Issue # 107 - December 2023

The conference and event world starts to slow down this time of year, but it picks up again in January. In the interim, here are links to recordings from some of 2023's best conferences:

The 2023

Conference on Death, Grief

and Belief

International Assn. of Near-Death Studies 2023 Conference

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COMING IN JANUARY

Jan. 29 - Feb. 2 - ONLINE

The National Grief Center

for Children and Families

Virtual Professional Seminar

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Saturday Jan. 20 - ONLINE

Death and Bereavement

Across the Spiritual Spectrum

CE CREDITS AVAILABLE

Earlybird pricing ends Dec. 1

50% off for our subscribers!

See story below

CELEBRATING WINTER SOLSTICE: HONORING TRANSITION

Because this time of year can be difficult for those who are grieving, in this issue you’ll find articles about grief, but also about our capacity for resilience. And because for many people the holiday season is about religion, in this issue I’m also going to plug my 2019 book, Grief and God: When Religion Does More Harm Than Healing.

Loss and trauma inevitably bring up existential dilemmas and a quest for meaning that leads to spiritual questions and hopefully, spiritual transformation. For many people, a profound loss triggers a crisis of faith that can make the grieving process even more difficult, especially when the griever doesn’t have access to the tools that can help construct a more practical, more accessible, more inclusive theology.

Dr. Terri Daniel, CT, FFGT

Clinical Chaplaincy, End-of-Life Educator

Bereavement and Trauma Support

office@deathgriefandbelief.com

NEWS, ARTICLES AND EDUCATION

Managing Loss and Grief During the Holidays

Methods for coping with grief are studied by psychologists and social scientists, but you may be surprised to learn that there is very little research on resilience in the grief process… at least in modern Western society. Loss and bereavement does not have to devastate us, and we may be more resilient than we think. READ MORE...

Replacing Archaic Grief Theories

with Practical, Effective Tools

For some practical tips and tools for managing grief and loss, please take a moment to listen to this podcast episode recorded earlier this year with Karen Wyatt MD. It's a fascinating conversation that offers hands-on therapeutic activities and analysis of spiritual tools that can help -- or hinder -- the healing process.

New Study on Childhood Near-Death Experiences

"Children reported unsolicited NDE type experiences that included out of body experiences, bright lights, bedside visions, bi-location and visiting celestial places. The aim of the article is to show that children are an important research population for the study of near-death experiences. Children's near-death experiences are simple and carry transcendental features such as a peaceful darkness, a knowing awareness and time alterations. Children assign a subjective reality to their near-death experiences. Younger children may demonstrate a visual NDE semiosis which warrants further investigation. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the value for involving children in NDE research through participatory and creative research methods." READ MORE...

The Pitfalls of Prayer

"It is generally believed that a prayer is considered “answered” if it produces the desired result, assuming that without the prayer, the outcome would have been different. The same formula applies to “intercessory prayer,” in which someone prays on behalf of someone else, for example, when a community prays to help a neighbor, or a hospital chaplain prays for a patient." READ MORE...

Scotland Witch Hunts

The museum’s opening earlier this year came close on the heels of historic apologies by two major Scottish institutions. Last year, on International Women’s Day, Scotland’s then first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, acknowledged the “egregious historic injustice” by extending a “formal posthumous apology to all of those accused, convicted, vilified or executed under the Witchcraft Act of 1563. READ MORE...

Near-Death Experience:

Where Science Meets Religion

"The current focus on near death experiences is not due to a spike in either religion or superstition; it is due to the unexpected outcome of efforts over the last fifty years to resuscitate human beings who are undergoing brain death, using high tech methods. Several big findings are changing the way the topic is understood" READ MORE...

War and Moral Injury

If you would like to help traumatized veterans, please support K9s for Warriors

“Imagine you’re hurting like hell and all you want to do is tell your friends and family what happened, hoping they’ll understand, hoping maybe they’ll tell you they’re sorry about what you had to go through and reassure you that you’re not some kind of monster. But all they do is pretend what you did was great and parrot a bunch of lame horse shit about being a hero. It’s like you’re being choked to death from the inside and you look to others for help and they just smile and look away.”

Replacing Archaic Grief Theories

﻿with Practical, Effective Tools

with Practical, Effective Tools