In honor of the Winter Solstice, we’ve put WORKING THROUGH GRIEF up on Amazon free from 20 December through 24 December. Available here. Download it to your kindle, kindle app on your phone or iPad, to your computer.
We know this can be a tough time of you for some of you, and this is our [...]
Someone last week insisted that she was going to wish people a “Merry Christmas” and not a “Happy Holiday” and that she didn’t wish them a happy holiday at all–ONLY a Merry Christmas. Wow, that’s the Christmas spirit? How sad. If you don’t know what to wish people and don’t have the time or inclination [...]
Continue reading about I’m a Casualty of the War on Christmas (The Yearly Repeat Blog Post)
The holidays can be a very, VERY difficult time for those who have suffered a recent loss or suffered a loss close to the holidays of past years. I find that most people are either too stressed over Christmas or too depressed, and far too few are really joyous or serene between Thanksgiving and New [...]
Continue reading about New Book on Grief and Loss Is Out on Kindle in Time for Holiday Depression
As an empath, I have become acutely aware of the High Heart Chakra , also known as the Thymic Chakra or Thymus Chakra. I didn’t even know I had one until recently until it was activated by really and truly getting to be myself in a bond with someone else.
You’d think I might have found [...]
The photo on the left was my engagment photo, taken around March 1986. It was the beginning of an era…the one where I began a family of two (my spouse and me), then added two children over the next few years. The photo on the right was taken a few weeks ago, March 2011, as [...]
Continue reading about The Surprising Shadow Side of Wonderful Things
A friend recently shared this haunting short film with me, and I have not been able to forget it. I know that my own dad had deep feelings and that he loved us, but he could never share his gentler feelings, which was what I really needed from him. The closest he could come to [...]
Continue reading about Old Fangs: When You Can’t Talk to Your Father….
Self-portrait; one very happy afternoon, preparing for guests and the evening’s Life-Death-and-the-Universe conversations. Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder.
Granddaddy’s been gone for over 15 years, but if he were alive tonight at 105, I’d want to ask his relationship advice. Not about a romantic relationship but about how to deal with disapproval of a romantic relationship [...]
Continue reading about When You’re Older…and Everyone Disapproves of Your New Love
Sparklers on the Fairy Tree, a fav of neighborhood children. Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder.
The Dark Night of the Soul is a rather ominous term for something that happens in some lives, but not all. I believe that some people actually make it through their entire existence on the planet without encountering anything as dark [...]
Growing up, I spent a lot of time roaming the countryside around my home. Back then, there were many trees in the fields–now taken by lightning–and many old barns around the farm–now taken by storms and rot. The land itself has always been peaceful to me, and in my dreams and meditations, this is my [...]
Continue reading about Lessons of Worthlessness from the Lack of Being Heard
This photo reminds me of the 5 of Wands Tarot card, the sense of desolation. Of course, 5’s in the Tarot are all about choices….. Photo copyright by Aislinn Bailey, all rights reserved.
When you’re in the midst of a heartbreak or trauma, it’s very easy feel stuck in the muck. I have come to see [...]
Continue reading about From Heartbreak to Higher Ground: Turning Points in Our Lives
Photo copyright by Aislinn Bailey; all rights reserved.
When someone I dislike does something to hurt me, especially intentionally, I want to bare my teeth and claws and think nothing of going for the jugular. If they do something to someone I care about, I’ll shred them without thinking. When someone I care about does [...]
Originally published in Third Degree of Freedom.
Two women from the Philippines are helping me with a home project. They’re smart, they work hard, and they’re compassionate. Traits I obviously admire. And even though they’ve both been handed their share of tragedy, they still agree, “Life is good.”
One is a single mother of six who just [...]
Genuinely enjoying one another’s company. A family outing to Grayton Beach, with Lorna, Aislinn, Shannon, and Brian. All photos copyrighted.
In every dysfunctional family, there’s at least one do-goodin’ peacemaker who is either a blood relative, an in-law, or a “concerned family friend.” Ironically, it’s usually not so much about making peace among hostile relatives [...]
Continue reading about Making Peace in Dysfunctional Families: How to Fix It and Whether You Should
Brace yourself. This is going to be controversial. It may make you cry, or it may make you angry, or–if you don’t believe in anything you can’t see–you may roll your eyes. In fact, if you’re not an open-minded person, just go ahead and click away from here now because there’s nothing in what I [...]
The dreaded 3 of Swords Tarot card, usually signifying grief, betrayal, loss, and/or sorrow. Photo credit by Raelene G; attribution license
I sat in the conference room and sobbed hard enough that my shoulders shook. Of the 75 people in the room with me, most of them backed away, not knowing what to make of my [...]
Photo credit by publicinsomniac; creative commons license
Healing old wounds of childhood trauma and self-esteem doesn’t come easily, but when it does come, it’s unexpected.
Thinking back on my childhood, I might just as easily have been a child suicide. I remember thinking about it when I was nine years old, right after being humiliated in front [...]
Book cover for Working through Grief: Tips for Coping with the Pain of Loss
Traumatic experiences, grief, and loss can take a heavy toll. Death, dying, divorce, sexual abuse, and suicide aren’t things you just “get over.” You have to heal them from the inside out.
Forget everything you’ve heard about “getting over it” and coming [...]
Continue reading about Grief and Loss Must Be Worked Through, Not Ignored
