Giving and receiving are the same. Do you understand how? Giving and receiving are the two polarities of the same frequency spectrum of abundance. Just as joy and sadness are similar in nature but different in degree, joy and sorrow are opposite polarities of the same emotional spectrum. That means joy can be converted into […]

“Dear Melanie, For the past few weeks now, I have had you and your sister Cindy, on my mind. Not really sure as to why or what it all meant, until last week. I had just returned from work; it was about 2:30 in the morning. I decided I would go for a little walk, […]

After my sister, Cindy James, died, I dreamed that I thought I could “find” her by covering my face with a purple or mauve cloth that had a tiny hole in it. (Purple was her favorite color.) Through this hole I could “look” into the universe and search for Cindy. I was able to see […]

During one autumn the Whitehorse Hospice children’s grief recovery program that I co-facilitated brought raw, painful feelings to the surface…for me, as well as the children. And for me, when combined with an acquisition of a deeper connection with them, I was able to cry for Larry, my brother-in-law who died in 1973, for the […]

Have you ever tried sitting motionless for 15 or 20 minutes in order to feel calmer, more peaceful and free of tension? The following exercise will allow you to breathe in calmness and breathe out tension… Close your eyes. Think of yourself as a vessel holding muddy water—the longer you sit still the more sediment […]

For five minutes at the beginning of your day, allow your feelings to be present. Don’t try to direct them, enhance them, or manipulate them. Just notice them. Just feel them. Being creatures of both the mind and body experience, we’ll frequently notice that feelings get expressed as sensation in the body. Watch the sensations, […]

Between our first inhale at birth and our last exhale at death, some part of us is always dying… When I was a child and Dad’s military career took most of my immediate family (excluding my oldest brother and sister, Cindy) from Canada to Europe, a world died. (Those who leave their native land to […]

For five minutes at the beginning of your day, consider the ways you are attached to its outcome: How do you expect others in your life to behave? What fears do you have about how life will unfold today? What are you afraid might happen unexpectedly? How do you expect yourself to perform? What “things” […]

In my search for an answer to Cindy’s death, gathering facts of the death process helped me to find an understanding of death. I wanted to know: What is it like? What actually happens while I’m dying? Does anybody really know? How painful is it? How does my body shut down in death? When am […]

Set aside ten minutes today for this important topic. Sit quietly in a quiet place. For the first five minutes, think about what death is, from your own perspective. Try to go past any platitudes or teachings about death that were given you by someone else. Consider your own fears, and be as honest as […]