Death Cafe profile for Cecilia H
Location: United Kingdom
About Cecilia H:
I am a psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher with a particular interest in the losses we all face, and extensive experience of working with those facing death - either their own or of a loved one.
Alongside my therapy practice, I am training to become a soul midwife or end of life doula to accompany those at the end of their life and those they are letting go of.
As an experienced group facilitator, I am passionate about creating an environment in which talking about death is natural and comfortable.
I believe that talking openly about death, dying and bereavement can help us to accept the reality of our immortality as part of life, and ease some of the fears we face.
My goal is to help people embrace life, live more fully in the present, and honour death by providing a safe environment in which meaningful conversations may take place.
Thoughts for sharing:
"When people talk about death and dying, it tends to illustrate their humanity." - Jon Underwood, Founder of the Death Cafe Movement
Contact Cecilia H
Cecilia H's posts on the Death Cafe website
Death Cafe: April ONLINE Colliers Wood Death Cafe -BST via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on April 13, 2021, 5:59 a.m.
With Cecilia
April 25, 2021, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (BST)
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe: March Colliers Wood Death Cafe -GMT ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on March 3, 2021, 7:10 a.m.
With Cecilia
March 28, 2021, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (BST)
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe: February GMT meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Jan. 18, 2021, 3:24 a.m.
With Cecilia
Feb. 21, 2021, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe write up: Online GMT November meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Jan. 10, 2021, 11:09 a.m.
11 of us came together for our November meeting of the CWDC, with participants dialling in from London, Essex and Edinburgh, California, Florida, New England and New Jersey.
Our discussion opened with an appreciation of silence, and the value of coming together to create and hold space for one another’s reflections. Later in our conversation, we reflected further on our own, differing, relationships with silence. Silence was likened to marmite – some people love it, whilst others loathe it. We also thought about the acclimatising that silence sometimes requires – gradual exposure and positive experiences supporting a greater tolerance (a comparison was made with chilli peppers). We also thought ...
Death Cafe: January meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Jan. 3, 2021, 10:54 a.m.
With Cecilia
Jan. 17, 2021, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe write up: TODAY - Sunday 13 December - Colliers Wood Death Cafe's last meeting of 2020 - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Jan. 3, 2021, 10:50 a.m. 1 comment
6 of us met for our last meeting of 2020. Two people were attending their first Death Café. Our discussion moved in different directions, and themes included the news of the Covid-19 vaccine and anniversaries at this time of year.
Are we emerging from the pandemic? We discussed our own thinking around the vaccine beginning to become available, and the theme of personal responsibility as we wait for it to be rolled out.
Learning of a tragic bereavement at a time when loved ones cannot be together was another experience about which someone shared.
We talked about the experience of a parent losing their child, and the devastation ...
Death Cafe: TODAY - Sunday 13 December - Colliers Wood Death Cafe's last meeting of 2020 - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Dec. 13, 2020, 6:54 a.m.
With Cecilia
Dec. 13, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe write up: Online October Colliers Wood Death Cafe BST- ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Oct. 16, 2020, 5:17 a.m. 1 comment
Death Cafe write up: Online BST September meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Oct. 16, 2020, 4:24 a.m.
Death Cafe: Online GMT November meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Oct. 16, 2020, 3:24 a.m.
With Cecilia
Nov. 15, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe: Online October Colliers Wood Death Cafe BST- ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Sept. 28, 2020, 5:18 a.m.
With Cecilia
Oct. 11, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe: Online BST September meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Sept. 4, 2020, 5:43 a.m.
With Cecilia
Sept. 13, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe write up: August meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on Aug. 19, 2020, 8:16 a.m.
Meeting the fear of death with spiritual practices
The value and comfort offered by Buddhist philosophy
Psychedelic experiences and insights
Fear of death and of the loss of identity
The heartache caused by distance from relatives or lack of (contact with) an extended ...
Death Cafe: August meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on July 23, 2020, 10:03 a.m.
With Cecilia
Aug. 16, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.30 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe write up: July meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on July 23, 2020, 10:01 a.m.
8 of us met for the fifth virtual meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café via Zoom. Once again the meeting welcomed participants from ‘across the pond’, with attendees joining from CA, FL, and WI!
Themes to emerge from our conversation:
The powerful and meaningful sense of connection we have been able to create virtually during the pandemic. The poignant quality this has – and also to reflect on lost loved ones we are not able to connect with, and who we will never see on screen.
The sense of history we feel ourselves to be living through currently – and how likely defining this period of time will be ...
Death Cafe write up: June meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on June 21, 2020, 1:08 p.m.
It was great to be joined by 7 others for the fourth virtual meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café via Zoom. Once again there was a strong trans-Atlantic presence with participants joining from CA, CO, FL, and NJ!
Themes to emerge from our conversation:
The importance and value of discussing death and dying, and the role such conversations can have in the reduction of the all too common fear that unhelpfully presents itself around these human topics.
The powerful role of the global pandemic in prompting us to face our mortality. How much more possible, and even permissible it perhaps feels to talk about these unspoken and ...
Death Cafe: July meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on June 16, 2020, 6:28 a.m.
With Cecilia H.
July 19, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.45 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe write up: May meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE
Posted by Cecilia H on May 24, 2020, 10:10 a.m.
There were 15 of us on the Zoom call for our third virtual meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café. We dialled in from across the globe, with participants both sides of the Atlantic and the Arabian Peninsula!
We were joined by two hosts of Death Café meetings which take place in Bristol and Bournemouth:
https://deathcafe.com/profile/14589/
https://deathcafe.com/profile/17706/
It was wonderful to welcome those attending their first ever Death Café and reconnect with several who have attended physical meetings of CWDC at Coffee in the Wood.
We began by acknowledging the extraordinary circumstances in which we came together, and took a ...
Death Cafe: June meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on May 19, 2020, 3:22 a.m.
With Cecilia
June 14, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.45 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support group or end-of-life planning session, but ...
Death Cafe: June meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE via Zoom
Posted by Cecilia H on May 11, 2020, 8:46 a.m.
With Cecilia H.
June 14, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.45 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting (please click link below):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89439385538
Meeting ID: 894 3938 5538
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support ...
Death Cafe: May meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE
Posted by Cecilia H on April 21, 2020, 5:11 a.m.
With Cecilia
May 10, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.45 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join our Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82702074128
(Meeting ID: 827 0207 4128)
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support group or end-of-life planning ...
Death Cafe write up: April meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE
Posted by Cecilia H on April 20, 2020, 8:06 a.m. 1 comment
14 of us came together for our second virtual meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café. We again had an international attendance and were joined by people calling from around the UK, Ireland, and the US.
A few people made their debut at a Death Café, and several regulars from the physical CWDC meetings also joined the Zoom call.
At the beginning of our meeting we acknowledged the impact Covid-19 is having on us as individuals, and as a global community, and how much more proximate death and dying feel to be amidst the current pandemic.
Themes to emerge from our discussion:
Our impermanence being powerfully highlighted by ...
Death Cafe: April meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE
Posted by Cecilia H on April 11, 2020, 7:12 a.m.
With Cecilia
April 19, 2020, 6.00 p.m. - 7.45 p.m. (London BST (GMT +1))
Free
To join this scheduled Zoom meeting:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/825633413
Meeting ID: 825 633 413
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support group or end-of-life ...
Death Cafe write up: March meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE
Posted by Cecilia H on March 30, 2020, 6:34 a.m. 1 comment
There were 27 of us present for most of our first virtual Death Café hosted on Zoom!
Many of us had not attended a Death Café before. Some had been meaning to for a long time, but found that timings and journeys were hard to manage alongside ‘normal’ life. The extraordinary circumstances created by Covid-19 brought us together…
I began the meeting by giving a brief history of the Death Café movement, and outlining the proposed format for the discussion before we all checked-in. We were joined by people calling from the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Hungary, Washington DC, and Orlando FL.
On the call were several End of ...
Death Cafe write up: February 2020 meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe
Posted by Cecilia H on Feb. 25, 2020, 8:59 a.m.
We were a small meeting of 5, with several people who had planned to come along unable to at the last minute. Small numbers notwithstanding, we nonetheless enjoyed a selection of Bakewell Cake, Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf, and a Vanilla and Chocolate Marble Cake!
Themes to emerge from the group’s discussion:
The recent and tragic death of Caroline Flack. The relationship between shame and suicide. The pressure and isolation of living in the public eye. Suicide as a final resort for those who feel they have no one to turn to, and nowhere else to go. Perception as reality. The privileges of a life more ordinary ...
Death Cafe write up: January 2020 meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe
Posted by Cecilia H on Feb. 23, 2020, 9:06 a.m.
10 of us met for the first meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café to take place in 2020. We enjoyed 3 varieties of cake, with the Victoria Sponge once again proving to be a hit!
The darkness of January was an opening theme, with people reflecting on their relationship to this time of year, and to winter.
Themes to emerge from our discussion:
The ideas purported by the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement which calls for people to abstain from reproduction to cause the gradual voluntary extinction of humankind in order to prevent environmental degradation.
The relationship between faith, anguish and pain. The phenomenon on ‘total pain’ recognised ...
Death Cafe: March meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe - ONLINE
Posted by Cecilia H on Jan. 19, 2020, 7:27 a.m.
With Cecilia
March 29, 2020, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
To join the scheduled Zoom meeting:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/835357026
Meeting ID: 835 357 026
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support group or end-of-life ...
Death Cafe: February 2020 meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe
Posted by Cecilia H on Jan. 19, 2020, 7:26 a.m.
With Cecilia
Feb. 23, 2020, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support group or end-of-life planning session, but rather an informal space in which to explore your own thoughts and feelings in ...
Death Cafe: January 2020 meeting of Colliers Wood Death Cafe
Posted by Cecilia H on Jan. 19, 2020, 7:18 a.m.
With Cecilia
Jan. 26, 2020, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
The Colliers Wood Death Cafe is not a grief support group or end-of-life planning session, but rather an informal space in which to explore your own thoughts and feelings in ...
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - Sept 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on Nov. 10, 2019, 3:39 a.m.
6 of us met for the September meeting of the CWDC together with a lemon and blackcurrant sponge! 3 of us had attended a Death Café before. We began by asking ourselves where we are with death and dying, grief and loss…
Themes to emerge from our discussion:
Rituals – and the containment they can offer. The Catholic traditions observed in Goa, India and the Maori tradition in New Zealand. The gender split that remains strong in both traditions with men and women occupying different domains.
Our loss of the external markers of grief and mourning – the argument for re-introducing something akin to the armband – might a ‘mood badge ...
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - Oct 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on Nov. 9, 2019, 3:09 p.m.
6 of us met for the October meeting of the CWDC to which we welcomed along 2 newcomers both of whom were attending a Death Cafe for the first time. We introduced ourselves and reflected on where we are with the subjects of death and dying whilst sharing a zingy lemon drizzle cake inspired by Mary Berry.
Themes to emerge from our discussion:
The unspeakable quality and seemingly unacceptable nature of grief and bereavement. How difficult it is to find meaningful compassionate responses in the face of bereavement. People’s awkwardness and not knowing how to speak to those who are grieving. The shaming responses that can result ...
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - June 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on Aug. 22, 2019, 6:34 a.m.
Five of us attended the June meeting of CWDC including two people who had not joined us before. We shared a Coffee and Walnut cake.
Themes to emerge from our discussion:
How well, or badly, do we deal with death?
Different cultural perspectives and practices.
How do we prepare for death, and how might this influence or affect how we grieve?
How do we mark our relationships with the dead? Visiting a loved one's grave.
How do we start these conversations? Setting an example perhaps more effective in certain situations. Getting our own houses in order. Where are we with our own preparation?
What does an executor ...
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - April 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on Aug. 22, 2019, 6:10 a.m.
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - July 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on Aug. 22, 2019, 5:55 a.m.
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - April 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on Aug. 22, 2019, 5:36 a.m.
Three of us met and began our discussion exploring where each of us find ourselves in relation to death and dying, and what it is that we have been thinking about.
With Cecilia H.
Dec. 8, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
Oct. 27, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
Sept. 22, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
Aug. 11, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
July 14, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
June 23, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - May 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on May 12, 2019, 1:16 p.m.
Four of us met for the May meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café during which we acknowledged Dying Matters and the information event ‘Doing Death Differently - Are We Ready?’ the CWDC hosted at the Tooting Bec Lido Pavilion on Saturday morning.
Two of us had not been to this, or any other Death Café before. Having acknowledged the background to the movement, and the ethos of the meetings, we began to talk about a theme which ran throughout the meeting around forgiveness.
We talked about forgiveness rituals, and how important these might be at the end of life – both for the dying, and for those they leave ...
With Cecilia H.
May 12, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - Jan 2019
Posted by Cecilia H on Feb. 24, 2019, 9:06 a.m.
Four of us gathered for the first meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café of 2019.
We began acknowledging the inescapable reality of old age, sickness and death as we asked ourselves where we are today with death.
One attendee posed the question that, if life is Mexican Wave, which we stand up and form part of just temporarily, what are we doing whilst we stand up? We reflected on our own experience of lives being cut tragically short, and the remarkable preciousness of each life. To not acknowledge death is to not fully appreciate life.
Our conversation made references to Derren Brown, and to Billy Connolly who ...
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - Nov 2018
Posted by Cecilia H on Feb. 19, 2019, 6:24 a.m.
November saw the fifth meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Café. Kevin and I co-hosted the event which was attended by three people who had been before, and one person who was attending for the first time.
Our discussion began with some reflections on the experience of watching a parent become seriously unwell before rallying and normal life resuming, contrary to medical opinion and prognosis.
We talked about the impact of watching someone get seriously ill, and ideas around Bucket Lists and the revision of priorities should time suddenly feel short. We shared our own experience of gaining clarity about what’s important, and what’s not, and ...
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - Oct 2018
Posted by Cecilia H on Dec. 8, 2018, 12:07 p.m.
With Cecilia H.
April 28, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
March 24, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
Feb. 24, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
With Cecilia H.
Jan. 27, 2019, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (GMT)
Free
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - Sept 2018
Posted by Cecilia H on Oct. 14, 2018, 1:26 p.m.
This was the third in a series of 5 Death Cafes planned to be held at Coffee in the Wood, Colliers Wood, London SW19 this year.
The cafe was attended by eight people, who met together with myself and Kevin, my co-host. We decided to have a conversation as a larger group rather than dividing the group and having different discussions simultaneously, salon style.
Our conversation moved between different themes including what makes for a 'beautiful' or 'peaceful' death, and how different our constructions of these might be. We posed the questions: what sort of death might we wish for ourselves, and for our loved ones?
We returned ...
With Cecilia H.
Nov. 18, 2018, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (BST)
Free
With Cecilia H.
Oct. 21, 2018, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (BST)
Free
Death Cafe write up: Colliers Wood Death Cafe - Aug 2018
Posted by Cecilia H on Aug. 14, 2018, 7:19 a.m.
Death Cafe write up: The first ever meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - July 2018
Posted by Cecilia H on July 15, 2018, 1:30 p.m.
This was the first in a series of Death Cafes we plan to hold in SW19, and was held on the same afternoon as the finals of both the World Cup and Wimbledon. The cafe was attended by four people, who met together with myself and a co-host.
Informative, Insightful, Compassionate, Safe, Relief, and Flexible were words shared by participants in their feedback, to describe the experience of attending.
Our conversation touched on several themes around starting to talk about death to those we care about, about what we would ourselves want, and how we might broach the subject.
We explored differing views on whether children should be ...
With Cecilia H.
Sept. 9, 2018, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (BST)
Free to attend
With Cecilia H.
Aug. 12, 2018, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (BST)
Free to attend
Death Cafe: The first ever meeting of the Colliers Wood Death Cafe - July 2018
Posted by Cecilia H on June 21, 2018, 2:58 a.m.
With Cecilia H.
July 15, 2018, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. (BST)
Free to attend