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Most people can’t bear to sit in church for an hour on Sundays…
How are they supposed to live somewhere very similar to it for eternity?– Mark Twain Image by Prashanth dotcompals (Creative Commons)
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Funeral Rites in Ancient Iran
The ancient funeral rituals involved a unique tie to the New YearEarly Indo-Iranians, the group of people residing in present-day Iran, or ancient Mesopotamia, before the third century B.C.E., held beliefs and rituals surrounding death that involved a unique tie to the New Year.
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Coping with Grief During the Holidays
Tips to help you care for yourself and enjoy your loved ones during this family-centric holiday weekHolidays often lend an acute awareness to a loss, whether we experienced the loss of a loved one just months ago or decades ago. Re-living the routines they were once part of and interacting with all the people who knew them can spark memories that are at once delightful and painful. Here are some tips…
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“Blue Christmas”
A song for those enduring sadness over the holidaysThis classic soul piece, originally penned by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson, has established itself as an enduring holiday classic, and an ideal funeral song for those late-December memorials. For this writer, at least, it helps him to feel a little less alone. I’ll have a blue Christmas without youI’ll be so blue just…
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“Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The poem that inspired “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” carries an important messageYou’ve probably heard the Christmas carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” at some point (maybe even this Christmas season), but did you know that it was inspired by a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? The poet penned “Christmas Bells” in 1863, and eventually it got altered and became the musical piece it…
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The Madonna as a Symbol of Life
Images of the Virgin Mary have been the greatest representation of life and purity in art and culture throughout Western historyThis Tuesday, many people around the world will celebrate Christmas. For many in Western culture, the holiday has come to simply represent things like family, giving, and togetherness. But for Christians, it is still the celebration of the birth of their Savior, Jesus Christ, the son of God. The birth of Jesus in the Christian…
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How Can Healing Physical Therapy Help? (Interview)
A professional healer and alternative health practitioner explains the art of intentionMark Haviland is a physical therapist, healer, masseuse and alternative health practitioner based in San Francisco, CA. In his business he deals often the elderly, they infirm and the dying, employing touch- and motion-based therapy to lift spirits and ease tensions. He spoke with SevenPonds about his experience in the field. Antal: Could you start…
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“Lincoln” (2012) by Steven Spielberg
Lincoln’s death takes place off screen, but the weight of his achievements remainSteven Spielberg’s latest film, Lincoln, begins on a mud-soaked, blood-soaked battlefield that recalls the opening to Saving Private Ryan, except with bayonets and 19th-century marching squad uniforms instead of bullets and flak helmets. At the battle’s conclusion, the victorious soldiers, a squad of black soldiers fighting on the Union side, briefly discuss the politics of…
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