Category: Art Therapy

Let nature help you heal your grieving heart

16/11/2016

Heal your grief. Walk in Nature.

You have heard me saying this many times.

Walking in nature can have a healing impact.

My tendency when I feel stuck in my thoughts is to get busy and take on more work than I can handle. This goes on until my body tells me it is enough. I will get a sore throat or, like last week, my back will start to hurt.

These are my weak points. They are telling me to take a moment and reflect.

It also happens because by being busy I have forgotten to move. I am not doing my ten minute yoga practice and I don’t go for regular walks.

So after I had ‘suffered’ and taken pain killers all week. On Sunday, I decided it was enough and I started to do gentle yoga moves every time I felt the pain in my back.
Breathing a lot and yes, swearing was involved too, because it hurt.

Today I went on a half hour walk in a nearby park. The smells in the forest were uplifting and wonderful. It was a concoction of decaying leaves, needle and sap from the evergreens, and wet earth.

I feel so much better today. I know it has to do with movement and the experience in nature this afternoon. I can still feel where the pain was but it is so much better.

Do you think a walk in nature could help your grieving heart too?
I know it won’t take away all your hurt but it might just give you a bit of comfort.

Don’t wait for the right moment. Just get dressed and go for a half hour walk even if it is in your own backyard.

Be outside, take in the smell of the fall season, and let nature do its healing.

I am sending you healing love.

Take good care,

Jacqueline

When will my grief be over? When will I recover from all this sadness?

1/11/2016

Last week a former Canadian politician died in an airplane accident with three other people. My heart goes out for their families. I cannot imagine what they are going through.

This incident flooded me with memories and deep grief about my nephew’s death. He died eight years ago in a Cessna accident as well.

Often I am asked: When will my grief be over? When will I recover from all this sadness?

There is no right answer to it. Sadness and grief can flood our feelings all of a sudden when there is a trigger, like the one with the airplane crash.

Eight years ago, the feelings were overwhelming and the crying didn’t want to stop.

This week it was a reminder how much I miss and love him and how much I still grief his death. But there is a difference between then and today. The feelings of sorrow are more gentle and not overwhelming anymore.

When will my grief be over? When will I recover from all this sadness?

Perhaps the most honest answer is: It will never be over.

Your feelings of overwhelming sadness will change towards a gentler form. You will change. You will be a new you having witnessed and felt the death of a loved one.

This loss will make you more empathetic, more loving, and more carrying if you chose to go that path.

It might be difficult right now but I trust in your resilience and inner healing power.

Take good care,
Jacqueline

You have been confronted with death. What now?

19/10/2016

HealingForGrievingHearts.com program helps women navigate their unique grieving process with art therapy, mindfulness and gentle healing steps.

I am always looking for ways that could help you with your unique grieving process. You might like to join a grief support group, want to be alone, like to step into a guided grieving process with a therapist, or travel the world to find healing.

There is no right or wrong way, only your unique grieving process.

I discovered a new possibility that might be of interest to you if you don’t already know it. It is the Death Cafe.

Death Cafes encourage people to meet in coffee shops to discuss anything and everything to do with the subject of death, which is still a taboo in our culture.

A month ago, I joined a Death Cafe group in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was curious to see what it was all about and how it might help the healing process.

I checked their website first: A Death Cafe is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session. The aim is to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.

About 16 people gathered at a local coffee shop* to talk about death over a cup of tea or coffee.

As a new member I felt immediately welcomed due to the shared interest, respect and the openness of all group members. I was not the only new person in the circle that day.

We shared:

feelings of grief
stories about near death experiences
exchanged information about caregiving for the dying
and relieve to be able to speak about death without any hesitation.

There was a lot of empathy, encouragement, and openness to everyone's concerns and stories.

I will go back for sure.

If you feel inspired to see if there is a Death Cafe in your neighbourhood you can check the Death Cafe website at or your local Meetup listings.

Let me know what you think about the concept of the Death Cafe.

If you would like personal help please let me know. We can arrange a free call so that you can move forward on your unique healing path.

Take good care,
Jacqueline

PS: I am not affiliated in any way with Death Cafe.

What clients say about the program:

Jacqueline's Healing for Grieving Hearts program was an oasis in my life at a time when I was grieving two losses: the loss of a beloved pet, and the loss of a significant relationship (through conflict, not death).

Jacqueline's caring presence and guidance, together with the exercises she created for me, created a safe space to voice and explore my difficult feelings. I loved how the exercises helped me get out of my head, and into the truth in my heart. Through the program, I found peace and clarity, and a renewed sense of direction in my life.
~ K. Nova Scotia

Thanksgiving Ritual for your Grieving Heart

27/9/2016

Healing For Grieving Hearts - Rituals help to connect and heal.

Summer has moved on and Fall has started in earnest today or at least it was cold enough to remind me of what will come.

In two weeks we are celebrating Thanksgiving in Canada. It is a time of harvest, gratitude, and a time of family gatherings.

Stepping into the upcoming Holidays is not easy when you have lost a loved one. Their place at the table will be filled with memories, stories of their life, or a gentle minute of reflection.

I have talked many times about rituals. The coming Holidays might be easier on you, your family, and friends if you plan something special for these days. Rituals help to connect and heal.

Perhaps you all go for a walk together and take some colorful ribbons with you. Chose a tree and hang the ribbons on it.

One ribbon for your love to the person that died.
One ribbon including a wish for yourself or your family/friends.
A third one filled with gratitude for this day together or...

Hang as many ribbons as you wish. You could share your thoughts out loud or just hang your ribbons in silence on the tree.

This is also a ritual that you can do by yourself if you feel more comfortable this way.

I have done it by myself and with my family and both moments have their own unique calming feel to it, even when the tears are streaming.

Important is that you tell your friends and family how you want to spend the Holidays and be open to change your mind at the last second. (smile)

I am wishing you a gentle step into this new season.

Take good care,
Jacqueline

PS: If you don’t have any ribbons at home you might be able to find some at a local thrift store. Make sure you use fabric ribbons and not plastic ones. Nature will thank you. (smile)
PSS: If there are children involved you could add glass beads to the ribbons to add more colour.

Is mourning like breathing in and breathing out?

26/7/2016

The gentle Healing for Grieving Hearts program will help you to navigate through your unique grieving process.

You have lost someone. Each day unfolds in different ways and your mood changes.

How you feel right now might vary from two hours ago.

Grief is like a stress reaction. Our mind and body try to deal with a situation that implements a threat to our well-being. Like any other stress reaction it isn’t static nor the same for anyone.

Even if you have the feeling your grief is always there, if you look at your day closely you will experience that there are moments of relief.

Relief happens in small or brooder increments. Relief can happen when you work, when you are with others, when you read a book, when you do your laundry or cook. After those moments you might dive back into mourning.

Our focus moves back and forth between our loss and its implications and our immediate world with others and the present.

It is like many other processes in our body. We breathe in, we breathe out. We sleep, we are awake. Our muscles tens, our muscles relax.

We cannot breath in and out at the same time. We do it in cycles.

These cycles help us to stay healthy and engaged. These moments of relief show us our vigor and build upon our strengths.

Do you agree?
How do you experience your grief?

Let me know. I am happy to start a dialogue. I will answer all emails personally.

Take good care,
Jacqueline

<<Previous

Forward>>

Let nature help you heal your grieving heart

When will my grief be over? When will I recover from all this sadness?

You have been confronted with death. What now?

Thanksgiving Ritual for your Grieving Heart

Is mourning like breathing in and breathing out?

Author

Categories