A Home Funeral for a Grandfather
We never left Richard that night. About two in the morning, we bathed and dressed his body. It was a beautiful, beautiful night. There was a chorus of frogs coming through the window, and moonlight.
Where, Exactly, is Heaven?
My mom told me about working as a travelling home economist in the early 1960’s. An elderly woman pulled her aside one day, and in all seriousness, asked her where heaven was.
Returning Human Compost to the Land
I took part in a powerful ritual of restoration and revitalization. I travelled to southwest Washington state, to help spread the composted remains of 160 people back onto the land.
Meeting our Mortality Well
Carina Lyall’s Becoming Nature podcast explores “ceremony, community, elderhood, expression, keeping it real, life and its medicine.”
The Archetype of the Deathwalker
Karen Wyatt is a retired hospice doctor, and her podcast, End of Life University, has been a mainstay of the holistic death movement for years.
My Healing Journey – April 29 – 2021
It was a windy day at the hospital today, as I had one final scan before my surgery at 10:30 tomorrow. I take the words of this dedication seriously, and pray for such wisdom, courage, grace, and compassion in this journey. After a big process of discernment, I’m having a lumpectomy + radiation, and I…
My Healing Journey – April 27 2021
A thousand thank-you’s for the beautiful responses to my announcements that I’m dancing with cancer again. I can’t tell you how meaningful your support is. I’m especially grateful for the women who shared their own cancer stories with me. I’m heading into surgery on Friday. I’m feeling optimistic, well-equipped, and confident in my surgeon and…
My Healing Journey – April 22 – 2021
Many, many thanks for all the love I’ve received after my recent post about my cancer diagnosis. It makes a huge difference to feel such support, and I appreciate it enormously! I want to share this update about my decision-making process, and what I’m learning about myself as I navigate it. It’s been a very…
My Healing Journey – April 18, 2021
I have some not-great news to share. After my journey with breast cancer in 2019, I thought I was out of the woods. Unfortunately, I have another tumor. The news isn’t good, but it’s not as bad as it could be. For that I’m very grateful. My lymph nodes look clear, the tumor is small,…
Spirituality and Cancer
This conversation with oncologist Rob Rutledge, Psychotherapist Timothy Walker, and Chaplain David Maginley explores the spiritual dynamics of death.
Partnering with Death and Grief
Melody and I explore how the environments around us impact how we live and die We also talk about the collective death and rebirth period we’re currently navigating.
How to Transition with Grace
Michael and I unpack what a ritual is; explore how grief and grieving differ; and how to understand our life as a spiral rather than a linear trajectory.
Grief and Ritual Healing
This conversation covers a host of topics, including grieving, mourning and healing at a distance, rituals for pregnancy loss, and creating new cultural models for meeting grief and loss.
My Healing Journey – May 25 2020
I really appreciate the generous response to my last post. Social media is a complex beast, but when it’s good, it’s very good, and it’s been very good to me in many ways. Thank you. Part of my healing journey around cancer has been to get clear on who I am, and to shift my…
My Healing Journey – May 19, 2020
Hello Friends I’ve been quietly back in social media land for a bit, but I wanted to make a post to really arrive here after my hiatus. July 9th will mark one year since my diagnosis of breast cancer, and it’s hard to believe that I’ve almost made a full cycle of the seasons with…
My Healing Journey – February 4, 2020
Hello Friends (There’s an explanation for the fuzzy photo, read on.) I’ve been under the radar for a few months, as I navigate this journey with breast cancer. Here’s a quick update before I disappear again. I’m happy to announce that I’m finished all my treatments, and I’m officially no longer a “cancer patient” in…
A Ritual to Help Move Your Grief
Rituals are a powerful healing tool for shifting the energetic pattern in a situation or in a space. A ritual can help you move that energy of grief so it doesn’t get bogged up inside you.
My Healing Journey – November 30, 2019
Hi Friends, I’ve been quiet for a few weeks, incubating in the healing process as I move through my journey with breast cancer. I’ve decided to take a break from active work with Soul Passages while I do this. I’ll keep sending newsletters and updates, but will be re-posting old videos instead of making new…
My Healing Journey – November 5, 2019
I spent part of this afternoon in a new patient orientation class for cancer patients. I spent the rest of the afternoon prone on the couch, recovering from the intensity of the class. The content of the class was great, the instructor was wonderful, and the array of resources and support available (all for free)…