When successful, button-down investment banker Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) loses his wife, Julia (Heather Lind), in a car accident, he tries to grieve but, inexplicably, he can’t. Even with the passage of time, the shock never seems to set in, leaving family, friends and colleagues somewhat perplexed. Why won’t he let out his feelings?
Alex Beene is an author and educator. He has been featured on ABC, CBS, ESPN Radio and an array of print publications for authoring his children’s books “Lessons from a Southern Mother” and “The Journey of the Paper Heart.” His columns have appeared in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Clarion-Ledger, Mic.com and other prominent media outlets. A constant traveler, he has ventured to over 20 countries and has books in five different languages.
“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” (2014 production, 2015 release). Cast (Voices): Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek-Pinault, John Krasinski, Quvenzhané Wallis, Alfred Molina, Frank Langella, Assaf Cohen, Leah Allers. Director: Roger Allers. Segment…
High school senior Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann) desperately wants to fit in with his classmates. But, given the many diverse subcultures that make up the student body at Pittsburgh’s Schenley High, he can’t decide which group to call his tribe. As a consequence, he spends most of his time hiding out in a sort of social anonymity, developing only superficial associations with his peers. In fact, about the only person he considers a friend is his longtime buddy Earl Jackson (RJ Cyler), a childhood pal with whom he clandestinely makes short films parodying classic works of cinema. But, even with this creative diversion, Greg’s life generally lacks direction, purpose and a sense of connection – distressing conditions for someone on the brink of adulthood.
Nelson Mandela’s long walk may come to an end, but the footprints he left behind will last for eternity.
Goodbyes are never easy. Saying farewell to a person who is dying can be one of the hardest things you will go through. John Holland shares a personal story…
Aging gives us a chance to learn to use the shadows in our life as vehicles for our awakening — and the longest shadow of all is death. How you relate to death is the key spiritual work of aging. And how you see death is a function of how much you identify with that which dies. Egos die. Souls don’t die.
In my years of working with the dying, I have noticed commonly shared experiences that remain beyond our ability to explain and fully understand. In the tapestry of life and death, we may begin to see connections to the past that we missed in life. While death may look like a loss to the living, the last hours of a dying person may be filled not with emptiness, but rather with fullness. Here are some of the most common visions and experiences that the dying have:
They say there are no such thing as coincidences that coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous, Gloria Loring takes us on a personal journey of just how true it is…
Jake Ducey talks about the importance of doing what we love and how that effects our happiness and the planet…
There’s a language that can only be heard when one truly listens. John Holland explains what it is and how he opened to it…
Kabbalah Teacher Karen Berg takes us on a journey from before we’re born into this world until we are physically made manifest and walks us through the story of our soul puzzle and how we complete this through our physical body before we return to our source of creation…
At the dawning of spiritual maturity, as in biological maturity, a push or even a shock is often necessary to provide the catalyst for essential growth.
OSHO: Yes, We Celebrate Death Too
The experience of the gift of life, of the grace of life, is a mysterious blessing we celebrate and bow to. Grace is the answer to our prayers, and yet…
A family in my home town recently suffered an unimaginable loss. Their 12 year old son was injured while playing catch at a baseball game. He died as a result…
Every time I explain my experience in the light I can feel the touch of the Love that accompanied it. It is still incredibly emotional for me even many years later. In the light, without a body, I could handle that level of love because I had left the physical side of emotion behind. It is not that you don’t experience emotion when in the light, but without a physical body, you have no physical reaction. In our physical body we feel excitement in our stomach and love can make us light headed. In the light I felt love, joy, passion, and excitement without the physical sensations. I was simply accepting and awed.
Perhaps forcing viewers to consider this unnerving possibility is the point of this film, pushing us to examine a consciously created probability that’s just as valid (even if not as palatable) as all the others we might manifest for ourselves. Then again, given the dispiriting nature of this picture, one might also wonder why anybody would want to sit through a two-hour exploration of the idea that “life sucks and then you die.”
Having spent a lot of time in Asia, where the toilet-going experiences are ripe and raw, I have begun to investigate my relationship with toilets here in the US.
Making strong connections to people, places, your spirituality, new learning, as well as your purpose and mission in life is a critical coping strategy. It makes the difference between living with life’s ups and downs or being inundated emotionally and physically when big changes occur. Significantly, there are numerous studies that prove the efficacy of connection, yet many mourners overlook the obvious.
Four of the most intimate and sacred experiences of my life have been the births of our two girls and the deaths of each of my parents. I’m grateful and honored to have been able to experience all four of these magical moments live and in person. Although the emotions of the births and the deaths were quite different, the level of intimacy, sacredness, and profundity were of similar impact and depth for me.