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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in healing grief
Prayers for the Grieving: A Snapshot of a Psychopomp at Work

A couple of weeks ago, we got a call at work that a woman named Christy* had a malamute dog who had passed away, and she needed us to pick him up and take him to the crematory. So a coworker and I climbed into the Explorer, one of our two work vehicles, and drove down the road out of the city, through the outskirts of town, to her ranch in the country. Christy has an adorable red-sided, sharply peaked farmhouse surrounded by fenced-in plots of land where her horses grazed in the midmorning sunlight. There was a bite in the air, but it wasn't cold. When she saw us driving down her long gravel driveway, she came out of her house and opened the gate for us. Her other malamute, Kallu*, the deceased dog's sister, was gentle and came up to greet us, and then clung protectively to Christy’s side. She was huge, wolf-sized, but not lean like wild animals. She had a rounded, well-fed figure, and her fur was fluffy and clean.

 

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When the Spirit Goes: Death, the Afterlife, and the Translation of the Soul

Something I didn't expect when I started working at the pet funeral home was how much it would cause me to consider my beliefs about death and the afterlife. I knew I would usher the animal dead through their transformation and transition; I knew I would help individuals and families make memorial decisions while they grapple with fresh grief, and hopefully help them find comfort in that process. I saw myself as a purveyor of healing, not as a student. But, of course, I'm learning through my work as well.

 

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Posted by on in Studies Blogs
Parting Gifts

When my grandpa died, one of my uncles gave his eulogy that centered on how they'd bonded by working on cars together from the time my uncle was a little boy. He specifically remembered my grandpa asking him for a wrench, right down to the size, and later placed a wrench of that same size in my grandpa's casket to be buried with him. Others in my family placed a fishing pole, a pocket knife, and other objects that represented my grandpa's hobbies and important memories of him for the living. Regardless of our beliefs of the afterlife, something in all of us didn't want him to go into it without the things he treasured. When my grandma passed, we did the same for her.

It's not just my family that's done this, and I've seen in my occupation that people don't reserve it just for their human family, either. Some of my favorite moments at the pet funeral home and crematory where I work are when people bring their pet's favorite things to be cremated with them.

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We Have a Lot of Healing to Do; Let's Start Today

Fire is heat and is the most visible form of energy. Fire is a powerful element, as it can transform and change the other elements. If you watch the flicker of your candle flame, the embers of your incense, or the blaze of your council fires, you will see a constant transmutation of matter. Fire has the ability to both excite and incite us, and fire is necessary to bring about change. Fire signs Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are known for their strength and vibrancy. They can maintain this by employing their personal element of fire. Candle magic is a simple, powerful, and direct way you can invoke your native element of fore. 

Light the Fire of Self-healing

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Crystal Healing: For Physical and Emotional Pain

 When you feel pain somewhere in your body, it is a small voice that needs to be listened to. It could be old energy that needs to be released or a blockage or imbalance. I was in a hit-and-run auto accident where I was hit by a drunk driver who plowed through a red light and totaled my car, and very nearly me. As I hit the brake, my foot and ankle were shattered, rather like a porcelain teacup thrown with great force. The doctors wanted to amputate my leg, but I managed to talk them out of it. I had to learn to walk again, but I can walk and even dance and run again after lots of physical therapy and healing. But nowadays whenever I hit the brake too hard, I feel pain because my body remembers. The tissue and bones old the memory imprint of that awful day and the terrible trauma.

 

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Letting Go

With my mom's passing, I felt I had it handled.  I was her executor though I'm the youngest of her six kids.  The last three months have flown by and I've felt like I had a long list of things to do and no time to grieve.  I had to organize her funeral, disposal of her things, and her finances.  

As I finished one task, I felt like I was checking off a box on some crazy list I never wanted to deal with.  Mixed in with this, I kept having dreams of my mom and my dad (he died 34 years ago).  I can't tell you specifics other than they were always laughing and there was always light.  

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