WELCOME TO OUR BLOG
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
Tag Archives: Green Burial
Poetree: The Innovative Urn
Margaux Ruyant's urn honors the life of the deceased while cultivating the new life of a tree
The “eco-funeral” or “green burial” has been a rising trend in the past few years. And Poetree, the latest invention by the French industrial designer Margaux Ruyant, is a welcome addition to the many planet-conscious end-of-life options we’ve covered here … Continue reading
Wiccan Funeral Customs
From going green to reincarnation -- what to expect at a Wiccan funeral
While common stereotypes link Wiccan beliefs to magic potions and fairy dust, there are some surprising elements to be found in Wiccan culture – if you do a little research. One of those elements is the Wiccan funeral, which emphasizes … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Perspectives
Tagged Cultural Perspectives, Earth, Elements, Environmental Burial, Environmentalism, Green Burial, Life and Death Cycle, Natural burial, Pagan, Pentagram, Priest, Priestess, Reincarnatin, Reincarnation, Religious Ceremonies, Soul, Spirit, Sprituality, Summerlands, Wicca, Wiccan Funeral, Witch
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How Did SevenPonds Come to Be?
We revisit our beginning
It’s been two years at SevenPonds since we launched our first blog post and it’s hard to believe we have arrived at our second anniversary already! What a wild ride it has been. I cannot begin to express how heartwarming … Continue reading
What American Indian Burial Rituals Can Teach Us
Green burial is all the rage today, but many Native American tribes continue to practice it as they have for thousands of years
In these days of increasing eco-conscious, less-is-more aestheticism, many of those preparing for an end-of-life are beginning to question the need for elaborate caskets, garish flower displays and environmentally unsound cemeteries. Home funerals too, that is, the family keeping, cleaning … Continue reading
Bodybox by Leslie van Berkel
The simple casket is a practical and stylish option for green burial
This cardboard casket designed by Leslie van Berkel in 2006 for Li Edelkoort design academy offers a stylish and cost-effective burial option in an eco-friendly design. Van Berkel, along with her contemporaries, was asked to think of the notion of … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Casket, Coffin, Death, Design, Eco-Friendly, Emergency management, Funeral, Green Burial, Leslie Van Berkel, Li Edelkoort
1 Comment
An Ancient Practice: Aboriginal Burial Ceremonies
Taking a look at the first environmentally friendly funeral
The Aborigines of Australia might represent the oldest living culture in the world. Aboriginal culture is most commonly known for its unique artistic technique evolving from the red ochre pigment cave paintings that started cropping up 60,000 years ago, but … Continue reading
Wireless Enabled Granite Solves Problem of No Headstone for Green Burial
New product provides the geographic location of the burial site by one touch of a compatible cell phone.
Phoenix, Arizona - Objecs, the owner of the RosettaStone brand of memorial products, has introduced a one pound granite obelisk for use in green burial memorials where traditionally no headstone is present. The stone obelisk is made from a solid block … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Burial, Green Burial, Natural burial, News, Technology
2 Comments
Book Review: Jane Fonda’s “Prime Time”
Taking a positive look at the way we age
Jane Fonda, one of the most admired actresses in Hollywood, has released a new book called Prime Time: Love, health, sex, fitness, friendship, spirit–making the most of all of your life that might just change the way we think about … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged aging well, Death, Dying, end-of-life, Green Burial, Health, Jane Fonda, positivity in death, Prime Time: Love
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Changing the Material
Eco-friendly Burial and Cremation from Swedish Designer Liv Andersson
Swedish industrial designer Liv Andersson aims to create products that are an adaptation to the environment, with a holistic view of the life of the product. This project, Dust to Dust, “aims to get a holistic picture of what happens … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Casket, Coffin, Cremation, Cremation Vessel, Design, Green Burial, Natural burial
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The Progression of Burial and Cremation Alternatives
In Europe and Florida, Novel After-Death Disposition Options are Slowly Reaching the Public
Today, our after-death disposition choices in the U.S. are almost exclusively limited to cremation and burial. When most people think of burial, they think of full-casket funerals in a conventional cemetery with an embalmed body, suits, flower wreaths, and a … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged environmental impact, Green Burial, Promession, resomation
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Green Burial Makes its Way to South Africa
The country opens its first eco-cemetery.
Last month, South Africa opened the country’s first green cemetery. Weisenhof Legacy Park was created within the oldest privately-owned nature reserve in the country. The park set aside a portion of its space for burial and memorial sites. It will … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged AIDS, ash scattering, Burial, Cemetery, Cremation, Crematorium, Eco-cemetery, Green Burial, Natural burial, South Africa
1 Comment
An Interview with Joe Sehee: Part Two
The Green Burial Council founder talks standards, sustainability, and the future
Joe Sehee comes from a background of social justice as a Jesuit minister while his wife, Juliette Sehee, worked as an advocate for the environment. About a decade ago, they decided to open a retreat for the grieving, to inspire … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Cremation, Eco-Friendly, Funeral home, Green Burial, Green Burial Council, Joe Sehee, Natural burial, Sustainability, Sustainable, The GBC
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At SevenPonds, White is the New Black
Iphones, the “black screen of death,” and the future
One morning last week, as I was getting out of bed and the day’s agenda began whirling through my mind — I managed to drop my iPhone into a tumbler of water. I immediately dried it off and saw with … Continue reading
What is Green Burial? An Interview with Joe Sehee: Part One
The Green Burial Council founder talks standards, sustainability, and the future
Joe Sehee comes from a background of social justice as a Jesuit minister while his wife, Juliette Sehee, worked as an advocate for the environment. About a decade ago, they decided to open a retreat for the grieving, to inspire … Continue reading
What is End-of-Life Planning? An Interview with Sally Shannon
No Time Like the Present: Get your Affairs in Order Today!
Dedicated to helping people prepare for end of life, Sally Shannon is an uplifting life coach, organizer, and home funeral guide. She is a member of the San Francisco Home Funerals Alliance, with a focus on preplanning. Aurora: What does … Continue reading
Why Traditional Coffins are Going Under
My Cameo Visit to Aurora Casket Co.
As we begin spreading the word about SevenPonds, it’s only natural we take a trip to Michigan (given that our business is named after the Seven Ponds lakes located there). We hit the Detroit area circuit just a week ago … Continue reading
What are your End-of-life Options?
The eight most common misconceptions about death and dying
Many years ago, I was at the New York City Gift Show and I happened to mention my knowledge of the end-of-life industry to a woman at a booth. Her eyes widened and a look of grave concern overtook her … Continue reading
Posted in Sharing Suzette
Tagged Cremation, end-of-life, Funeral, Funeral home, Green Burial, Shrouds, The FCA
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When We Buried You, Rosi
Jewish ritual, natural burial, and a life-changing funeral
This is the story of Judy Vasos, as told by Aurora Wells… Of those bizarre and wonderful adventures we shared in Mexico, you would always tell me to write about it. Simply, write about it. Like the day I met you … Continue reading
Honoring Life at Death
End-of-life evolution in America
America is beginning to rethink the way it bids farewell to life. Traditional burial services are becoming less and less common as people begin to think of the funeral as a way to not only be returned to the earth, … Continue reading
What is natural burial? An Interview with Kathy Curry
The manager of Fernwood Cemetery talks green burial
Fernwood, a beautiful historic cemetery located in Mill Valley, CA, is the second cemetery in the United States to offer green burial. SevenPonds caught up with Kathy Curry, the manager of Fernwood, for a Q & A on their services. … Continue reading
