“The race to optimize grief”

Mihika Agarwal writes for Vox on the rise of AI-assisted grief processing: In the spring of 2023, Sunshine Henle texted her mother. She asked where she had gone, told her that she missed her, and soon received a response: “Honey, I wish I could give you a definite answer, but what I do know is … Read more“The race to optimize grief”

The Sky Meadow Wind Phone

I’ve just returned from the first annual Sacred Harvest event at Sky Meadow, an idyllic 115-acre spiritual retreat in the mountainous Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The Harvest was a wonderful three days of wholesome work, exploration and soul-talk, and provided me with the opportunity to fulfil my long-term ambition of creating and installing a wind … Read moreThe Sky Meadow Wind Phone

“Psychedelics are helping dying patients overcome their existential distress”

B. David Zarley writes for Freethink on the subject of psychedelic therapies for dying people: “Existential distress” of the kind faced by people at the end of their lives is not a mental health disorder you’ll find in the DSM-V, points out Paul Thielking, a board certified doctor in palliative and hospice medicine and the … Read more“Psychedelics are helping dying patients overcome their existential distress”

“Death Differently”

Death Differently is cinematic education on innovations in death care featuring death doulas, hospice workers, alternative death advocates, music thanatologists, green burial funeral directors, and many others. The series’ goal is to highlight these individuals working in the emerging – but mostly unknown – death and dying space to challenge death myths that contribute to … Read more“Death Differently”

My Wind Phone: Let the Wind Take Your Words

Mywindpone.com offers resources for creating and locating wind telephones inspired by Itaru Sasaki’s original concept: I read about Itaru Sasaki and his Phone Booth of the Wind. I imagined sitting in his white phone booth surrounded by Itaru’s beautiful garden, holding the phone to my ear, dialing Emily’s number, and listening as the rotary dial … Read moreMy Wind Phone: Let the Wind Take Your Words

An Online Symposium Celebrating 50 Years of “The Denial of Death”, With Caitlin Doughty & Sheldon Solomon

I’m looking forward to attending this upcoming online symposium, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ernest Becker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death. Published in 1973, the book helped spark the Happy Death Movement, a clear precursor to the current Death Positivity Movement. The event will be moderated by D.S. Moss and will feature speakers … Read moreAn Online Symposium Celebrating 50 Years of “The Denial of Death”, With Caitlin Doughty & Sheldon Solomon

“Goodnight Lovelies”: a Humanist Memento Mori Meditation with D.S. Moss

Humanist chaplain D.S. Moss, who was the creator and host of the popular Adventures of Memento Mori podcast series, presents this series of bedtime memento mori meditations. Each 14-minute session begins with relaxation, breathing and visualization exercises, proceeds through a review of one’s day giving attention to a particular theme, and then ends with intention-setting … Read more“Goodnight Lovelies”: a Humanist Memento Mori Meditation with D.S. Moss

‘A tattoo is for life’: how memorial tattoos help the bereaved

Professors Jennifer L Buckle and Sonya Corbin Dwyer write for Psyche on the benefits of memorial tattoos: Many of these bereaved individuals talked about their memorial tattoo as an expression of their need for a sense of permanence in response to painfully clear impermanence – a reaffirmation of life amid the stark reality of death. … Read more‘A tattoo is for life’: how memorial tattoos help the bereaved