Weddings, Funerals, Ceremonies, Stories, Mindfulness, Practices

12 Sep 2022 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

How clear, how lovely bright…

Celebration of the Life of Heatherbelle Lee I cannot remember where I first met Heatherbelle over two decades ago; and yet I can say with certainty that her smile was present every time we saw each other. In her last week, she requested I visit to discuss ‘death and dying’…

Awkward Conversation

03 Sep 2022 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Dead Awkward Conversation

“Have you got a story burning a hole in your bottom drawer or a pile of writing that sounds better spoken? Do you want to deliver presentations without slides or are you learning to perform your poetry? Learn to combine writing with public speaking. Whatever you call your text, it is…

01 Sep 2022 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Four Funerals and a Poetry Slam

It’s been a beautiful and busy week with four funerals and a poetry slam. Roslyn McMaster Last week on Wednesday 24th August the McMaster family said goodbye to Roslyn. These are some of the words of remembrance before I closed the ceremony. Roslyn’s kind, thoughtful and supportive nature will be…

15 Aug 2022 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

In Conversation and Poetry

Poetry is leading the way for me at present. Calling me in the night and early morning—a conduit for the various layers of undoing, sense-making, ritual practice, deep listening, being and giving that this life has offered up… especially recently. I joined Asher Packman from The Fifth Direction on Monday…

13 Aug 2022 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Dying to Know Day

On a sunny Sunday morning in the local community garden, 40 people gathered to yarn up Death and Dying. Gumbaynggir man, Micklo Jarrett engaged us enthusiastically with his deep infectious laughter, embodied Gumbaynggirr language and the story of the tree of life. After his Welcome to Country in language he…

05 Aug 2022 | Mindfulness

Forgiveness

The wonderful poet, David Whyte hosts a series of talks every second month, called the Three Sundays. In the last session of The Three Sunday’s in July he read the poem, Forgiveness from his book, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. This inspired me to use his…

Home Death

04 Aug 2022 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Home Death—A Haibun

Home Death—A Haibun (Prose and Haiku) The young woman was a mother of four children—her drawn, pale skin tight on the small frame that was once full of energy. The breast cancer had slowly crept into every soft curve of her body. Her mind, at this moment of the…

The peace of wild things by Wendall Berry

01 Aug 2022 | Healing

The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things The Peace of Wild Things—written and read by Wendell Berry When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down…

31 Jul 2022 | Ceremonies

Online Mourning and Celebration Circle Monday 8th August 7pm-8.30pm AEST

Using guided practices from the mindfulness, Ongo: Everyday Nonviolence and Celebrating This Precious Life programs, we will come together online to share our Mourning and Celebration Circle. Mourning… the loss of a beloved family member, friend, pet, member of the community… or the loss of a job, a change of situation, financial…

Conversation with Wendy

30 Jul 2022 | Funerals, Death and Dying, End of Life Planning

Dropping Into Life: The invitation at diagnosis and through recovery

Mel Greblo from The Coterie Global invited me to join her in Conversation. The end of 2021 for Wendy Haynes brought with it a stark and unexpected diagnosis—a rare ovarian cancer. The dawn of the new year would be marked by radical surgery to remove the tumour and learning whether the cancer…

Acknowledgement of Country

27 Jul 2022 | Celebrants

Acknowledgement of Country

Acknowledgement of Country I give thanks for the beauty and support of the land upon which I get to live, work and play— and support ways of conciliation by giving voice to my knowing of whose land I am on—the Indigenous people have been connected to Country for tens of thousands…

Naming Ceremony

27 Jul 2022 | Celebrants

Naming Ceremony for Clara Rose

Naming/Welcoming Ceremony for Clara Rose Yesterday, I conducted an enactment of a naming ceremony for the participants of the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants National Conference in Adelaide. Michael Elwood, one of the conference team, invited his daughter, Diana and her husband, Nathan and their beautiful daughter, Clara Rose, to…

26 Jul 2022 | Celebrants

Diversity, Inclusion and Inspiration

Diversity is the mix, inclusion is making the mix work. Andres Tapia Diversity, Inclusion and Inspiration was the theme for the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrations National Conference in Adelaide this year. As the main speaker, I offered the following story.* “Imagine you are hosting a dinner party. Every guest…

AFCC National Conference 2022

25 Jul 2022 | Celebrants

Leaves of Love

Blessings from the celebrant community At the recent Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants National Conference held in Adelaide, I conducted an enactment of a naming ceremony. The celebrants participating were encouraged to write a blessing for the family prior to the start of the enactment. I invited them to imagine…

25 Jul 2022 | Ceremonies

A Natural History of Love

A Natural History Of Love —Diane Ackerman “Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful. It has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble,…

< 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 21 >