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Unhelpful Religious Beliefs on Death and the Afterlife

Posted on August 31, 2013 - by Piero Calvi-Parisetti

Ever since I have been studying the evidence for survival of human personality to physical death, the question of religious beliefs has been nagging at me. This has turned into an outright discomfort since I have moved into the field of counseling for the bereaved and the dying. It is difficult for me to approach this subject, because the last thing I want to do is to come across as disrespectful for what are likely to be the most cherished, fundamental beliefs for so many people around the world. I insist in saying that, although I am not religious myself, […]

Hiccups: During Grief, We Really Feel Them

Posted on August 28, 2013 - by Christine Thiele

Since the end of last month, my world has been in a state of flux. Those last few weeks of July, I was feeling impatient, edgy, and frustrated. I didn’t have a classroom, but had an idea about a job at the school that I’ve worked at for years. I was feeling the squeeze of the door shutting on the upcoming school year with the jobs filling, but I was still without a place to call home. As is the story of my life in more recent years, in the final hours…voila…a great job appeared. I interviewed and was offered […]

Chance Meeting and Comfort in a Discount Store

Posted on August 26, 2013 - by Harriet Hodgson

I went to my favorite discount store to see the new fall clothing. While I was pushing my cart past a woman, I commented, “Passing on the right.” After I passed the woman I turned to her and said, “We’re looking at long-sleeved tops. It’s hard to believe summer is over and fall is here.” She smiled a bit and looked at me. “I’m here to buy something to wear to my mother’s memorial service,” she said. “My mother died two days ago.” “I’m so sorry,” I said. The woman went on to tell me her 29-year-old son committed suicide […]

When the Mirror Breaks: Loss of a Close Sibling

Posted on August 26, 2013 - by Daisy Massey

“Siblings are the only relatives, and perhaps the only people you’ll ever know, who are with you through the entire arc of your life…Your parents leave you too soon and your kids and spouse come along late, but your siblings know you when you are in your most inchoate form.” – writer Jeffrey Kluger observed to Salon in 2011, the year his book “The Sibling Effect” was published. My brother Andy was more than a sibling, he was my twin. We weren’t really twins, we were just close in age and physically favored each other including, despite the 2.5 year […]

Learning Acceptance During Loss and Change

Posted on August 24, 2013 - by Donna Miesbach

Change and transformation are a necessary part of life. Until we are willing to enter into the process with our whole heart, we cannot really let go of the past. The new emerges out of the old. Truly, our pain and suffering, our heartache and our anguish, do mold and shape us in wonderful ways if we but allow them to expand our thinking and our horizons. It is through these teachers that we become more. It is through these changes that we build upon the past and emerge with deeper insight, greater vision, and even a clearer sense of […]

Forging New Bonds with Our Loved Ones

Posted on August 23, 2013 - by John Pete

Perhaps you would like to do something meaningful yet easy to remember your loved one this weekend. You could take a walk to find a special stone or something from nature to put in your garden or windowsill. Or plant some flowers… You could buy an “I Love You” helium balloon at the grocery store and write a letter or poem to go with it. Perhaps you would like to frame a special picture, or craft something special in your loved one’s honor. It can be anything you like. While doing these activities, try to set aside your grief as […]

Personal Growth Following a Loss: One Parent’s Story

Posted on August 22, 2013 - by David Roberts

Providence blinked facing the sun Where are we left to carry on “Until the Day is Done”, by R.E.M Providence Blinked According to Dictionary.com, providence is defined as, among other things, the foreseeing care and guidance of nature over the creatures of the earth. Until May of 2002, I would have accepted that definition without reservation. I felt protected and maybe even immune from the tragedy that affected other individuals in society. Arrogance didn’t drive this perception; I just never allowed my mind to go to the deep, dark places where others already had been. However, providence did blink (mightily, I might […]

Grief Marathon

Posted on August 22, 2013 - by Diane Dettmann

Two weeks after her husband’s death on June 30, 2000, trying to get the grief behind her, Diane Dettmer accepted a new position as a literacy staff developer. Traveling with colleagues to training sessions in various parts of the country added more stress and did little to speed up the grief process. Diane and her husband, John, enjoyed twenty-eight years of marriage; the sudden loss of her loving husband devastated her. In the following excerpt from Diane Dettmann’s memoir, Twenty-Eight Snow Angels: A Widow’s Story of Love, Loss and Renewal, Diane shares insights into the grief she experienced a year […]

Panic Attack After the Death of a Spouse

Posted on August 21, 2013 - by Cindy Adams

I never quite understood what people meant when they said they had a panic attack. I remember thinking, “Oh, it’s all made up in your head. You can control it.” I imagined an anxiousness and fear, but had no idea how debilitating it could be until I became a widow and it happened to me! It actually happened to me on more than one occasion. You can read about another time, in my book, A Widow’s Pursuit. I think it’s a natural part of the grief process. Many of our emotions are out of our control. It’s not something we […]

Getting Through What You’re Going Through: Pastor Rick Warren Models

Posted on August 17, 2013 - by Beth Marshall

Life at Saddleback Church rarely slows down for Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay. After four glorious days of Easter services, a typically busy week of ministry began. Christianity Today was scheduled to run an article highlighting Warren’s upcoming book, The Peace Plan. His goal is to reach people all over the world with translations in multiple languages. Five days after Easter, the Warrens’ world changed forever. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact one of their sons, Rick and Kay had a strange sense something wasn’t right. Their twenty-seven year old son, Matthew, had battled depression for most of […]