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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.
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10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know" />
10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know: NHPCO stresses that hospice is about living fully, not preparing for death. -
Man of Many Faces" />
Man of Many Faces: A niece says goodbye to her favorite gay uncle, in whom she confided about her own sexuality -
Last Rites: A Catholic Send-Off" />
Last Rites: A Catholic Send-Off: A look at the religion's final prayer procession for the dying
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Tag Archives: end-of-life
Book Review: “A Year to Live” by Stephen Levine
Prepare to die by preparing to live.
“When a journey is in our future, it is never too soon to check out the travel guides and customs, and to learn the language of the world approaching.” – Stephen Levine As the author and his wife face serious … 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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Last Rites: A Catholic Send-Off
A look at the religion's final prayer procession for the dying
Catholicism has never been number-shy in its teachings. Confess a sin? Ten Hail Marys. Looking to convert? Get ready for a slew of Sunday or Bible school classes, then 1. Baptism, 2. Confirmation, and 3. First Communion. If your list … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Perspectives
Tagged Afterlife, Anointing of the Sick, Apostolic Age, Bali, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholicism, Death, Dying, end-of-life, Faith, Fatal Illness, God, Hail Mary, Jesus, Last Rites, Peace, Prayer, Priest, Priesthood (Catholic Church), Religion, Vatican
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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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Twitter Chats on End of Life and Health Care
Chat with end-of-life professionals and peers through your favorite social network!
Want a chance to talk with health care and end-of-life professionals and peers from the comfort of your own home? We’ve compiled the list below of Twitter chats on a variety of health care and end-of-life topics. Through these regularly-scheduled … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Dana Lewis, end-of-life, Health care, Joel Fuhrman, Online chat, Terri O'Connell, TweetChat, Twitter, Twitter Chats
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Beautiful Memorial Song: “A Candle in The Wind,” By Elton John
A song that deals with the loss of a national celebrity also can be interchanged to deal with the loss of a loved one
Back in 1997, the world watched as Elton John sang and played the piano at the unexpected funeral of the beloved Princess Diana. He had transformed the words in one of his most hauntingly beautiful tunes, “Candle in the Wind”, … Continue reading
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Candle in the Wind, Diana Princess of Wales, Elton John, end-of-life, England, Lyrics, Memorial, Princess Diana
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Giving Permission to Die
Discovering the importance of letting go even before a loved one has passed
You might remember a couple months ago when we first talked about the chakras and the cleansing process that facilitates a more peaceful death. The basic idea behind the practice is to rid oneself of all negativity in a holistic, … Continue reading
“People are never ‘dying’. They live and then they die. And dying is in a moment.”
-Mike DeStefano
The comedian shared this advice from a social worker in his appearance with The Moth storytelling organization to tell “Franny’s Last Ride,” the story of the loss of his wife. Image source.
Posted in Laughter is Medicine
Tagged AIDS, Comedy, end-of-life, Laughter, Mike DeStefano
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What Is Elder Abuse? An Interview with Marti Riporetti-Brown
What is elder abuse, and how can we prevent it?
Marti Riparetti-Brown is a second year doctoral student at USC’s Davis School of Gerontology. She focuses on, among other things, the prevalence and risk factors of elder abuse and neglect in American caregiving. We spoke to Marti about the dangers … Continue reading
Elderly Animals
Photographer Isa Leshko faces mortality by capturing poignant images of animals at the end of life.
Photographer Isa Leshko is traveling to sanctuaries across the country to capture oft-neglected images of animals — at the end of life. Shortly after a year in New Jersey caring for her mother, who was stricken with Alzheimer’s, Leshko felt … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Aging, Alzheimer's disease, Elderly Animals, end-of-life, Factory farming, Isa Leshko, Old age, Photograph
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What Is an Ombudsman? An Interview with Benson Nadell
Ombudsmen in San Francisco face many challenges in their mission to protect residents of long-term care facilities
Benson Nadell is Program Director of the San Francisco Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Long-term care ombudsmen are tasked with monitoring the quality of life at licensed LTC facilities, a tall order in this age of state budget crises, and economic … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Assisted living, death & dying, end-of-life, long-term care, ltc, Ombudsman
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What is the Conversation Project? – An Interview with Martha Hayward
The Conversation Project seeks to share and encourage end-of-life discussion
Martha Hayward is the Lead for Public and Patient Engagement at the Conversation Project, a Boston-based non-profit “dedicated to helping people talk about their end-of-life wishes.” The Conversation Project offers conversation-starters, information resources, and a venue for users around the … Continue reading
Gain Comfort and Solace Through Laughter
Frank & Funny greeting cards give you a unique way to offer your sympathies
A new greeting card line written exclusively by stand-up comedians offers road-tested jokes for all occasions. “Frank & Funny,” created by Seattle comedian David Crowe, even has a few cards that let you laugh out loud at aging, illness, and … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Aging, David Crowe, Death, end-of-life, Greeting card, Illness, Laughter, Loss, Stand-up comedy, Sympathy Cards
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What are some advice for cancer patients? An Interview with Doctor C
How doctors can make a killing keeping end-of-life patients "alive"
This is an interview with an oncologist at a leading cancer treatment center in Tucson, Arizona. We will call him Doctor C. Aurora: What question do you most often receive as an oncologist? Dr. C: “How do you stand it?” … Continue reading
What is a Celebrant? An Interview with Charlotte Eulette and Dorry Bless, Part 2
The conclusion of our discussion about celebrants, end-of-life ceremonies, and personalizing ritual
Last week, we published Part 1 of our interview with Charlotte Eulette, the International Director of the Celebrant Foundation & Institute, and Dorry Bless, Board Member and Funeral Committee Chair of the Institute. We continue our conversation about celebrants here … Continue reading
What is a Celebrant? An Interview with Charlotte Eulette and Dorry Bless, Part 1
A new era of end-of-life ceremonies: how celebrants both embrace and break with tradition
The Celebrant Foundation & Institute, a nonprofit educational organization that trains Life Cycle Celebrants, is changing the way we think about ceremonies. In particular, end-of-life celebrations are transcending the traditional funeral idea, with people opting for the personalized, meaningful ceremonies … Continue reading
How Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Patients Face the End-of-Life
Would you take magic mushrooms to ease end-of-life anxiety?
A study conducted by psychiatrist Charles Grob, a researcher at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, administered psilocybin — an active component of psychedelic mushrooms — to cancer patients near the end-of-life to see if it could reduce their fear of death. The research, … Continue reading
Taking Control of the End-of-Life
Advance care directives help you express your wishes now so they can be honored when the time comes
In her latest release Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age, Susan Jacoby offers a critique of the “new old age” — the belief that the baby boom generation just beginning to turn 65 can … Continue reading
Book Review: Die$mart, by Kathy Lane and Christine Hughes
11 common mistakes people make in after-death planning, and what you can do to avoid them
SevenPonds reviews Kathy Lane and Christine Hughes’ helpful planning guide Die$mart. Continue reading