Most adults live in some sort of denial about their own and love one’s impermanence. The denial of death can be both healthy and unhealthy. Denial can allow us to live our life with out constantly thinking about that any moment might be our last. Denial can also hinder our ability to live our life to the fullest. People with unhealthy denial of death may avoid spending time with a dying friend or family member. They may also struggle with their own dying to the point that they shun friends and family from sharing in their last moments. The following examples of adults dealing with death and dying come from my work with Ram Dass and Frank Ostaseski, and years of hospice work.
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After discovering more about my mother’s ancestral background, I encountered a deeper level of healing. I have always known my father’s ancestral heritage. My dad’s father was a Hungarian Jew and his mother was German. The only revelation from getting my Y-DNA screened was that I realized that my father’s side of the family was strictly Jewish for thousands of years – it was only until my grandfather married a “shiksa” that other blood came into the family. My dad continued in that tradition, marrying outside of the faith. Both women converted; my mother did so out of obligation and my grandmother out of love. The real revelation for me was uncovered while looking further into my mother’s DNA (mtDNA). I knew she was Irish but I never really thought much about it until I started to analyze my mtDNA results and look for answers concerning my maternal lineage. Every person inherits mtDNA from his or her mother. MtDNA testing allows us to look far back in time for genetic clues to our origins but, because it mutates rapidly and is not very stable, it is difficult to test. I wasn’t able to afford the full genomic sequence match, so the results of my mtDNA screen goes back 52 generations and further. My mom’s ancestors, according to the test results, were primarily from Ireland and Norway; Ireland had the highest number of genetic matches. In addition, I had matches in England, France, Germany, Poland, and Scotland, but these were all relatively low. This led me on a quest to find out more about people in Ireland and Norway 1600-1700 years ago. § Read the rest of this entry…
THE OCEAN AND PSYCHOLOGY
My family has lived on the coast of Santa Cruz, CA for five generations. During the last one hundred years, my family has used the Monterey Bay for play, spiritual, and deep healing experiences. I am in my last year of completing a masters in psychology with an emphasis in ecopsychology. Most people have no idea that ocean phytoplankton provides the earth with 90% of its oxygen. The lack of knowledge about the vital importance of our oceans has led to more focus on saving land-based nature. I believe that both are important to treat with healing respect. The purpose of this blog is to bring needed attention to our ocean’s state of health. I feel that we need to look at how a poisoned ocean affects us mentally as a society and individually. If we poison the ocean we destroy most of the earth’s oxygen supply. § Read the rest of this entry…
