-
Traditional U.S. Military Funeral Service
How will you honor lost loved ones this Memorial Day?Can you resist feeling moved when you hear the fire of the three-gun salute and the playing of Taps at a military funeral service? When I hear that — even when I see it in a movie! — I can’t help but tear up and feel some innate swelling of pride. Playing the Taps and firing those…
/
-
The Neptune Society Memorial Reef
An Underwater Cremation Site for the Environmentally ConsciousThe Neptune Memorial Reef is a culmination of two intersecting trends in America’s funeral industry: the increasing statistic of cremation in America, as well as a growing interest in environmentally conscious burials. Located several miles from the Key Biscayne in Miami, FL, the Neptune Society — a crematory service — has constructed one of the…
/
-
What is Green Cremation? (Interview)
George Frankel has served as CEO of Eternal Reefs, Inc. since 2000, and has recently been appointed to the Green Burial Council Advisory Board. All photos courtesy of Eternal Reefs’s website. Kelly: For those who may not be familiar, what exactly do you do at Eternal Reefs? George: The simple explanation is we actually take cremated…
/
-
“A Year to Live”
A book about reparing to die by preparing to live.As the author and his wife face serious illness that has them quite possibly approaching the end-of-life, I picked up a copy of Stephen Levine’s 2009 book A Year to Live, in which the couple lived a full year as if it were their last. An author and teacher well-known for his work about death…
/
-
The Anthroposophical Perspective: Acceptance of Death in Life
The anthroposophical philosophy’s relationship Christianity and de-stigmatizing the dying processAt the turn of the century, the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) planted the first seeds for the anthroposophical movement, which continues to thrive today. Steiner became literally and figuratively an architect of our physical and emotional well-being. His design for the Ita Wegman Institute in Switzerland, built in 1924 for the medical community, is…
/
-
Vermont Passes Aid-in-Dying Legislation
Multi-year campaign pays off for supporters of choice at the end of lifeThank you, Compassion and Choices for sharing this news with us: Today, an important victory for advocates of end-of-life choice. The Vermont legislature passed the Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act. The bill is similar to Oregon’s law, but reduces requirements for patients after three years, when Vermont physicians may practice aid-in-dying…
/
-
From The Old American Way of Death to the New American Way
A fan sends me a strong message to please examine the funeral businessAs SevenPonds grows, I continue to be deeply touched by fans who reach out to me in a multitude of ways. I receive emails, calls, letters and some even approach me at conferences and events. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it feels each time I realize we have touched someone in such…
/
-
“The Book of Awakening”
Mark Nepo lends some insight about accepting our ultimate fate in The Book of AwakeningI’m sure you’ve noticed by now that, here at SevenPonds, we’ve talked several times before about accepting our deaths and embracing the unknown. We know there are benefits to accepting death: making the end-of-life experience more peaceful, helping us move on after losing a loved one, ensuring we enjoy our lives to the fullest, etc.…
/
Want an Easier Way to Plan a Memorial Event? Get our FREE guide
“7 Ways to Create an Amazing Celebration of Life”
