Making Peace With Death & Dying

The Top 5 Things to Do When a Loved One Is Dying

Like a soldier going into battle for the first time, being my mother's caregiver for the final nine years of her life was a baptism by fire for me. My mother and I learned so much useful information through those years that she made me promise…

What Do You Think Happens When We Die?

When was the last time you thought about your own death? 5 seconds ago? 5 years ago? What DO you think will happen when you die? How does that inform how you are living your life? Death is the most fascinating topic that we tend not to…

How to Handle Family Dynamics Around a Dying Loved One

Families can be complicated, to say the least. When they are beautifully loving and caring, it's one of God's most delightful gifts. But often, when the well-being of a critically-ill loved one is involved, tensions can flare. We don't all love…
Judith with her Mother

7 Tender and Magnificent Lessons That Death Can Teach Us

This is a picture of me with my mother, Grace Mundy, six months before her death in 2006. We shared a home during the final nine years of her life. Being her friend and caregiver through to her death was a walk through the valley of the shadow…

Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on Death and Impermanence

While I am not a Buddhist, I find great wisdom and potential liberation in the Tibetan Buddhist teachings on death. They offer a beautiful understanding of life's end to those in the west who are still under the influence of a societal death…
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Is Your God Too Small?

Do you experience God? Or, is God a concept to you? Or, perhaps God is not something that matters to you.  Some people worship very small gods like the god of opinion or the god of money, power, status, and success. Some relate to…

Advance Healthcare Planning Part 2: Why Filling Out Your Forms is Not Enough

Advance Healthcare Planning Part 2: Why Filling Out Your Forms is Not Enough In Part One of this article, I discussed why every mentally-competent individual over the age of 18 needs to have advance healthcare plans in place. Here we will…

When Critical Illness or Death Catches You By Surprise

An email I received from a reader provoked this article. She wrote "I'm 50 years old, sitting in a hospital room with my 43 year old husband, who is trying to recover from surgery for esophageal cancer. His diagnosis in early March sent me into…
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Living As Though Your Humanity, Mortality, and Divinity Really Matters

Is there anything we take more for granted than life itself? We are alive – what a miracle!  Here are some questions to think about: Are you living your life on the surface checking off endless to-do lists? When was the last time…

Giving Yourself a Basic Education About Funeral Planning NOW

If you had to plan a funeral for a loved one tomorrow, would you know what to do and what not to do?  Most of us are woefully unprepared when faced with this task and must do so while grieving the loss of someone for whom we care deeply. …

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