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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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Buddhism and the Eastern Middle Ground: In Buddhist tradition, our death falls into a plane of existence that continues even after our final breath -
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
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Tag Archives: Music
“Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
The popular funeral song that’s tried and true for a reason
Creating a playlist for a loved one’s funeral can be a difficult task. What kind of message are you looking for in a funeral song? What’s the right tone to set? What kind of emotions will the songs bring about? … 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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Beautiful Memorial Music: “I’ll Be Missing You” by Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112
The hit single that also speaks of love and loss
For everyone who loved the big hits of the nineties, this might be a great send off song. “I’ll Be Missing You,” while a Grammy-winning single and classic R&B song, also touches on a few timeless themes including love, loss and … Continue reading
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Diddy, Funeral Music, Funeral Songs, I'll Be Missing You, Memorial Songs, Memories, Music, Notorious B.I.G, Sean Combs
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What are Crystal Singing Bowls? An Interview with Candace Keach
Sounds of solace
Candace Keach is the artistic director of the Spiral Sound of Crystal Bowls, a performance group which creates a soothing auditory and visual immersion experience through the playing of symmetrically arranged, vibrating crystal bowls. Antal: Thanks for speaking with us, Candace. Can … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Music, Sacred Geometry, Solace, Spiral Sound of Crystal Bowls
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Our Beautiful Funeral Music: “Shine On (There’s Another Day After Tomorrow)”, by Soundtrack of Our Lives
An original, hopeful look on recovery from grief
For another entry in our series on beautiful funeral music and songs on death, here, Swedish rock band The Soundtrack of Our Lives here performs “Shine On (There’s Another Day After Tomorrow)”, a rousing, hopeful song on death that urges … Continue reading
Song Review: “Videotape,” by Radiohead
"When I'm at the pearly gates, this will be on my videotape"
I’ve always been of the opinion that the last song on an album holds a special significance. An artist will usually leave the listener with a parting shot– a summation, perhaps, of the album’s themes, or some poignant words of … Continue reading
Our Beautiful Funeral Music: “The End,” by the Doors
Songs to guide you through a loss, to play at a funeral, or to enjoy on your own
“The End,” one of the Doors’ most famous, and impenetrable songs, in its final stanzas, reveals itself as a song on death. Immortalized in Francis Ford Coppola’s viciously brutal war film, Apocalypse Now, “the End” tells a long, winding, haunted … Continue reading
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Doors, Doors The End. Doors, Eulogies, Funeral Memorial Songs, Funeral Music, Music
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Our Beautiful Funeral Music Series: Sheltering Sky
Ryuichi Sakamoto's music for the film speaks volumes on the vast desert landscape of life and death
The film, Sheltering Sky evokes the most exotic and memorable moments of life through a musical score perfectly suited as beautiful funeral music. We provide a brief narration from the film to accompany the main musical score: Narrator: Because we … Continue reading
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Funeral Memorial Songs, Funeral Music, Music, Sheltering Sky
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What is Therapeutic Music? – An Interview with Lucy Banks
How specialized musical regimens help the ill
Based in Atlanta, GA, Lucy Banks is an intern with the Music for Healing and Transitions Program, which, according to their website, is a “national educational certification program preparing musicians to provide live, therapeutic music at the bedside.” She spoke … Continue reading
Coachella Honoring the Dead
Coachella Announces "Hologram Lineup" Featuring Only Dead Musicians
The music festival, Coachella honors our dead in quite the interesting and creative way. Continue reading
An Interview with Kate Munger
We discuss the Threshold Choir's mission to provide lovely, comforting songs to the ill and dying
Kate Munger founded the Threshold Choir in 2000 with the idea of creating a chorus of women’s voices that could provide soothing song at people’s bedsides. Today, she administers a large network of of choirs nationwide, from the Northeast to … Continue reading
The St. James Infirmary Blues
An Old Folk Song that Continues to Strike a Chord
In the old folk songs from the early 20th and late 19th Centuries, passed down through families and generations into the very soul of our culture, death is a common theme. This should not be surprising. These were harder times … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Cultural Perspectives, Death, folk, Funeral, Music, performers
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Cherishing an Angel
"My prom date was murdered"
This is the story of Aarika, as told by Aurora Wells… The year was 1966. The entire day had been a desperate flurry of preparation and tulle. Back in that time, you had to have your shoes dyed to match … Continue reading
Who Wrote the Saddest Song of the Century?
Oh Where Oh Where Can My Baby Be?
Everybody knows the song “Last Kiss.” Everybody’s heard it at least once, and after they do, they tend to remember it. The haunting refrain “Oh Where Oh Where Can My Baby Be?” just stays with you, cuts through whatever else … Continue reading
The Parting Glass
Classic Irish folk song performed by the High Kings
Of all the money that ere I had, I spent it in good company. And of all the harm that ere I’ve done, alas was done to none but me. And all I’ve done for want of wit, to memory … Continue reading
Cleveland Retirement Community Welcomes Creative Youth
The symbiotic power of intergenerational programming and the arts
An inspiring story from the AARP, below, profiles a pilot program at Judson’s retirement community; they offered two students at the Cleveland Institute of Music apartments in their facilities (once a swanky hotel) — in exchange for monthly recitals. The presence … Continue reading