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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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First the Wealth Gap, Now the U.S. Has a Growing Health Gap: Discover why the U.S. health gap is growing and how improving healthspan can enhance quality of life for Americans -
How to Comfort A Dying Loved One: End-of-life expert Dr. Marianne Matzo explains some simple ways to offer solace -
Our Annual Seven Holiday Gifts for Someone Who Is Grieving, 2024 Edition: Gracious gifts that spread love and beauty
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Categories
Tag Archives: Reincarnation
Hindu Cremations at Nepal’s Pashupatinath Temple
Family members complete nearly two weeks of traditional Hindu mourning rituals
Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal is one of the region’s most significant Hindu pilgrimage destinations. Located on the banks of the sacred Bagmati river, the sprawling temple complex includes hundreds of Shiva “lingams,” or symbols representing Lord Shiva, and overflows … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Perspectives
Tagged Bagmati river, Cremation, Hindu Funeral Rites, Hindu mourning rituals, Kriyaputri Bhawan, Nepal, Pashupatinath, Reincarnation, Shiva, Surrogate mourners
Comments Off on Hindu Cremations at Nepal’s Pashupatinath Temple
Hindu Cremations at Nepal’s Pashupatinath Temple
The Mystery and Magic of Haitian Vodou Funeral Rites
Ensuring the survival of the spirit
According to The Guardian, Haitians have a saying that Haiti is 70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant, and 100 percent Vodou. Vodou, or Voodoo as many call it, is a combination of Catholicism, other forms of Christianity, several African religions … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Perspectives
Tagged Funeral rituals, govi, Houngan, LGBTQ, Manbo, Nine Night Ritual, Reincarnation, Rite of Reclamation, Souls, spirits, Vodou, Vodou funeral rites, vodou practitioners, Voodoo
6 Comments
”Spook: Science Tackles The Afterlife” by Mary Roach
The search for scientific evidence of a soul and an afterlife
In the preface to “Spook: Science Tackles The Afterlife,” author Mary Roach tells her reader that she is not interested in philosophical debates on the soul, but neither is Spook a “debunking book” for skeptics. (Debunking books assume an outcome … Continue reading
Do All Zen Buddhists Believe in Rebirth?
A look into two theories behind Dogen teachings
One of the primary concepts behind most schools of Zen Buddhism is the idea that there is no real “self” who is born or dies. If one believes in this concept, it seems that the idea of “rebirth” doesn’t fit into … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Perspectives
Tagged Buddhism, Buddhism and death, Death, Dogen, Gautama Buddha, India, Japan, Rebirth, Reincarnation, Soto Zen, Zen, Zen Buddhism
12 Comments
”the Tibetan Book of the Dead” edited by John Baldock
Editor W.Y. Evans-Wentz's famous translation offers a Buddhist perspective of the end-of-life experience, or the Art of Dying
“The Art of Dying is quite as important as the Art of Living,” writes editor W.Y. Evans-Wentz in his preface to The Tibetan Book of the Dead. An ancient Buddhist text, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, or the Bardo … Continue reading
“Eternal Life” by Carl Dennis
Carl Dennis contemplates both in "Eternal Life"
Reincarnation and ghosts are two end-of-life subjects I haven’t touched on much in this column. But Carl Dennis’s “Eternal Life” tackles both in a playful, pondering manner. This also means that he goes back and forth on his views. Initially, … Continue reading
