Grief Dreams Podcast

E134 - Lauren Kane-Lysak - Precious Creature

Lauren Kane-Lysak is an Pet Taxidermist, Mortician, artist, and animal lover. After high school, she worked in a funeral home where she found that the corporate nature and lack of creative opportunity left her drained. She became interested in taxidermy after meeting a bird taxidermist in real life while volunteering at the San Bernardino County Museum. Lauren has made it her goal to work with pets, and preserve their tangible memory for eternity.

 

In this episode we talk about her journey into pet taxidermy, all things pet taxidermy, the death of her pet rat and grandmother, and grief dreams of her grandmother.

 

You can find more about Lauren here:

Website: www.preciouscreaturetaxidermy.com

Instagram:@preciouscreature

E133 - Mahoganie Hines - The Art of Dying

Mahoganie is an active and ardent member of the Palliative Care community.  She currently volunteers her time to act as the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario’s Policy and Political Action ENO for both the Niagara Chapter and Palliative Care Nurse’s Interest Group for the past 3+ years. She has also sits on the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Nursing Group as Secretary/Treasurer. She currently works as a Registered Nurse at McNally House Hospice in a casual capacity, as well as, working full time as a Palliative Pain and Symptom Management Consultant (PPSMC) throughout the Niagara Region. Additionally, Mahoganie writes a blog called “The Art of Dying” and is a roller derby referee.

 

In this episode we talk about roller derby, finding direction in life, working in the palliative care field, the death of her first patient, uncle, and family dog, and grief dreams.

 

You can find more about her at:

Blog: “The Art of Dying” dyingdreads.wordpress.com 

LinkedIn: Mahoganie Hines

Instagram: nurse_stax

Twitter: @nursestax

 

She will be the closing speaker at the CHPCA – CHPC NG “Inspiring Nursing Leadership” Satellite discussion on Thursday Sept. 18^th, 2019 at 8:30am - 12:30pm in Newbridge.

 

Find more about PPSC at www.pccnetwork.ca/what-is-a-ppsmc/

E132 - Ophelia Rigault - Conversations From The Heart

Ophelia Rigault is a grief educator, speaker, TV host and creator of Conversations from the Heart. Conversations from the Heart is a bi-weekly TV show that airs in local Cogeco Cable in Kingston, ON. The focus is on bringing inspirational guests to share their story of hope and resiliency, for the purpose of inspiring the audience to feel “if they can do it – so can I”.

 

In this episode we talk about her life with her mother, her death, grief dreams before and after loss, her TV show and upcoming radio show.

 

You can find more about Ophelia at www.getgriefreliefnow.com or www.vopheliarigault.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpheliaRigault/

Instagram: @opheliarigault

E131 - Jonathon Aslay - Self-Love and Dating

Jonathon Aslay is a Midlife Dating & Relationship Coach. He helps women recognize and distinguish the difference between men who are emotionally unavailable from those who are truly ready for love. He is also the author of 4 books. His newest book is titled What The Heck Is Self-Love Anyway?

 

In this episode we talk about his humbling events (divorce and job loss), becoming a dating coach, dating, self-love, his new book, the death of his son, and a grief dream of him.

 

You can find more about Jonathon's book at http://www.jonathonaslay.com/love/

E130 - Guest Update Episode - Shelby Forsythia

In this update episode we talk with Shelby Forsythia (host of the podcast Coming Back: Conversations on life after loss) from episode 52. In this episode we talk about the experience of having someone else share a grief dream of her mom with her, and a couple new grief dreams she has had of her deceased mom.

 

You can find more about Shelby at http://www.shelbyforsythia.com/ and on Instagram @shelbyforsythia

E129 - Marlene Rodgers - Baka’s Story

Marlene Rodgers works as a story editor on feature films and documentary television series, and makes short films driven by her personal passions. Her most recent film is a collaboration with her husband, Franco Pante. DREAMS OF THE DEAD tells the story of Marlene’s journey in the aftermath of the sudden and accidental death of her grandmother, Baka, and the vivid dreams that were intrinsic to navigating that loss. Visit the film’s website at www.dreamsofthedead.com to post your own memory of a loved one, and view the 18-minute film at www.nsi-canada.ca/2019/07/dreams-of-the-dead/.

 

In this episode we talk about how she got started working in film, her newest film ‘DREAMS OF THE DEAD’, the death of her grandmother, her grandmother's house, and grief dreams of her.

E128 - Nikki Wilson - A University Assignment

Nikki Wilson works full time at an electricity company whilst also studying full time at The University of Melbourne. She will be graduating with a Bachelor of Environments degree (currently in her final Semester). While in university she has been taking creative writing classes as elective subjects. This semester she has been writing for a non-fiction class and decided to write about Grief Dreams after having personal experiences with them.

 

In this episode we talk about her university assignment on grief dreams, her multiple deaths (friend, step sister, and uncle), her grief and grief dreams following each loss, and lessons learned from her grief process.

 

You can find her creative writing assignment on Grief Dreams at the bottom of this web page http://www.griefdreams.ca/pop-culture

E127 - Kayla Moryoussef - Good Death Doula

Kayla Moryoussef is a Community Worker/Registered Social Service Worker from Toronto who has been volunteering and working in end-of-life/palliative care for over seven years. She is a Death Educator, Death Doula candidate with Home Hospice Association, and project manager for all of their Death Cafés across southern Ontario. Kayla truly believes in the profound power of a ‘good death’ and its lasting effects on healthy individuals, families, and communities at-large. At the age of fifteen, Kayla’s life was profoundly changed by baring witness to the death of her grandmother, a primary parent and the one of the most formative figures in her life to this day.

 

In this episode we talk about getting becoming a death doula, the coming death boom in our culture, the death of her grandmother and dogs, her memorial tattoos, Death Cafés, and grief dreams of grandmother.

 

You can find more about Kayla at www.GoodDeath.ca or on Instagram and Facebook @GoodDeathDoula

E126 - Amy Vilela - Knock Down The House

Amy Vilela entered into politics after the death of her daughter, Shalynne's, needless death at the hands of the USA’s profit-driven healthcare system. Losing Shalynne became a defining moment in her life. The transformation out of grief and into a position of strength was a long journey. Although her life has been full of struggle – and, more recently, tragedy – her experiences have strengthened her resolve in the fight for justice. Her journey is shown in the 2019 documentary on Netflix “Knock Down The House”, which follows 4 female progressive candidates as they campaign against prominent incumbents in the 2018 midterm election.

 

In this episode we talk about her relationship with her daughter and the circumstances of her death, her journey into politics, and grief dreams of her daughter.

 

You can find more about Amy here https://amy4thepeople.com/

E124 - Dr. Sherry Cormier - Sweet Sorrow

Dr. Sherry Cormier is a licensed psychologist and a professor emerita in the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling, and Counseling Psychology at West Virginia University. She is a certified bereavement trauma specialist, the author of two textbooks, and the producer of over 100 training videos for Cengage Learning. Her new book, Sweet Sorrow: Finding Enduring Wholeness After Loss and Grief was written by her in the decade following the loss of her husband, father, mother, dog, and only sibling.

 

In this episode we talk about how she became interested in the field of psychology, inspiring others on their journey, the power of acknowledgment and love, loneliness in life and after loss, her new book, her multiple losses, and grief dreams of her husband and others.

 

You can find more about Sherry here https://www.sherrycormierauthor.com/

 

E123 - Donald Knight - Spei Lumina

Donald Knight is an ordained independent catholic priest, dreamer, light worker, and podcaster (Spei Lumina - Lights of Hope). His grief journey began at the age of 10 when his father unexpectedly passed away. The event of his father’s death set him on a path of faith, spirituality and seeking the Divine.

 

In this episode we talk about his father, grieving as a child, understanding dreams, grief dreams of his dad and aunt, becoming religious, relics in the church, and his podcast.

 

You can find out more about Donald at www.angelsofthenativity.org, on Facebook at SpeiLumina and on Twitter @SpeiLumina.

E121 - Dr. Pei Grant - The Good Doctor

Dr. Pei Grant is the Research Director at Hospice Buffalo, one of the largest hospice and palliative care organizations in Western New York. Her research encompasses a diverse range of projects from programmatic studies to psychosocial research, to medical projects. Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally to be innovative and enhancing quality of care to new levels. She believes that while it is important to find ways to lead a meaningful life, she advocates for people to focus on what it takes to have a meaningful death.

 

In this episode we talk about how she got started working at Hospice Buffalo, her research on end-of-life dreams and visions, her research on the Photographs of Meaning Program in family caregivers, the death of her grandparents and baby through miscarriage, and a grief dream of her maternal grandmother.

 

You can find her on Twitter @Peigrant and IG @Peicgrant . Here is a link to Hospice Buffalo’s research page https://www.hospicebuffalo.com/healthcare-providers/research/

 

To hear more about Hospice Buffalo's research on end-of-life dreams and visions, just download Dr. Christopher Kerr's episode on this podcast (episode 73).

E120 - Tracy McCubbin - Decluttering After Loss

Tracy McCubbin is the author of Making Space, Clutter Free: The Last Book On Decluttering You’ll Ever Need (releasing Tuesday June 4, 2019). While working for a major television director in Los Angeles, Tracy discovered she had the ability to see through any mess and clearly envision a clutter-free space. Before she knew it, dClutterfly was born. Ten years and thousands of clients later, dClutterfly is Los Angeles’ premier organizing and decluttering company. Tracy is a regularly featured expert on Hallmark's Home & Family, has a column on MindBodyGreen, and has regular declutter segments on Fox 5 and ABC Eyewitness News, KTLA Morning Show, KCAL9, and Good Day Sacramento.

 

In this episode we talk about getting into the decluttering business, her new book, clutter blocks, decluttering after a loss, her own losses, and grief dreams of her grandmother.

 

To find more about Tracy visit https://tracymccubbin.com/ or IG @tracymccubbin

E119 - Heather Stang - Mindfulness & Grief

Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT is the author of Mindfulness & Grief, now in its second edition, and the host of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast. She has a Master’s Degree in Thanatology and is a certified yoga therapist and meditation instructor. Heather is on the Advisory Board for the highly regarded military family survivor organization Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and is the founder of the Mindfulness & Grief Training Institute.

 

In this episode we talk about how she got into yoga and meditation, benefits of it during grief, grief related insomnia, loss of her uncle as a child and other losses, and her grief dream of her grandmother.

 

You can find more about Heather here https://mindfulnessandgrief.com/

E118 - Shivy Galtere - Love Loss Light

Shavinder Galtere, commonly known to her friends and family as Shivy, is a Celebrity and VIP Relations Consultant to fashion and lifestyle brands. After the passing of her mother Davinder Kumaran, less than a year ago, Shivy started @lovelosslight, an Instagram account with the slogan 'let's try to understand, help + heal', with the purpose of helping others navigate through their process of grief.

 

In this episode we talk about the value of hard work, her love of fashion, her last time seeing her mom, the day her mom died, getting to the funeral in India, the funeral, her instagram account, and grief dreams of her mom (before and after the loss).

  

The Sat Nam prayer that was song at the funeral– https://youtu.be/GrzJAJhyeLQ