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Welcome to the SevenPonds.com blog – a community-driven extension of SevenPonds.com! I hope you find comfort and community in the resources and stories featured here. I’m always happy to hear from readers and can be reached at suzette@sevenponds.com.
FEATURED
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Poetree: The Innovative Urn: Margaux Ruyant's urn honors the life of the deceased while cultivating the new life of a tree -
Putting It Back Together: Exploring Grief through a near-death experience: A 21-year-old woman's near-fatal accident alters her relationship with life. -
Buddhism and the Eastern Middle Ground: In Buddhist tradition, our death falls into a plane of existence that continues even after our final breath
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Categories
Category Archives: Professional Advice
What is the Presence Care Project? An Interview with Marguerite Manteau-Rao
Exploring how mindfulness based dementia care can help reduce stress
Marguerite Maneau-Rao, LCSW, ATR, is the CEO and founder of the Presence Care Project. Once a volunteer at Zen Hospice, she now focuses on mindfulness based techniques to reduce stress among those suffering from dementia and their caregivers. She is a … Continue reading
How to Use Touch to Heal From the Loss of a Loved One? An Interview with Travis Sigley
How the power of touch can help those who are grieving and terminally ill
Travis Sigley is the founder of Cuddle Therapy in San Francisco; since 2009, he has run weekly workshops and developed his practice to work one-on-one with clients. While a strong proponent of all types of therapy, Travis realized that the … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged cuddle therapy, Grief, Grieving, Health, power of touch, San Francisco, travis sigley
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What is a Death Cafe? An Interview with Jon Underwood, Part II
The idea of talking about death openly and comfortably
Last week we talked with Jon Underwood, the founder of Death Cafe. Based on the sociological studies of the Swiss Bernard Crettaz, the goal of Death Cafe is to create a safe environment where people can engage in conversation about … Continue reading
What are Death Cafes? An Interview with Jon Underwood, Part I
Creating a safe environment for people to talk about death and dying
Today we talk with Jon Underwood, the founder of Death Cafe. Based on the sociology studies of the Swiss Bernard Crettaz, the goal of Death Cafe is to create a safe environment where people can engage in conversation about death … Continue reading
What is Green Cremation? An Interview with George Frankel
The CEO of Eternal Reefs talks conservation memorialization and shares his wisdom
George Frankel has served as CEO of Eternal Reefs, Inc. since 2000, and has recently been appointed to the Green Burial Council Advisory Board. All photos courtesy of Eternal Reefs’s website. Kelly: For those who may not be familiar, what exactly … Continue reading
What is Grief Support for Neonatal Death? An Interview with Ellen Daley
A place where parents can find support after losing a child
Ellen Kelly Daley is the president of the board of directors at HAND, a resource network of parents, professionals, and volunteers who provide support for those who have lost a baby before, during, or after birth. She is a professional … Continue reading
How Do We Respond to Trauma in the Workplace? An Interview with Wilma Bass
If a crisis were to strike your workplace, what would you do?
Wilma Bass is the President of Trauma Outreach Associates, a Bay Area based company that provides crisis recovery services to business and organizations to help them “return to normalcy and productivity” after a trauma — like death, violence, or natural … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Crisis, Death, Loss, Mental health, Psychological trauma, Trauma Recovery, Vanessa Watt, Wilma Bass, Workplace Trauma
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What is End-of-Life Counseling? An Interview with Kathy Jacobson (Part 2 of 2)
How end-of-life counseling can ensure a peaceful transition
Kathy Jacobson is a body worker and life coach in San Francisco, who also works as an end-of-life counselor. I sat with her to discuss her entry into this burgeoning, and much needed, field of therapy. Most people do not … Continue reading
What is End-of-Life Counseling? An Interview with Kathy Jacobson (Part 1 of 2)
"I shared with her what I believe – that the material world is just the tip of the iceberg, and that your spiritual body is tenuously encased in your physical form – though I held a space for her own beliefs and didn’t push mine onto her."
Kathy Jacobson is a body worker and life coach in San Francisco, who also works as an end-of-life counselor. I sat with her to discuss her entry into this burgeoning, and much needed, field of therapy. Most people do not … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Arthiritis, Coaching, Death, Dignitas, Dying, end-of-life, God, Health, Jacobson, Parkinson's disease, Reiki, San Francisco, Switzerland
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What is Kara Grief Support? An Interview with Jim Mulvaney
How peer counselors use their own experiences to support those in the journey through grief
Jim Mulvaney became a Counselor Supervisor at Kara after initially volunteering as a grief counselor. Since he joined Kara’s staff in the fall of 2004, Jim has held the positions of Director of Adult Services, Director of Programs, and Director … Continue reading
What is an End of Life Doula? An Interview with Amy Levine
The doula volunteer program in New York City helps lessen loneliness for people with life-limiting illness
Today we talk with Amy Levine, who designs and implements programs and conducts interactive training for healthcare and social service professionals. Her expertise includes designing specialized volunteer programs for hospital-based palliative care services, and she provides consultation to healthcare organizations … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
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How Do You Prepare for Dementia? An Interview with Stanley Terman (Part 2 of 2)
The choices one can make to address the challenges of dementia
Stanley A. Terman, Ph.D., M.D., is CEO and Medical Director of Caring Advocates and the author of Peaceful Transitions: Stories of Success and Compassion; Plan Now, Die Later—Ironclad Strategy. He is also the creator of My Way Cards/Natural Dying Living Will Cards, … Continue reading
How Do You Prepare for Dementia? An Interview with Stanley Terman (Part 1 of 2)
A discussion on the planning, choices and strategies for dealing with dementia
Stanley A. Terman, Ph.D., M.D., is CEO and Medical Director of Caring Advocates and the author of Peaceful Transitions: Stories of Success and Compassion; Plan Now, Die Later—Ironclad Strategy. He is also the creator of My Way Cards/Natural Dying Living Will Cards, … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Dementia, Elder care, end-of-life, Stanley Terman
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How Can Holistic Healing Help You Cope With Grief? An Interview With Carol Harada
Five different holistic healing approaches that can guide you through the grieving process
Carol Harada is the founder of The Fluent Body, a holistic healing approach that communicates with the body’s inner wisdom through the language of physical sensations, emotions, movement, and metaphor. Carol has a background in arts and healing, hypnotherapy, meditation … Continue reading
How Can Clowning Help Those With Serious Illnesses? An Interview with Dan Griffiths
Laughter is the best medicine for patients of all ages.
This is an interview with Dan Griffiths, a therapeutic clown and Executive Director of ClownZero in San Francisco. ClownZero is a San Francisco based, community supported, non-profit organization dedicated to improving life for children and communities worldwide through humanitarian clowning and … Continue reading
How Can We Preserve Memory with DNA? An Interview with Ryan Lehto
The benefits of preserving our loved one's memory with DNA
Today we talk with Ryan Lehto, one of the founders of DNA Memorial. Ryan Lehto graduated from Lakehead University with a Bachelor’s in Biology and a Master’s in Molecular Biology with a specialization in DNA. As an accredited DNA scientist, his … Continue reading
What is the Nature of Sound Healing? An Interview with Silvia Nakkach, Part 2
How sound and music can aid at the end of life
This is the second of our two-part interview with Silvia Nakkach, an innovative, award winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, voice culturist and author. Her specialties include music to aid in the healing process. Founding director of the Vox Mundi Project, an organization … Continue reading
What is the Nature of Sound Healing? An Interview with Silvia Nakkach, Part 1
How sound and music can help to heal psychic wounds
This is the first of a two-part interview with Silvia Nakkach, an innovative, award winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, voice culturist and author. Her specialties include music to aid in the healing process. Founding director of the Vox Mundi Project, an organization … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Ambient Harmonies, Bedside Music, Empathic Resonance, Harp, Multi-instrumentalist, Musical Healing, Musical Healing Psychologist, Musical Therapists, musical therapy, Professional Advice, Shamans, Silvia Nakkach, Sound Healing, Therapeutic Music, Voice Culturist, Vox Mundi Project
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How Can We Detect and Prevent Elder Abuse? An Interview with Talitha Guinn
Bringing to light the actionable steps we can take to detect, prevent, and stop elder abuse in our communities.
Today we talk with Talitha Guinn, Director of Elder Abuse Prevention at the Institute on Aging here in California. We address the under-acknowledged and multi-faceted issue of elder abuse — what it is, how to detect it, how to prevent … Continue reading
What is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention? An Interview with Kristen Smith
A suicide prevention specialist discusses her work at an international suicide prevention non-profit
Kristen Smith is the Survivor Initiative Manager for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an international non-profit “exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those … Continue reading
