DNA2DIAMONDS.......

This is a very beautiful idea when it comes to cherishing your loved one.  Based out of Landsville, Pennsylvainia, DNA 2 Diamonds offers you the service of creating your own special mourning jewelry by growing diamonds from DNA.  This process is done in their very high tech lab and it takes about three days to grow a diamond from either ashes or hair of the deceased loved one.  You can just pay for the diamond which starts around $1700 or you can have it set in a variety of jewel settings ranging from $500 and up.  There are payment plan options and these people seem very open to options and ideas.  I find this to be a wonderful concept, putting the true meaning back behind jewelry where it belongs. God bless!

A THEORY ON TIME.....

I have this crazy theory on time and death that I want to share with you.  Did you ever notice that the older we get the more time seems to speed up?  When we were kids it seemed like an hour lasted a week, but now that I’m in my forties, an hour is gone way too soon.  I remember being able to do so much in a day without missing a beat when I was in my twenties and now I have trouble with accomplishing a few chores in a day.  I believe that when time disappears from our recollection all together, when it speeds up so fast, our souls shoot out of our body, leaving time behind and everything to do with it.  I also believe that when it comes to car accidents or anything to do with dying young, our soul is slammed out of our body with no desire to return.   I try to grasp time and hang on to it as much as possible by being in the moment.  There is no greater magic then being in the here and now, not thinking of the past or future just being here now and truly grateful for the moment.  This is hard for a lot of people to accomplish due to society’s vicious worrisome ways, but I believe it is an exercise that we all need to practice and maybe time won’t  seem to slip so fast from our grasp.

DISCUSSION ON INHERITANCE

This can be a very touchy topic for most people.  The funeral is usually not the end to dealing with family and relatives.  Now comes the probate period and if we think we are the soul owners of our stuff, think again.  We are owned by the government and after we die, if we leave debt, our assets pay it off.  If a will is not drawn up before hand, the government can take it all, unless distributed among family members before hand.  Many people are starting to take on this form of thinking.  Giving away what you own before you go can avoid the use of lawyers, the long process of probate and the cause of family feuds.  If you think about it, it’s just stuff!  Yes we want to hang on to their memory and yes we want to hang on to their stuff and keep it in the family, but is it worth all the headaches?  Probate can take a long time and frustrate the spoiled selfish bratty thinking of most individuals who think their going to live high and mighty when daddy dies!  Maybe daddy’s in debt and you don’t know it!  That big old house belongs to the government, not you!  I believe if you really want something in this world, or  something similar, then go get it yourself, don’t wait for relatives to pass it down.  If they do, consider it a perk in your life, but don’t expect it to be yours!  I believe that is why, in the ancient tribes, the deceased were buried with their personal belongings because they were the ones who achieved obtaining that material object and yes, it does hold their essence, but they worked hard for it or it was a personal gift and they deserved to carry it with them in the after life.  So if you know you are on the way out and can still function without help, you might want to start down sizing in order to avoid long drawn out strife, grudges and regret within the realm of your family after you go.

MORE EPITAPHS.....

Here is a few more epitaphs for your enjoyment. Laughter is a mighty healer. These next few have to do with dying on the job, which was considered common back in the late 1800′s. Safety on the job site was not documented to the extent that it is in this century and accidents happened.

Though never a quitter,

Our dearly departed

Finished a job,

He should never have started.

He sought a gas leak

In the dark of the night,

Struck one tiny match

And went out with the light.

~

Snoozy Smith, who snatches naps

Anytime and place, perhaps

Pulled last week his greatest blunder;

Napped in a field and got plowed under!

Please take these postings with a light heart. I know that if I’m around after I die, I would like to see my family laughing instead of crying. They want to hear it like it really is! These are classic and take some wit to create.

CAPSULA MUNDI

Capsula Mundi was created by a couple of Italian inventors who had the vision of a forest for a graveyard. They created an egg-shaped capsule which was made from bio-plastic or starch-plastic (potatoes and corn starch). The deceased were placed in the capsule in the fetal position and the capsule is planted in the ground like a bulb. A circular depression is dug above the capsule to mark the place and a tree is planted in the middle. The tree is usually chosen by the deceased before death. This is probably one of the most beautiful concepts of “being born again”. I don’t really mean in the religious sense, but in the sense that our soul doesn’t die and is reborn into another realm. With all the new environmentally friendly and simple ways of burial that man has created in the last couple decades, I’m starting to wonder if the old concept of casket and tombstone is nothing but “nostalgic”  ingraining in our society. Hence the term “think outside the box.” If every grave was replaced by a tree, our planet would be a different place. We need to replace the term “death” with “re-birth”. When we are born on this earth, do the angels cry or sing? Do they lament over our leaving like humans do when their loved ones are “reborn”? So many questions and always searching for answers. God bless.

SKY BURIAL.....

Sky Burial is got to be one of the strangest burial practices that is practiced by one of the most spiritual colonies on earth.  In the land of Tibet, the geography is rocky and barren, forcing the population to dispose of their dead by other means.  Since they cannot dig the ground or burn much wood, they must hack up their dead and leave them in a high place to be eaten by vultures.  The vultures are of a large breed and also have many within a flock so the job is done quickly.  Since the Tibetan people are so healthy because they live mostly off the land, the toxicity level of their bodies is very low which in turn causes no ill effect on the vultures.  The family of the deceased can choose to watch or not, which in turn would be a strange funeral, but a very memorable imprint of the life, death, life cycle.

There is a similar ritual that is practiced in some parts of India known as Dakhma or Towers of Silence which are large circular stone columns where the dead are laid out on top for the same reason.  To be returned to the earth by birds of prey.  I will continue that story at a later date when I get more facts straight about the practice.  I know that the Tibetan monks study a book called The Book of the Dead, or Bardo Thodol,  is read aloud by the monks in order to help the decease’s journey to the other side.  There seems to be many levels of consciousness that must be faced and many untold truths and demons revealed.  This could take several days or sometimes weeks before the deceased is ready for the sky burial.  Some monks are known as the body hackers and their job is to hack up the body so the scent of blood and decay reaches the flocks of vultures.  Once the vultures arrive, the funeral can proceed.  As strange as this ritual can seem, it also has a very natural out come, but limited as to where it can be practiced.

LIFE AFTER DEATH......

When I talk about life after death, I’m not talking about the person who died, I’m talking about the close people that were left behind.  It’s believed that when a person dies, their soul explodes everywhere and those closest will feel the effects.  When a loved one dies, they are always on our minds and maybe that is why every time we turn around something reminds us of them.  Is it them trying to reassure us that they are okay and they are here for us?  Most people chalk it up to the grief syndrome but I believe that the deceased are still close and we can still feel them.  Just in this year I have experienced the passing on of five relations and two pets. These people and animals have guided me since their passing in different areas of my life.  Answers to questions just seem to arrive when I think about the deceased person who had the answers.  Can we still communicate?  Is it wrong to communicate cause society might think we are losing it?  I strongly believe in communication with the after life.  Is that not what we do when we pray?  People did not stop talking to God after he created this place, so if we are apart of God, who’s to say we cannot communicate to those left behind.  I find these times of communication the most comforting times, like being wrapped in the most comforting arms ever.  Hanging on to these moments of remembrance  helps us through the most difficult moments of pain and suffering.  They want us to remember and I try to always.

PEACE OF POETRY 2....

Peace my heart…

Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.
Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.
Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way.

~Rabindranath Tagore

- See more at: http://allspirit.co.uk/dying.html#peace

NATURAL BURIAL

I would like to take the time to talk a little about natural burial.  The Natural Burial Association based in Toronto has been conducting fully natural burials in protected green spaces since the early 90′s.  The concept and process is extremely simple.  There is no embalming performed, which is the leading contamination for ground water, there is no expensive casket made out of endangered trees, and there is no cemetery with giant expensive head stones.  The deceased is simply wrapped in a biodegradable shroud or simple casket and is lowered into the ground in a very beautiful and natural spot.  The protected green space is all natural with indigenous plants and trees.  The spot where the loved one is put to rest is marked in other means instead of a head stone, such as a wooden marker or a choice of greenery like their favorite plant or a natural rock.  Decomposition helps create new life in the green space and also has low impact on the area.  Why hasn’t it always been like this?  Why has religion used death as a marketing racketeer for so long?  There seems to be a lot of confusing rules and regulations written by the government when it comes to someone dying and I totally understand some of reasons, but I wonder if a lot of them are not written due to greed or ignorance.  Just think about what the world would be like if we had been conducting natural burials for the last hundred years.  Big difference.  Keeping things simple just seems to make more sense in our hearts and it is what feels comfortable.

COEIO AND THE MUSHROOM DEATH SUIT

The Mushroom Death Suit and Jae Rhim Lee’s Infinity Project has got to be one of the most unique burial techniques that I have ever come across.  I have uploaded the video because it says it all!  If this video doesn’t work, please view on Youtube under Jae Rhim Lee’s Ted Talk.  This is the wave of the future!

MOMENTS BEFORE PASSING

Moments before passing is a very magical time. I would like to tell you a few stories about such times where I’ve been present or close by. My father battled cancer and in the last moments of his life, my mother was the only one by his side. She was resting her head on his bed when she saw the whole room light up with colors of yellow and purple and everything in between. There was even sparks of white light that seemed to be swirling above my father. My mother knew that this was it. She watched him take his last breath and then the light show faded. She still talks about that moment with awe. There was another time when I was comforting a close friend of mine who was with his mother after she had suffered a stroke. His brother was a Momma’s boy and could not come to grasps that his mother was dying. He was upset with the hospital not trying to keep her alive and kept asking his mother to fight for her life. It just happened to be that the brother was the only one present at the moment of his mother’s passing. Sometimes, what we cannot accept, we are shown. I strongly believe that in the moment of passing, the door or veil is wide open for all present to witness. I’ve heard of accounts where a person was surrounded by loved ones who had already passed on and they were coming to take them  home. This was witnessed by the living relatives who were present. If you are in the process of watching someone fade away, stay with them cause they want to show you something very magical and beautiful, and I guarantee you that you will meet again one day.

LIFE AFTER A LOVED ONE DIES

If you have ever lost a loved one that you depended on for so much, it can seem like a complete devastation and living on seems unbearable.  It is hard to see the little things that use to make you happy because they just put remembrance in your head, but you need to focus on this.  The little things are what our loved ones want us to see, because that is their way of communicating with us from the beyond.  I have trouble believing how people think in the terms of “gone”.  Not true, more like they are actually more alive then they were before.  If someone you knew was a drug addict before they died, if you see them in your dreams, they are not doped up, they are young and vibrant and want you to know that.  Listen to the little things and pay attention to what pops in your head when you think of them.  The veil is a lot thinner then we think. Physical has just turned to celestial and it is every where and it can also help in ways that are mind blowing, but you wont realize it until after reflection of what just happened.  Pay attention to the little things that make you happy and always be thankful for them.  God bless.

A PEACE OF POETRY

This is an old piece of poetry written by W.H. Auden in the early 1900′s.  I believed it was appropriate to add to my blog even if it seems a little bleak, but very much what a lot of people may feel like.



FUNERAL BLUE’S

By W.H. Auden

Stop all the clock’s, cut off the phone,

Prevent the dog from barking, with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos with muffled drum,

Bring out the coffin, let the Mourners come

Let aeroplanes circle, moaning over head,

Scribbling on the sky, the message “He is Dead”,

Put crepe bows ’round the neck of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear white cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week, and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;

           For nothing now can ever come to any good.

ROADSIDE MEMORIAL

The Roadside Memorial is something that I’m sure most people have seen.  It is usually represented by a cross or marker indicating where someone died in a car crash.  Society is very fast paced in most parts of the world and driving can be very unforgiving of mistakes.  The automobile companies try their best to invent new methods of safer vehicles but the way people drive, and the number of people driving, causes conflict. The average house hold in North America owns two to three vehicles. Most vehicles you see on the road have only one passenger (the driver), yet four or five seats. It seems like everyone wants to get to where they are going alone and as fast as possible making us numb to the event of a fatal car crash until it happens close to home. Losing someone you love in a car crash can be shocking and very stressful because it is completely unforeseen. The Roadside Memorial is something like a sign.  It is something to pay attention to so that you know that spot can be treacherous, reminding you to take extra caution while driving.  If you know of someone who recently died in a car crash and are thinking of marking the spot with a cross, try to keep it simple. Anything too elaborate is classified as distracted driving and might be dismantled by law enforcement. I personally like the idea of markers showing these spots cause it is a sign of respect for the dead, but if there gets to be too many, it will turn into a Roadside Graveyard! We must reflect on our methods of transportation and car pooling should be mandatory in certain areas.  Also, I believe that there should only be one vehicle per household, forcing people to carpool and cutting down on traffic congestion. We are smart enough to know that there are other methods of safe transportation and these methods should be exercised regularly. Drive safe and keep your eyes on the road.

EPITAPHS

I would like to add a little humor to my blog by posting some humorous epitaphs about once a month.  An epitaph is writing on a tombstone.  Sometimes the deceased write it before they die and sometimes our loved ones write it for us.  The most infamous ones were written during the late 1800′s when the wild west was being tamed. So called loved ones were not always loved and things got said after they moved on.  Here is an old English epitaph that I came across:

“Here lies my poor wife, without bed or blanket,

But dead as a door nail, God be thanket.”

Here is another one found in Silvermine Connecticut:

“Here lies the body of Mary Devoe,

Wife of Henry Devoe.

Tears cannot bring her back,

Therefore, I weep.”

I hope you have enjoyed my post today and hope that I have lightened your mood on a serious situation.  God Bless!

BOOT HILL

I am sure a lot of people are familiar with the term “Boot Hill”.  The famous era of when western United States was in the process of  being settled.  The law was not

established and many single people were working in the vicinity as miners, cattlemen, army troops, and buffalo hunters creating a boom in growth.  With growth came trouble in the form of greed.  Outlaws were plenty and many people died from gunshot or hanging.  These people usually “died with their boots on” hence the name “Boot Hill”.
There are three Boot Hill Cemeteries that are famous due to the history and the people buried there:
1. Dodge City Kansas has the famous Boot Hill Museum where they have preserved a part of the town from the 1870′s that includes a street front with a saloon and the original cemetery with the hangman’s tree.  Most of the people buried there are unknown, but the history of the time brought about famous radio and TV shows and many movies.
2. Tombstone Arizona Boot Hill Cemetery is well known for it epitaphs which are usually of a humorous nature, such as: Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a 44, no less, no more.  Also known for the grave sites of Billy Clanton and the McLaury Brothers, who fought in the gunfight at the OK Corral.
3. Deadwood, South Dakota Boot Hill Cemetery is the resting place of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock.
Many of these names are legends and are still being used in the entertainment business today.  These cemeteries are part of the unforgettable history of the United States and if  you get a chance to visit one, have a drink for me!

WRITING LETTERS

 Writing letters to our dearly departed is a wonderful therapy for grief. Most people think that the line of communication is cut after we die, but I believe that the line is wide open! I’ve known people who have carried grief around for years because they felt that they never had a chance to fully tell the deceased loved one how they truly felt about them. You still can tell them through the writing of letters. I have books of writing because I believe that they have an affect on our lives, no matter how long they have been gone or how far away you think they might be, they still hear our words for them and they do respond. It’s as simple as keeping a journal and very therapeutic. You can ask questions through your writing or just tell them how much you love them and what happened that day that reminded you of them. The dearly departed love hearing from us and it is not a sign of mental illness to write letters addressed to those that have gone before us. Some of the world’s greatest inventions, art and song have been transmitted through this action. The line is always open and it is your choice to pick up a pen…….Amen.

CIMETIERE LES INNOCENTS

Cimetiere Les Innocents was the first cemetery built in the heart of Paris back in the 17 hundreds.  The area size being only 130 meters by 65, made it a nice little quint graveyard that was well maintained.  I’m shocked to think that as Paris grew, why did they not build another one?  This is a fact and so you can imagine what it was like.  The city was conducting mass burials in one cemetery just to keep up with their dead.  There was never much of a service performed and embalming was considered witch craft.  The pit would be left open until it was brimming with bodies.  Then they would close it and dig another one.  If you know anything about decomposition and what it breeds, (and we are not just talking about smell!!), you can well imagine the sick conditions of it all.  So Cimetiere Les Innocents became a festering dumping ground for bodies and when there was absolutely no more room, they were left outside, leaning up against the wall.  Charnel  houses began popping up in the neighborhood, attempting to make more room in the cemetery.  Chances of being sick from walking past the graveyard were pretty good, and God fore sake if you should fall into a pit!  At night the grave robbers, necromancers, and whores would use the cemetery as a stomping ground until the neighborhood went to hell it a hand cart!  By the 1770′s, bodies were exploding into the neighboring cellars and a fatal out break of disease caused by bad air slayed many in the surrounding area.

Finally in the spring of 1780, Louis the XVI closed The Cimetiere des Innocents for good.  The church was quite upset due to losing the burial fees, but it had to be done.  This was only the first step.  The next step would be to clean the place up which didn’t take place until six years later.  During the exhuming process, the decomposed bodies were cleaned of any margaric acid, or fat which got turned into candles and soap and was a lucrative business in Paris at the time.  The bones of the dead were dug up and carried in large piles by night to Denfert-Rocherau, an abandoned mine which was harboring revolutionaries and political up risers.  The procession was followed by priests as they said prayers for the dead and the bones were arranged in artistic displays inside the mine shafts and “The Catacombs” was born!  New cemeteries were built outside of Paris and the city could breathe once again!  I could never understand the point of the charnel houses, cause as far as I know, it’s unholy to disturb the dead, yet they were being dug up daily, but I can’t say if prayers were being said for them or not.  Did the families know or did they go to visit their relative’s grave only to find someone else buried there.  I realize that this is still practiced in some countries just labeled differently and you pay rent on a burial plot.  This practice does not make me feel secure about burying anyone I love and this kind of business conduct should not exist especially on so called holy ground.  Folks, we are not respecting the dead by turning death into a money pit!

THE CLOSING OF THE CASKET

If you’ve been to an open casket funeral, you will find that the most moving moments of the ceremony is the closing of the casket and the lowering of the casket in the cemetery. These seem to be the final, final good-byes. This is usually when the whole family is put into tears and a feeling of loss is hanging over the assembly. The pain can be softened if we look at these moments in a different light.  Consider it not “the end” but “the beginning!” The beginning of a new journey, surrounded by friends and family that have gone before them.  It can be considered an adventure that we will all embark on sooner or later. Rejoice at the closing of the casket fore this is what the deceased would rather see at their funeral. I sometimes wonder if some journeys are not put on hold due to the emotional state of the loved ones left behind. Some spirits may feel they cannot leave until they have the emotional consent from family and friends, postponing their journey and where they are needed until a later time. I believe we die because our spirit is needed in another place, we have work to accomplish on the other side. So next time an open casket funeral is on your agenda, rejoice to the closing of the casket and the beginning of the journey and send them off with a smile and a knowing that they are needed in another realm.