loss individually. ...
Views: 934 - Living With Loss - by Submitted on Feb 09, 2008 from June BreretonLoss comes in many forms, and when we lose someone we ask questions of the universe, why did s/he die? Why did s/he leave me? Why him or her? Why did this happen? As a therapist I meet loss every day when working with my clients but I have also experienced it more closely in the death of my ...
Views: 994 - Transition - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2008 from Tammie BowdenAs physical death occurs, the silver thread connecting the physical vehicle with the spiritual body is broken and the etheric portion of the person begins to slip away and separate from the more dense physical material. Those who sit with a person during this final transition period often notice ...
Views: 1293 - Coping with Death During Holidays - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2008 from Carolyn ZellanderThere is never a good time to say goodbye to a loved one, but death of a family member during the holidays seems to deal a triple whammy! In the short span of five (5) years I have witnessed the death of four (4) of my closest family members. Two of them died between Thanksgiving and ...
Views: 1801 - A Widow’s Many “Firsts” - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2008 from Elaine WilliamsThe left side of the bed where my husband used to sleep remains neatly made, hardly a ripple disturbing the quilted surface. I sleep on the right side each night, where I had slept the twenty-plus years we were together. With time, I developed a habit of reading in bed. The left side remained ...
Views: 2236 - How Do I Deal With This Death? - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2008 from Jim MathesonDeath comes to all. It is only a question of when. Woody Allen said it best: "I'm not afraid of dying. I just don't want to be there when it happens." There are many people who believe that life never ends, that we live forever or return to live again through reincarnation. And there are those ...
Views: 945 - The Last Breath - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2008 from Elaine Williams©2008 That last moment of my husband’s life, I stood beside his bed. It was the final moment of our twenty plus years together. My sister-in-law and my middle son were on the opposite side of the bed. My eldest son sat at the kitchen table. I had been sitting with my husband most of the ...
Views: 1051 - Medical Treatment Is A Personal Decision - by Submitted on Jan 22, 2008 from Elaine WilliamsWhen my husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, we were shocked, never even having suspected this illness. He had always been relatively healthy, and then one day he couldn’t eat anymore. It all began a few months before the diagnosis. He felt an uneasy heaviness in his chest, but he ...
Views: 837 - Does God Send Balloons? - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2008 from Elaine WilliamsOne day, a little over three months after my husband's cancer diagnosis, was the first time I really thought he was going to die. He lay in bed and he could not get up from being so weak. I was so incredibly frightened. I knew with certainty there was a good chance he was going to die that ...
Views: 883 - The Ways We Grieve - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2008 from Sam Oliver,Have you ever noticed the way people grieve? There seems to be those who grieve from an ego perspective, and those who grieve from an integrative perspective. To some degree, you will notice a little of ego and integrative responses in the process of letting go. We live in a society where being ...
Views: 1207 - Terminal Diagnosis, The Shadow Of Loss - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2008 from Elaine WilliamsI remember vividly the day my husband was diagnosed with cancer. We sat in the doctor's office, not saying anything after the doctor confirmed the lesions on Joseph's esophagus were malignant. Even though we had asked for the truth, it was still an incredible shock. I had never actually thought ...
Views: 867 - Power of Attorney - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2008 from Kenneth VercammenWhat are these powers of attorney? A Power of Attorney is a written document in which a competent adult individual (the "principal") appoints another competent adult individual (the "attorney-in-fact") to act on the principal's behalf. In general, an attorney-in-fact may perform any legal ...
Views: 1399 - Sympathy Thank You - Etiquette And Ready To Copy Sample Letters Of Sympathy - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2008 from Christy MurphyAt such a difficult time in your life writing sympathy thank you notes can seem overwhelming. Who gets a note? What do you write? How long do you have to write letters of sympathy? Firstly, it is no longer considered a "must" to send thank you notes after a funeral. Modern etiquette allows for ...
Views: 12476(1 vote) - A Child's View Of Death ...Linda's Story - by Submitted on Jan 01, 2008 from Gwen McCauleyI became a widow at the young age of twenty-six. My husband was an environmental scientist who was killed in a small plane crash in the interior of British Columbia that not only took his life but those of the pilot and all three passengers. The year after this devastating event in my life I ...
Views: 1664 - Life After Grief - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2007 from Elaine WilliamsI became a widow at 47. I'd always thought my husband and I would be together forever, or at least a lot longer than 20 years. We have three boys, who at the time were 11, 18 and 19. I ran the gamut of emotions...shock, fear, an utter stillness of nothing, a frenzy of activity, and on and on. ...
Views: 947 - How Psychics Have Fun (Part 3) - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2007 from Hollis PolkLast weekend, I had the privilege of hosting Mark Macy (www.spiritfaces.com) and his Luminator (more on that machine later), for a couple of parties, where he described his research into instrumental transcommunication (www.worlditc.org), i.e. using electronic equipment to talk with the 'dead'. ...
Views: 1139(1 vote) - Committing Suicide Will Not End Your Misery - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2007 from Sarah Taylors"When one's life is at the end of the road, there seems only one way to exit, that is to exit this life altogether" Such is the constant thought of those who have not seen light in the face of adversity, but only darkness; complete darkness haunted with fear, insecurity and utter hopelessness. ...
Views: 5308 - 10 Ways To Support Someone Who Is Grieving - by Submitted on Nov 09, 2007 from Jan TincherHow can we help and support someone who is grieving? Here are ten tips: 1. Call weekly, twice weekly, daily, or weekends, whichever is appropriate. Try to do it at the same time of day. If you call at 6 p.m. (as an example) daily, weekly, or whenever, they know when you will be calling and ...
Views: 1390 - Death And The White Light - by Submitted on Oct 31, 2007 from Deborah MaragopoulosEddie. He came to me in the fall of 2002, diagnosed with lung cancer. His lawyer, a patient of mine, suggested he consult with me, as a clinical endocrine advisor in a research project using natural progesterone to treat cancer at the Sansum Medical Clinic. Cancer is not my specialty. I ...
Views: 2031 - What To Do (And Not Do) When You Hurt - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2007 from Jennifer BrostNo one knew what to do with me. The chaplain gave me hand-outs. The church people force-fed me Bible verses. My friends tried to understand (some of them), but simply could not. My husband’s patience had run low. I was grieving. Mourning, and doubled over in pain. I felt dead from the all the ...
Views: 718 - Top 10 Reasons Why Single Women Did Not Respond To You Answering Her Ad - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2007 from Don DiebelIf you play the "personals" I'm sure this has happen to you. You answer an ad of a single woman that sounds like the woman you have been searching for all your life for love and romance. You write her a real nice letter and enclose an attractive photo of yourself and you just can't wait to ...
Views: 888 - Multypersonality Performance - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2007 from Dr. Chandrasekaran KanthadaiMULTYPERSONALITY PERFORMANCE We have heard about 'multypersonality disorder'. In medical terms this is a stage wherein a man/woman undergoes the experience of different personalities in him. The person undergoing such change in him, is, in general, not aware of such changes and expresses a ...
Views: 795 - Moving Is Symbolic - by Submitted on Aug 28, 2007 from Meredith MathewsMoving stirs up dust from your past. It has a way of reminding you where you’ve been, and causes you to question where you’re headed. In all the cardboard boxes and packing tape, you find yourself and lose yourself all at the same time. My parents are moving. Move number 15 in their ...
Views: 803 - Astrology, Numerology & Prediction – Approximate Time of Your Death is Destined - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2007 from Scott & Stephen PetulloA client told us that he’s had at least seven bad accidents throughout his life. At the scene of the last one (a car roll-over), after walking away without a scratch, a stranger told him “God has something special for you.” He asked us if those accidents could have been his possible destined ...
Views: 10591 - Learning to Forgive Yourself - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2007 from Joan Marie WhelanIt is hard enough to lose someone we love, but even more difficult to lose a child. Parents (both young and old alike) encounter an arduous task to forgive themselves after experiencing such devastating loss. The initial instinct is to blame oneself for not being there, or not being able to ...
Views: 1498 - Fate, Destiny, Karma, Past Lives & Future Lives - Why You Can’t Live Forever - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2007 from Scott & Stephen PetulloA death in the family is always difficult and we feel compassion for those who find themselves in this situation. Our research tells us that we choose our paths (especially the key players and major events) before incarnating. However, when we say "we" we mean our souls. Once we're here on ...
Views: 1348 - How We Do Death - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2007 from Judee ReganWhile waiting to attend a focus group for seniors, I read an article on ‘Twixers.’ This term refers to young people ages 24 to 29, who still live at home, have worked numerous jobs since leaving school, are saddled with large education debts, and are not yet ready to get on with transition ...
Views: 815 - You Can't Sing If You're Dead - by My e-zine, Tame Your Brain!, is dedicated to showing people how to live their lives successfully. However, I felt that death should be dealt with, too. We have an opportunity to make one last contribution. Let’s make sure we make it our best.
Are you going to die . . . soon?
Hm. That’s a ...
Views: 908 - It’s Okay to Establish a New Relationship with Your Deceased Loved One - by Submitted on Jul 24, 2007 from Louis LaGrandThose mourning the death of a loved one are often told to find closure, let go of the deceased loved one, and go on with their lives. For most, this admonition is tantamount to saying forget about the person. In truth, no one ever forgets the beloved and never wants to since our memories and our ...
Views: 1398 - Talking To Your Kids About The Tragedy of 9/11/2001 - by As in any tragedy of this magnitude, much of what follows are the questions that attempt to put our families and us at ease?
Questions like; why do people do these things? what should I do to protect my family? and how will this change our world? These questions spring from our hearts as we ...
Views: 797 - In The Shadow Of The Towers - by What is the correct response for a metaphysical person to the terrible events of September 11th? It is a major challenge to fathom what happened, and what our personal response should be. This article will set out a few themes that are worth considering.
The key attitude must surely be to ...
Views: 942