EOLPodcast

Ep. 427 “The Natural Funeral” – Options for Disposition After Death with Seth Viddal

Learn everything you need to know about various options for after-death care so you can make an informed choice for yourself or a loved one.

My guest Seth Viddal is the Chief Executive Officer of The Natural Funeral, a trailblazing funeral home that stands as Colorado’s premier holistic and ecological funeral provider. Seth discusses in depth the various options that are currently available for disposition after death and shares some of the innovative and cutting-edge methods that are being developed at The Natural Funeral. Learn more at the website:

www.thenaturalfuneral.com

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Seth was inspired to start working in funeral and disposition services
  • Why Seth uses the term “conventional burial” rather than “traditional”
  • Conventional burial is the most common but also the fastest declining preference of people choosing disposition options
  • What are “green burial” options and how they differ from conventional burial
  • How to encourage local cemeteries to allow natural burial
  • How flame cremation remains popular though it is not considered “green”
  • The advantages of “water cremation”, also known as alkaline hydrolysis
  • What is terramation and where is it available and legal at this time
  • What is Reverent Body Care as offered by The Natural Funeral and how it benefits families

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest donors Nancy Simmers and Tatyana Hladki and to Kris Racer for buying me coffee and joining the $10 for 10 Years Campaign! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 247 Reimagining Death During the COVID-19 Pandemic with Lucinda Herring

Learn some new strategies for coping with after-death care needs at a time when the funeral industry is overwhelmed.

My guest Lucinda Herring is a home funeral and green burial consultant and guide and a licensed funeral director in the state of Washington. She is the author of Reimagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials and will share with us how to rethink home funerals and green burials during this time of change due to the coronavirus. Learn more at her website:

www.lucindaherring.com

Listen here:

Reimagining Death During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This episode includes:

  • The work of a home funeral/green burial guide
  • What happens when funeral directors are overwhelmed during the pandemic
  • How some home funeral practices can benefit families who are dealing with unplanned deaths at home
  • How being in the presence of the dead can be a gift
  • Tips for shifting energy in the room after a loved one has died
    • Clean and straighten the room
    • Open windows
    • Bring in flowers and candles
    • Play music
    • Cover the body with a lovely cloth or scarf
  • How creativity strengthens and heals us during difficult situations
  • How to “companion” dying loved ones at a distance
  • Why green burial could be a good alternative to traditional burial right now
  • How to find out where green burial grounds are located

COVID-19 is forcing us to re-weave death into our lives and into our medical system.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest Patrons Bob Hoffman, Elizabeth Coplan, and Patty Emmitt! Your contributions make all the difference!

EOLPodcast

Ep. 190 Reimagining Death: Wisdom for After-Death Care with Lucinda Herring

Learn about home funerals and green burials and how to plan ahead for a personalized, Earth-friendly end of life.

PodcastHerring

My guest Lucinda Herring has worked at the cutting edge of the green funeral movement for more than twenty years. Today she is one of the leading voices for more healing and ecological ways to care for our dead. She will discuss how we can prepare in advance for after-death care, including her new book “Reimagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials.”

Learn more at Lucinda’s website:

www.lucindaherring.com

reimaginingdeath

Get the book here.

Listen here:

 

This interview includes:

  • What are “advance after-death care directives”
  • Three stages of dying and death
  • Why it is important to plan ahead for after death
  • Current options for green burial
  • Laws and regulations governing green burial
  • Benefits of home funerals for families and the dying
  • Obstacles to home funerals and green burials

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on Patreon.com/eolu, especially my new Patrons, Sara Tinnesz and Rachel Giger.

 

 

End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 147 Green Burial: A Will for the Woods with Amy Browne and Brian Wilson

Learn about a beautiful documentary film that you can include in a community workshop on home funerals and green burial.

PodcastBrowneWilson

WillWoodsTeamIn this episode I share a “legacy interview” with two of the directors of the documentary film “A Will for the Woods” – Amy Browne and Brian Wilson. This is one of my favorite films and I encourage you to consider bringing it to your community for a screening and discussion about home funerals and green burial.

Learn more about the film here. 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Sign up for A Year of Reading Dangerously online reading group for 2018 here.

Patreonbecome2xThis episode is sponsored by my supporters on Patreon.com/eolu. Thank you today to Holly Randall for increasing your monthly pledge! I appreciate all of the donors who have been chipping in over the past year-and-a-half to keep this podcast on the air! You can join the team for as little as $1 per month at Patreon.com/eolu.

FEATURE PRESENTATION:

Filmmakers Amy Browne and Brian Wilson  discuss their award-winning film, A Will for the Woods, the story of a man near the end of his life who prepares for his own green burial. This film has been named “One of the 9 documentaries you must see this year” by the TED blog and has won numerous awards at film festivals around the country. In this interview you will learn:

  • what inspired 4 young filmmakers to spend 4 years filming this end-of-life journey
  • what the movie teaches us about death and burial customs
  • how this film can change the funeral industry
  • how to plan your own green burial and create a “green will”

Co-Director/Producer, Amy Browne, grew up in Australia and moved to New York City to study theater at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and film at The New School University. Her film credits include Associate Producer for Crazy & Thief (LA Film Festival 2012) and I Used to be Darker (Sundance 2013), as well as work on The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye (Berlinale & Tribeca 2011). She also recently commenced work as the Producer on upcoming documentary As Worlds Divide. When her sister Sophie introduced her to the concept of green burial, which connects the profundity and beauty of nature with the cycle of death and life, Amy was inspired to further explore the idea through film.

Co-director/Editor, Brian Wilson, graduated from Brown University with a degree in Comparative Literature and History, and works as an editor in New York. Passionate about the natural world and its protection and restoration, he is pleased to be exploring and raising awareness about green burial with A Will for the Woods. He became interested in developing deeper insight into death after his mother died in 2008, and has been grateful to find it through working on this project, which he hopes will offer similar comfort and understanding to many viewers.

Website: www.awillforthewoods.com 

Remember there’s a new episode every Monday! If you enjoy this content please consider leaving a review on iTunes. Until next week –

Face Your Fear          BE Ready          Love Your Life

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End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 01 How to Have a “Green” Burial

Interview with Esmerelda Kent of Kinkaraco

Join Dr. Karen Wyatt and her guest Esmerelda Kent, owner and founder of Kinkaraco – Green Burial Products for this fascinating discussion about shrouds. Esmerelda designed and created the first secular shroud specifically for green burial back in 2005 and that prototype shroud was featured in the final episode of the popular HBO series “Six Feet Under.”  She will tell us what inspired her work and share her knowledge about the use of shrouds in all types of after-death disposition.