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: Grieving
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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Actress Michelle Williams on Mourning and Her “Year of Magical Thinking”
A recent interview with actress Michelle Williams about the sudden death in 2008 of her partner, actor Heather Ledger, reveals interesting lessons about both the nature of mourning and how we can be sensitive to those who are going through it.
Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger fell in love on set while filming Ang Lee’s 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, a film in which they played husband and wife. Shortly after filming, they became engaged and Williams had a baby, Matilda. In 2008, after Williams and Ledger had separated, Ledger, just 28 years old, was found dead of what was later determined to be an accidental overdose of prescription medication.
A private person by nature, in spite of her profession, Williams agreed to give her first on-camera interview with ABC’s Nightline correspondent Cynthia McFadden and was surprisingly candid about her grief. 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
“Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd
A heartfelt funeral song about love and remembrance
Pink Floyd, one of the greatest rock bands of all time, isn’t just known for their classic melodies and stage presence. Most of their lyrics, when given a thoughtful listen or read, tap into our most human emotions. “Wish You … Continue reading
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Arts, British Rock, Classic Rock, Death, Dying, Funeral Music, Funeral Song, Grieving, Heartfelt Funeral Song, Heaven, Hell, Loved One, Lyrics, Memorial Service, Music, Pink Floyd, Remembrance, Roger Waters, Song, Wish You Were Here
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Book Review: “Closer Than You Think” by Deborah Heneghan Discusses After-Death Communication
Revealing true stories and techniques for connecting with loved ones on the other side
Have you ever wondered if there was a way to connect with a loved one who passed away? Better yet, have you ever experienced communication with a deceased loved one? If so, then you’re not alone. In Closer Than You … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged After Death Communication, After Death Communication Signs, Angel, Connecting with Loved Ones on the Other Side, Death, Deborah Heneghan, Faith, Grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Grief support, Grieving, Grieving Your Own Way, Health, Kübler-Ross model, Loved One, Mental health, Natalie, Spirituality
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Book Review: “Cremation or Burial? A Jewish View” by Doron Kornbluth
A case advocating burial over the increasingly popular practice of cremation
Modern society tends to prefer cremation: it is perceived as cheaper than a burial, more environmentally sound, and, well, just more hip. To the contemporary person, “the idea of scattering ashes seems a eco-friendly alternative” to burial. The idea of … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Abrahamic Religions, Ashes, Burial, Cremation, Death, Death Care, Doron Kornbluth, Dying, Eco-Friendly, environmental impact, Funeral, Funeral Services, Great Britain, Grieving, Japan, Jewish Culture, Jewish Tradition, Judaism, Natural burial, Sea Burial, Space Funeral, United States
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For Those Who Have Lost A Spouse Today
They take pleasure in talking about their dead husband or wife in a loving way
It’s been a long month with a lot going on here at SevenPonds. Goodness, it’s all I can do to keep up with the influx of our growth! On top of the sheer workload, I’m also dating a wonderful man, … Continue reading
More Than a Hallmark Holiday
Rooted in Catholic and Ancient Roman tradition, the history of Valentine’s Day is fraught with love, death and trial
Every year, in the days and weeks leading up to February 14th, millions of people around the country drive themselves to distraction preparing special occasions for that special someone, all the while aware of the insurmountable expectations each year innate … Continue reading
A Fatal Car Accident
What it means to lose your best friend and gain a new outlook
This is Sergio’s story as told by Katie…. Coming up on the fourth year anniversary of my best friend’s death, I look back on what his life and death meant to me. I was twenty years old and in the … Continue reading
Book Review: The Return of Edgar Cayce, by C. Terry Cline, Jr. (2011)
A suspense novelist channels the words of a long dead psychic
Suspense novelist C. Terry Cline, Jr. has been an Edgar Cayce fan for some time. Since the sixties, more accurately. For those unfamiliar with Cayce, as this reviewer was until reading this book, the famed psychic, mystic and seer was … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged After Death, C. Terry Cline, Death, Edgar Cayce, Grieving, Jr., Mystics, Nirvana, Psychic, Tao, Wisdom
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Book Review: On Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1969)
The landmark text on grief: Is it still relevant?
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926-2004) remains one of the most influential American psychiatrists of the twentieth century. Her “five stages of grief” model– alternately called the “Kübler-Ross model”– is still widely used, and has gained a good deal of cultural currency. This … Continue reading
Book Review: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Redefining what it means to be strong mentally and physically in the face of loss
A few weeks ago, I was very pleased to find a book had magically downloaded on my Kindle. I forgot I’d preordered it months ago after reading Cheryl Strayed’s essay, “The Love of My Life.” After her mother died suddenly … Continue reading
“It takes a lot of hope to grieve.”
-From "Say Please," performed by Monsters of Folk, with lyrics by Conor Oberst
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Conor Oberst, Death, Grieving, Monsters of Folk, Say Please, Song Lyrics
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Holiday Sugar Cookies
Healing Through a Familiar Tradition
So many of us have memories of making holiday cookies with family throughout our lives. At any point, it is a soothing ritual, an activity that signifies togetherness and family bonding — and, of course, the comfort of that delicious … Continue reading
Looking at the essay, “The Love of My Life” by Cheryl Strayed
Bravely confronting the ways we choose to grieve
“The first time I cheated on my husband, my mother had been dead for exactly one week.” With this powerful statement, Cheryl Strayed begins her personal story of love, life, and death that could very well alter the way we … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Buddhism, Cancer, Cheryl Strayed, Cultural Perspectives, Death, Grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Grieving, Healing, Sadness, Unexpected Loss
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An Interview with Sherri Lynn Wood
Part 1/2: The quiltmaker teaches us how the craft can guide us through the grieving process
I first discovered the craft of passage quilting just a few months ago when I featured artist Sherri Lynn Wood here at SevenPonds, and I was very excited to invite her to chat with us more in-depth about the process. … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Art, Craft, Grief, Grieving, Healing, Passage Quilts, Quilting, Sherri Lynn Wood, Workshops
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Thinking Positively
How my husband's death at a young age helped me see things in a new light
This is the story of Loraine Lister, as told by Kelly Larsen I bought a flower shop in Tracy the April after Dick died. I sold it when I was 75 after 22 years. It was 1983 when he died, … Continue reading
Passage Quilting Aids in the Grieving Process
Memorial and Bereavement Quilts Made from the Clothes of the Deceased
Since 2002, Sherri Lynn Wood has been creating artful quilts from what she calls the “materials of everyday life”. Through collaboration and consultation with clients, Wood crafts the quilts from clothing and other common materials to create lasting memories in … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Art About Death, Grief, Grieving, Healing, Loss and Bereavement, Memorial
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My Grandma Noni
Such Fond Memories
This is the story of Catie, as told by Katie Ryan…. She was born Alice, but we always knew her as Noni. She was my grandmother, but she was also fearless, funny, loving, and kind. The earliest memory I have … Continue reading
How to Deal with a Loss? An Interview with Dr. Robert Gangi
The clinical/psychiatric crisis psychologist talks about his work with those affected by 9/11
Dr. Robert Gangi is a licensed clinical psychologist who works with individuals facing separation and loss. He has his own private practice, the Greenwich Village Center for Separation and Loss, in addition to working as a psychiatric crisis psychologist for … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged 9/11, Clinical psychology, Counseling, Grief support, Grieving
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