The Grammar of Grief With Uma Girish: Recent Episodes
Uma Girish
Helping those grieving a life transition to deepen their understanding of grief, loss, death and dying from a soul perspective.
In 2015 I co-founded the International Grief Council with Lo Anne Mayer and Daniela Norris. We're hosting our first weekend retreat in Aug-Sept. 2018 at a charming Quaker House in Oxford, U.K. Tune in to get a taste of what we have in store for you. www.internationalgriefcouncil.org
When I was grieving the death of my mother who died in January 2009, these are the 12 things that got me through it.
Kids bring an open curiosity to life...and death. With their refreshing honesty and innocence, they teach us important life lessons that serve us well, especially when we're grieving a loss.
My guest Saiisha calls herself a Soul Guide who combines Ancient Wisdom with Practical Spirituality. In this fascinating conversation, Saiisha and I spoke about the many aspects of living a soul-centered life.
What do you say or do for someone who is grieving a loss? I share 5 specific ways in which you can support someone who is in the season of grief.
Preoccupied with his successes and monetary gains, Dr. Parti scoffed at the idea of an afterlife...until he found himself there. A changed man today, he travels and teaches about purpose and values to anyone who will listen.
As humans we've been conditioned to assess how much further we need to go, not how far we've come. How can we take stock of how much we've accomplished as a way to train our brain to focus on the positive?
In this episode, I address the importance of emotional honesty and give you some ideas on how to practice emotional honesty.
Honest conversations are tough. So we shove stuff under the rug and pretend it never happened. Here are 9 reasons why this is so hard.
Marissa Moss' graphic memoir Last Things is a poignant story of love, loss, and a life redeemed. She describes the real challenges of caregiving in this candid conversation.
The stories we tell shape our lives on a daily basis. We have the power to embrace a narrative that is nurturing.
She was 45 when her 17-year-old Joe died instantly. Now in her eighties, Dorothy is one of the most joyful, inspiring, delightful women I know. How did she transform her pain?
Beginning my day with intention has made a remarkable difference in the levels of peace, joy, and ease I experience. Here are my top 5 daily practices.
What I learned about grief and loss from meandering through the forest preserve trails.
Do you honor your grief and make time for it? Or are you inviting distractions into your life as a way to avoid it?
When you learn what these mistakes are, you can review your own grief journey and course-correct of necessary.
Rest heals the soul when we're wracked by deep loss and feel trapped in an emotional tsunami. Debra Mae shares her insights about rest and rejuvenation.
When we take the energy of pain and transform it into the energy of purpose, our lives become imbued with meaning and joy.
For over 14 years, Kathie Nitz cared for her mother who had dementia. Listen to her speak about loving a parent through dementia and helping her transition without any regrets.
Not everyone is able to listen and bear witness to your story of loss. Be sure to find a safe container to receive your story.
Sorrow can feel like a never-ending gray palette. But when we're present to our lives, we can catch a fleeting moment of joy or two.
Mary Alice Long experienced the joy and pain of the grief of surrogacy. Listen to her share how play became a central theme in her life as she realized that she could create more than babies.
Grief shuts us down, but creative expression opens us up. It provides a channel for us to express our pain.
Honor what feels right to your grieving heart. Be your own spokesperson. It is important to take care of what feels good and right to you.
My guest Christine Pensa is an artist and way-shower. We spoke about the power of creativity to spark inner healing.
Our heart holds all our hurts, disappointments, and wounds. Here is an easy tip to cleanse your heart chakra regularly.
Our grief cannot be healed until we learn how to forgive ourselves for what we didn't know how to say or do.
The senses are the pathway to healing, says my guest Emma Kupu Mitchell. A Sound Healer and Soul Guide, Emma offers her wisdom on essential oils, sound, and soulful ways to heal.
On the grief journey, there is no map or timeline. Your soul knows the way ahead and the journey will take its own course.
Unfinished business is a big part of what keeps us stuck when we are grieving any kind of loss. Tune in to find out how you can take the first step to complete what remains unfinished...so you can be healed and whole.
In my interview with Nina Shoroplova, we talk about her journey through her mother's death, how consciousness never dies, and the mystery that death and life are.
Every healing journey is best begun with a sacred intention. Tune in to learn how to set and intention and the power of intention to manifest your healing potential.
The truth that we are all connected came home to me in a simple yet powerful exercise in a Brian Weiss workshop.
As co-creators of our life experience, we must participate in our own healing. That is not possible if we are defined by the power of our wounds.
We hate being in the dark: not knowing, not feeling good, not being certain. But darkness is fundamental to our best growth...if we choose to embrace it.
Our biggest challenge is to find the rhythm between our human and divine selves. Do you feel the need to deny your messy human self and catapult into spiritual awareness? How do we navigate this fine line?
How do our past lives influence our present incarnation? Do we carry issues, ailments and relationship challenges from previous lifetimes into this one?
Author of How to Heal Yourself When No One Else Can, Amy B Scher healed herself from a host of illnesses. She now teaches energy healing techniques to help people release emotional issues that cause physical and psychical pain.
When change we didn't ask for is imposed on our lives, how do we respond? Here are the 3 P's that I learned from well-known author and teacher, M.J. Ryan.
In our fearful lives of struggle it's hard to hold on to the idea that we matter, that our lives matter. What messages does the afterlife send our way to remember?
Loss is a very alienating experience. And yet, the truth is that grief and loss are universal. A simple Buddhist tale illustrates this powerful truth.
When we experience emotions like sadness, anger and fear, the energy of those emotions get trapped in our bodies and cause illness. Here are two very easy release techniques.
Sue Klebold, mom of Dylan Klebold, the 18-year-old who killed innocent students and teachers in the Columbine High School shooting, breaks her silence. What can we learn from her experience?
Regrets are a heavy burden to carry around. What can we learn from what we didn't do or say? How can our regret make someone else's life better?
When we suffer a loss, questions flood our mind. But there are no definitive answers when it comes to the grand mystery of death. How, then, do we respond to grief and loss?
For many people. the discovery of their life's work comes through a significant loss--whether it is the death of a loved one, divorce or the loss of identity.
Why meditation is my go-to spiritual practice and how it supports my well-being on all levels.
What might it be like to be free of the confines of the physical body and experience ourselves as pure consciousness?
We hate feelings of distress because we find them to be distasteful and embarrassing. But grief cannot and should not be shut out.
We all carry a voice inside our heads that plays havoc with how we see ourselves and live our lives.
When we feel lonely, we are in pain. When we choose to be alone, we are whole. Learn how these two states of being are different.
Every choice we make in every moment of life is either made from love or fear. How well are you choosing?
Listen to an old man who has been witness to grief and loss many times over share his profound thoughts.
Energy is never stagnant. It is either in an expanded or contracted state. Life experiences like loss contract us. How, then, do we expand our spirit and engage with life?
Numbing, hiding, denying and running away, we avoid pain in many ways. Why is pain necessary for our soul's growth? How can we embrace it with grace?
When we experience brokenness in grief, it's time to call on Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing.
I recently returned after a six-week trip to Chennai, India. The changes I witnessed in a city I knew and was familiar with brought me some sorrow.
A beautiful story from Squire Rushnell's book WHEN GOD WINKS which illustrates that when we feel most abandoned unseen arms of love are holding us safely.
Rarely do those who enter the grieving process with consciousness and commitment get stuck in the emotional trauma of loss.
When I companion a dying person we bond on a soul level where the masks fall off and all there is is love.
As we step into a new year, you are most likely in the pain of transition and yearning to go back to life as it used to be. I hear you.
In the second part of this episode, I discuss the aspects of anxiety, depression, sadness, confusion and grieving behaviors.
In this episode I share some ideas about shock, anger, guilt and relief and how they affect the grieving process.
"Caravan of No Despair" is a stunning memoir of loss and transformation that tells the heartbreaking story of the death of Mirabai's 14-year-old daughter Jenny.
How we love is how we grieve. Unfortunately, the judgments we hold about our grief experience complicate matters.
Some days, the ocean is stormy. On other days, it is calm. We need to honor our grief experience in a similar way.
Why do people return from near-death experiences to share their stories? What lessons are we meant to receive through the experiences they share?
Love or Fear? We make decisions from this space each moment of each day. How do we move from fear-based living to love-based living?
Loss breaks us open to the emptiness and unknowingness of life. But an empty space is fertile space for growth.
None of us is getting out of here alive. How would you live your life differently if you chose to focus on this truth?
What do you do when there is nothing left to be done? How do you support someone at the end stages of life? What are the aspects that facilitate an easy transition?
Creating a sacred altar to honor your grief is a wonderful idea. In this episode, you will hear my experience of altar spaces and also some things to consider when you create an altar of your own.
We mistakenly believe that grief can be cured. It can't. It can only be healed. What is the difference between being cured and being healed? Listen to find out.
When death strikes, children are the most vulnerable. How do we explain death to them in a way that is meaningful and not confusing? Here are some tips.
Here are three common mistakes we make in healing grief. These beliefs and attitudes can hinder the way we experience grief and embrace healing.
Why do we struggle to acknowledge what we feel--whether it's fear, anger or sadness? How can we face our feelings and make peace with the emotional territory of loss?
For a long time, we thought we were stuck with the brain we were given. But brain science tells us that we can create new brain maps and move toward life.
We hate the darkness of grief and loss. And yet, it is only by journeying through the dark that we find our light.
Writing about difficult experiences can accelerate the healing journey. Listen to this episode and learn how to get started.
Grief has its own seasons. Are you in the winter of grief? Spring, summer or fall? Find out by tuning into this episode.
In this episode, I take you through the final four myths of grief and grieving: 7)Expressing emotion is a sign of weakness 8)Grief is a linear process 9) Spirituality always brings comfort to the griever 10)We can work through our grief alone.
In this episode, I share with you 3 more myths we have adopted about grieving. 1) There is one right way to grieve 2) Time heals all wounds 3) All losses are the same.
There are all kinds of myths about how we should grieve. In this episode I speak about the first three: 1) We get over it 2) When a loved one dies, the relationship ends 3) People who experience the same loss will experience the same grief.
We all just want to be seen and heard. Unfortunately, our elderly often feel invisible. How can we make them matter? How can we let them know their lives have value?
In a world that applauds "doing" how do we embrace "being?" To be with someone who is dying is the most sacred gift we can give them.
Some of us like to believe in life beyond the here and now. Others scoff at the very idea. The two true stories I share give you a lot to think about.
How do we go from surviving a loss to thriving? It's all about how we integrate loss into our lives.
How do we console a bereaved friend? Or compose a condolence letter? Find out in this episode.
What makes us turn away from the journey we will eventually have to go on? How do we move closer to a taboo topic?
When we are unwilling to forgive, the grief of disconnection intensifies. How do we make peace with someone who has wronged us?
It is in understanding the cycles of life and death that we begin to make peace. Where do we go when we die? Does the soul return?
God seems absent during times of grief and loss. Where and how do we find him and restore our faith?
Where do we go? Do we simply cease to exist? What is the relationship between the body and the soul?
When we lose a loved one, we fall into the "If Only" trap. This is of little value. We need to make peace with what we were able to do with what we knew at the time.
Some grief situations are harder than others. What are some of the challenges we experience during extreme grief?
In this episode, we learn four healthy ways to manage grief that promote healing. Grief healing needs patience, attention and surrender.
In this episode, we will learn that grief is a process that is messy, has its own timeline and lives in your cells.
Grief is so much more than the emotions we experience when someone we love dies. Grief is a necessary part of every life transition.