“We stumbled on in the darkness, over big stones and through large puddles, along the one road running through the camp. The accompanying guards kept shouting at us and driving us with the butts of their rifles. Anyone with very sore feet supported himself on his neighbor’s arm. Hardly a word was spoken; the icy […]

“He who has a why for life can put with any how.” ~Frederick Nietzsche Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend Read an excerpt now TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

Can we find meaning in what has happened to us? (As Victor Frankl, Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, suggests we can with his logotherapy—due to his and others’ suffering in WWII Nazi concentration camps, Victor came to the conclusion that even in the most absurd, painful and dehumanized situation, life has potential meaning and […]

We are all a part of a family system, and each system has a role and a level of functioning with historical roots. And my family, like most families, had “the black sheep” (my middle brother), “the prodigal son” (my youngest brother), “the smart one” (me, according to Cindy’s 1986 autobiography), “the good-looking one” (Cindy), […]

At the time my sister (Cindy James) died and her body was found (on this day twenty-one years ago), it seemed that some of my family members weren’t sharing the same sorrow that I felt, or at least they weren’t showing it the same way. But, I now realize, none of us were ever psychologically […]

For five minutes at the end of your day, sit quietly in a quiet place. We all carry some unfinished grief with us, resulting from our incomplete re-connection to life. When we trust our own innate ability to grieve, in our own way, we learn to trust life again, and reconnect with it. Sometimes this […]

Meditation – Terry Lang “‘Grief is praise for what you have lost.’” “These are the words of Martin Prechtel, a Guatemalan shaman. In his village, as in many indigenous cultures, community grief rituals are common. “I will describe for you a grieving ritual of the Dagara people in West Africa as depicted in Malidoma Some’s […]

Thanks for sending this story on to me Vera: A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the four pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on […]

Thanks for passing this on Ken: A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present  ‘Seven Wonders of the World’. Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: 1. Egypt’s Great Pyramids 2. Taj Mahal 3. Grand Canyon 4. Panama Canal  5. Empire State Building   6. St. […]

Take a few moments to sit quietly and ask your heart: “What wants to be born into my life today? I welcome the birth of something new.” When something arises from your heart into your mind, welcome it as you would a beloved child, a long-awaited gift. Let your heart rise up to meet it, […]