The Cochieans buried their women, but suspended their men from trees, that the Ghonds buried their women but cremated their men and that the Bongas buried their men with their faces to the North and their women with their faces to the South.
Entries from August 2009
Did you know that…..
August 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Categories: Interesting Facts
An interview with Jane Tewson
August 27, 2009 · 1 Comment
Jane set up Pilotlight in the UK and then in Australia. Pilotlight specialises in bringing together very rich and powerful people into personal contact with people on the street who need help. Her book is called Death and Dying – Bringing Death to Life.
“Dying to Know: Bringing Death to Life” is witty, profound, and thought-provoking. It has just the right balance for people at the end stages of their life and/or their families and caregivers. It is also suitable for those bereaved by the loss of a loved one.
It is not in an essay or novel style like most books on this subject, but is arranged with pictures, quotes, and short stories – just the right amount when you’re grieving. For example, there is a little pocket at the back of the book which contains a small folded piece of paper with the title “Emotional Will” and when unfolded has unfinished sentences like: “There is something I have learned that I would like you to know…” and “Thank you for this memory, I treasure it…”, etc.
More information on the book or Pilotlight is available on the website: Pilotlight or listen to her wonderful podcast from the ABC here:
Categories: Interesting Facts · Interviews · Pod Cast
Did you know that…..
August 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Diamonds can now, quite literally, be a girl’s best friend!
In an online poll, with over 12000 responses, 77% of respondents said they would be happy to wear diamonds made from human remains. Companies are now offering to take the carbon from the ashes of your loved one and make them into a diamond. More than one diamond can be made from one set of ashes, and you can choose the carat you require.
Categories: Interesting Facts
BOOK REVIEW – Your Life Matters: The power of living now
August 25, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Your life matters. You are not here by accident. You are not a mistake You are on the right planet. You are not here for the kids, the career, the mortgage, You are here to make the journey of your life via the kids, the career, the mortgage. The journey matters more than the destination.
Stricken by leukaemia at the age of thirty-two, Petrea King confronted and came to accept the prospect of death. Yet the unexpected happened. She survived. Then she had to figure out how to live. Grounded in her many years’ work as a counsellor and teacher at her Quest for Life Centre, Your Life Matters is a guide to establishing peace of mind, and living an authentic and fulfilling life.
An unexpected event such as an illness, tragedy or misfortune often provides the impetus for reflection, to assess what needs to be changed in our lives, and to begin that process.
In Your Life Matters Petrea encourages all of us to think about the way we live – what we believe, how we behave, how we treat out bodies – and to make positive changes.
In today’s fast-paced world, we tend to search for happiness outside ourselves. We convince ourselves that a new car, new shoes, a new partner – all of these things will make us happier.
In this wise, necessary and practical book, Petrea King teaches us how to live from the inside out rather than the outside in. By sharing her many principles and guidelines to developing our sense of self, treating our bodies right and adapting to life’s challenges, Petrea shows us the way to peace and all round health and wellbeing.
Read more about Petrea King’s book on her website Quest for Life.
Categories: Book Review
Crypt atop Marilyn Monroe sells for $5.5m
August 25, 2009 · Leave a Comment
An update from our post yesterday: SPENDING eternity atop Marilyn Monroe will cost one lucky bidder $5.5 million, according to online auction website eBay which announced today’s winning bid for the burial crypt directly above the movie star.
It was not immediately clear who made the winning offer for the privileged spot in Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, which is being vacated by its current occupant, Richard Poncher, whose widow made the prime resting place available in order to pay off her $1.9 million-Beverly Hills home.
For more information visit the article on news.com.au
Categories: Interesting Facts · News Items
For sale on eBay: an eternity with Marilyn Monroe
August 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment
When it comes to sleeping with a bona fide Hollywood sex symbol, death need not necessarily be an impediment. Thanks to Los Angeles widow Elsie Poncher, who is auctioning off a burial plot atop that occupied by Marilyn Monroe, it may even count as an advantage.
Poncher’s advertisment on eBay offers prospective corpses the chance to “spend eternity directly above Marilyn Monroe”. Bidding opened last week at $500,000 (£300,000) and has already topped $4.5m, with more than seven days left to run.
The plot, at LA’s exclusive Westwood Village cemetery, is currently home to the remains of Poncher’s late husband Richard, who died in 1986. In accordance with his dying wishes, Poncher was buried face down in his crypt. “He said, ‘If I croak, if you don’t put me upside down over Marilyn, I’ll haunt you for the rest of my life,” Poncher explained to the LA Times newspaper.
In life, Poncher reportedly made his fortune as an entrepreneur. According to his widow, he was “a helluva nice guy”, who “knew all the gangsters in LA”. She added that she was now “vacating” his remains in order to earn the money to pay off the mortgage on her Beverly Hills home.
The successful bidder will eventually move into a select neighbourhood of dearly departed celebrities. Other longterm residents of Westwood Village cemetery include Roy Orbison, Truman Capote and Dean Martin.
Article courtesy of Xan Brooks – Guardian Newspaper
Categories: News Items
Quotes we love
August 21, 2009 · 2 Comments
We are often asked what are the best poems, verses or quotes remember our loved ones. Each week we will feature an author and their work. If you have a favourite poem or quote, please let us know in the comments. We would love to hear from you.
* * *
FAREWELL
Tie the strings to my life, my Lord,
Then I am ready to go!
Just a look at the horses –
Rapid! That will do!
Put me in on the firmest side,
So I shall never fall;
For we must ride to the Judgment,
And it’s partly down hill.
But never I mind the bridges,
And never I mind the sea;
Held fast in everlasting race
By my own choice and thee.
Good-by to the life I used to live,
And the world I used to know;
And kiss the hills for me, just once;
Now I am ready to go!
Categories: Poems & Quotes
Sacred Ceremony: How to Create Ceremonies for Healing, Transitions, and Celebrations
August 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment
There are certain books in our lifetime that we just know from the moment we open the dust cover and read the intro that there will be information in it’s contents that will completely inspire us; Sacred Ceremony is just that type of book. From the first chapter until the last, Steven takes you through his journeys of personal and professional experiences in his life and how different types of ceremonies brought to him and others a profound self healing and deep peaceful comfort. With each ceremony written, I felt Steven take me (as the reader) into the heart, soul and dynamics of the ceremonies with great ease and understanding. Those who are drawn to work with the elements of nature, the power of spirit, whether beginner or experienced, each will receive great blessings in absorbing the material written.
You can buy the book online at Amazon. Click here.
Categories: Book Review
Help Me Say Goodbye: Activities for Helping Kids Cope When a Special Person Dies
August 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment
An art therapy and activity book for children coping with the death of someone they love. Sensitive exercises address all the questions children may have during this emotional and troubling crisis. Children are encouraged to express in pictures what they are often incapable of expressing in words.
Here’s what they are saying about this wonderful book:
“My 5yr old son was having a hard time coping with losing his mother to cancer. A friend recommended this book, and I thought it was abosultely wonderful. My son, who couldn’t or wouldn’t open up about his feelings, took to this book like he would a favorite coloring book, letting all his feeling and perceptions just flow out right there on paper. I bought it to help HIM, but it helped ME just as much–I wept when I looked at what he had drawn. After he finished it, he forgot about the book for a while. So I took it and put it in our hope chest for him to look back on years from now, as a keepsake and memory of the wonderful woman who brought him into this world, and who brought us both so much happiness”.
You can buy the book online at Amazon. Click here.
Categories: Book Review
