Our next death cafe is Wednesday June 12th!Location: Panera Community Room, 782 N. State Street
(Corner of Maxtown and Rt. 3) in Westerville
7-9 p.m. (please arrive by 6:45 if ordering food).
Tea and cake will be provided. No RSVP necessary.
Please contact lizzymiles @ gmail.com with questions.
Columbus, OH Death Café #11: May 15, 2013
Grave Matters: Dealing with DeathBy Lizzy Miles
On May 8, I was part of a radio show on WOSU, All Sides with Ann Fisher: Grave Matters: Dealing with Death which talked about a few aspects of death. Joshua Slocum, with Funeral Consumers Alliance talked about challenges with selecting a funeral home and planning a funeral. Then I shared the story about the Death Café history, evolution and philosophy. After me, Susan Soper, author of Obit Kit, explored the benefits of writing your own obituary. I was so glad that we had an hour to talk about death and dying. I discovered how popular the radio show was during the night of our eleventh Death Café, when many of the attendees came because they had heard the program and wanted to participate in the Death Café conversation. The event was hosted at a Westerville Panera in their community room. It’s a cozy place and the managers are now used to us “death” people coming in.
We had seventeen attendees, including a hospice chaplain, a massage therapist, a local member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a Reiki practitioner, and a surgical resident who is confronted with end of life decisions with his patients on a daily basis. Then of course, there were also people who had experienced loss. I always am very careful to be sure that attendees understand that the Death Café is not a grief support group. I don’t want there to be unmet expectations. Fortunately, because many were there because they had heard my 15 minute Death Café radio interview, participants were well aware of the philosophy and the purpose of the Death Café gathering.
One attendee came because she is a friend of mine and it was my birthday. I was nervous when I filled the open seat across from her with someone who had lost a twin. My friend is a twin and I thought it would be hard for her to hear about the loss experience of another twin. The woman across from her was very involved in a support group called Twinless Twins. The universe works in mysterious ways I guess. In the beginning my friend held back a bit, but then about an hour into the experience, I saw her sharing and engaged in conversation. The Death Café experience is magic.
I cannot say enough how much I love the diversity of conversation that comes up at the events. It is fascinating. Two separate people at two different tables raved about Eben Alexander’s book Proof of Heaven. If you haven’t read it, it is about a neuroscientist’s near death experience. I have not read the book myself yet, but given the positive endorsements, I’m encouraged to buy a copy.
One of the conversations that interested me was the discussion about the timing of when people die and how some family members chose to die when no one is present. In my hospice work, we have a goal for no one to die alone, but some people seem to prefer that and pass when the family member stepped out of the room. As one participant suggested, perhaps dying is a private thing like going to the bathroom…”Don’t look, I’m going to die.”
Another conversation suggested that our loved ones are here as long as they feel they are needed. “Life is sustained by a sense of purpose.” That is a powerful statement.
One woman indicated her desire to have a DNR even though she does not have a terminal illness. She still feels that if her heart stops, then it’s her time to go. She found out that the doctors would not allow for her to have one. She had a sense of humor about the absurdity of the rule. “You can’t get a DNR unless you’re terminal. Well guess what, LIFE is terminal.”
Given that many of the attendees had heard the Ann Fisher broadcast, the subject of funeral costs and the power of writing your own obituaries was also discussed.
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(Corner of Maxtown and Rt. 3) in Westerville
7-9 p.m. (please arrive by 6:45 if ordering food).
Tea and cake will be provided. No RSVP necessary.
Please contact lizzymiles @ gmail.com with questions.
Columbus, OH Death Café #11: May 15, 2013
Grave Matters: Dealing with DeathBy Lizzy Miles
On May 8, I was part of a radio show on WOSU, All Sides with Ann Fisher: Grave Matters: Dealing with Death which talked about a few aspects of death. Joshua Slocum, with Funeral Consumers Alliance talked about challenges with selecting a funeral home and planning a funeral. Then I shared the story about the Death Café history, evolution and philosophy. After me, Susan Soper, author of Obit Kit, explored the benefits of writing your own obituary. I was so glad that we had an hour to talk about death and dying. I discovered how popular the radio show was during the night of our eleventh Death Café, when many of the attendees came because they had heard the program and wanted to participate in the Death Café conversation. The event was hosted at a Westerville Panera in their community room. It’s a cozy place and the managers are now used to us “death” people coming in.
We had seventeen attendees, including a hospice chaplain, a massage therapist, a local member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a Reiki practitioner, and a surgical resident who is confronted with end of life decisions with his patients on a daily basis. Then of course, there were also people who had experienced loss. I always am very careful to be sure that attendees understand that the Death Café is not a grief support group. I don’t want there to be unmet expectations. Fortunately, because many were there because they had heard my 15 minute Death Café radio interview, participants were well aware of the philosophy and the purpose of the Death Café gathering.
One attendee came because she is a friend of mine and it was my birthday. I was nervous when I filled the open seat across from her with someone who had lost a twin. My friend is a twin and I thought it would be hard for her to hear about the loss experience of another twin. The woman across from her was very involved in a support group called Twinless Twins. The universe works in mysterious ways I guess. In the beginning my friend held back a bit, but then about an hour into the experience, I saw her sharing and engaged in conversation. The Death Café experience is magic.
I cannot say enough how much I love the diversity of conversation that comes up at the events. It is fascinating. Two separate people at two different tables raved about Eben Alexander’s book Proof of Heaven. If you haven’t read it, it is about a neuroscientist’s near death experience. I have not read the book myself yet, but given the positive endorsements, I’m encouraged to buy a copy.
One of the conversations that interested me was the discussion about the timing of when people die and how some family members chose to die when no one is present. In my hospice work, we have a goal for no one to die alone, but some people seem to prefer that and pass when the family member stepped out of the room. As one participant suggested, perhaps dying is a private thing like going to the bathroom…”Don’t look, I’m going to die.”
Another conversation suggested that our loved ones are here as long as they feel they are needed. “Life is sustained by a sense of purpose.” That is a powerful statement.
One woman indicated her desire to have a DNR even though she does not have a terminal illness. She still feels that if her heart stops, then it’s her time to go. She found out that the doctors would not allow for her to have one. She had a sense of humor about the absurdity of the rule. “You can’t get a DNR unless you’re terminal. Well guess what, LIFE is terminal.”
Given that many of the attendees had heard the Ann Fisher broadcast, the subject of funeral costs and the power of writing your own obituaries was also discussed.
Columbus, OH Death Café #10 (LGBT Death Cafe #2): April 30, 2013
Let’s Put the Fun Back in Funeral
By Lizzy Miles
Who knew one could laugh so much at an event where people are sitting around talking about death? Our 2nd LGBT Death Café was a totally different vibe from the first one. The Death Café was hosted in partnership with Stonewall Columbus, the local LGBT community center. My co-host was Lori Gum, the program Director. We had twelve attendees which was the perfect size for conversation. We started out in three small groups and then rolled up to a larger group at the end. I didn’t know WHAT they were talking about, but the other two tables would have frequent bursts of laughter. Finally, when we rolled up to one large group I got to hear some of the humor. Perhaps you had to be there.
Conversations were varied, as they always are. It is why I love the Death Café concept. I’m a bit strict on maintaining the principles of “no ideology, no agenda.” In my mind, that approach really pays off because the conversations go anywhere and everywhere.
One attendee talked about the tragic death of a child in a school she worked at. She fought to have the children have the opportunity to participate in memorial services. One innocent child, with only the experience of weddings and birthday parties had asked her, “When do we get to send the invitations?” The group all agreed that death education at a young age would be beneficial. We should be taught about death and finances. Well, Ben Franklin did say, “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” In relation to educating children about death, one attendee said, “You can’t keep children in a greenhouse and then put them out in winter and say that’s life.”
What would you have on your epitaph? One attendee commented that she discovered that the cemetery would not allow, “Takes no bullshit” in the mausoleum but that phrase could be inscribed on a tombstone. I may have to adopt that phrase as my motto.
Sort of funny, sort of not… one attendee said, “My fear is that I die and no one finds me and then my animals eat me.” Ewww. Friends at the table assured the attendee that they wouldn’t let that happen.
We did also talk about animal companions that provide support to cancer patients. One attendee told a story about a place that recognized that the dogs that were providing support exhibited signs of grief themselves. They ended up rotating the dogs so that they could spend some time away and recharge their energy. Once the rotations started, the dogs did better with not being too sad themselves.
My favorite mysterious quote from one attendee, “I don’t have to worry about an open casket because my body won’t be found.” I would like to explore that a bit further!
"no ideology , no agenda" isn't that an ideology and an agenda?
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