Death Cafe write-ups
Death Cafe Calgary Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Calgary on Feb. 28, 2016, 6:01 p.m.
There were 21 people at Death Café Calgary sharing conversations about their personal stories and widely varying points of view. The beauty of these cafes is that they provide space for diverse experiences and observations of experiences. If death cannot spark this type of dialogue, what could? Thank you death for your lessons and for your insistence in reaching one another in these deep moments of living. Thank you Calgary community for showing up. And thank you Caffé Artigianno for your beautiful space and delightful service.
Belleville, IL Death Cafe Write up
Posted by maggieboone on Feb. 28, 2016, 1:06 p.m.
We were pleased to welcome 8 new participants into the fold. These new members had read a recently published article about the death cafe in the Belleville News-Democrat. We began the meeting with introductions since there were so many new participants. Each were asked to provide their name and their reasons for joining our Death Cafe discussion.
We discussed green burials using mushroom spores which aid in decomp of bodies. This may be an alternative for the overcrowding of the available cemeteries.
The discussion then went to voluntary sharing of the first encounter with death and how the family embraced (or not) it. It was interesting to note ...
Denise and I are pleased and proud to report that we has 20 participants for our first, and wrexham's first, Death Cafe in Gresford. The BBC heard about it and popped along to take some pictures and interview Denise and I and a couple of the participants. People came from Liverpool, North west Wales, Flintshire and Wrexham. It was a wonderfully generous, warm and insughtful morning with lots of laughter amid the discussions and challenged some our own assumptions and beliefs.
SW London Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Suzanne Michal on Feb. 24, 2016, 11:58 a.m.
We were only four around one table with one candle! By the time our introduction were completed we were already engaged in heart to heart exchanges. We were lucky to have a palliative doctore who shared many beatufiul tales of last days to patients in the hospice where she works. I was touched by the young couple who finished our quatuor dedicated to promote healthy attitudes to death and dying.
Another special death cafe evening!
Death Cafe Linz, Austria - Mit dem Tod bei Kaffee und Kuchen Write up
Posted by Galyoureonmymind on Feb. 22, 2016, 5:37 a.m.
About 12 people showed up. So the three cakes plus fruit and bite-sized bundt cakes were more than enough.
Huge differences in who we were to those we lost: parent, sibling, child, friend, neigbor or even stranger. Yes, the death of someone you don't know very well can have a great effect on you.
It was my first time, but it won't be my last. I didn't expect much too be honest, which is why I worried more about the cake - would people eat it, would people like it? - than the actual event.
I was suprised how much the whole thing moved me. Other people ...
Death Cafe Grants Pass Write up
Posted by grantspass on Feb. 21, 2016, 8:06 p.m. 1 comment
About 12 people attended our most recent Death Café. A few were attending for the first time but, most were returning from previous Death Café events to continue the conversation. The conversations are always lively and full of new discoveries about a wide range of topics. Some of the topics discussed at this last gathering included: near-death experiences, recieving some kind of communication from loved ones who have passed over, what do we want done with our bodies when we die, how the process of dying informs how we choose to live our lives etc. Usually folks find plenty to talk about and the respectful environment created here ...
Death Cafe Istanbul Write up
Posted by Selen Caglayik Eloglu on Feb. 19, 2016, 12:16 p.m. 1 comment
It was the first of its kind in Turkey and I am proud to have organized it!
We were a lovely group of 9, people came, ate cake, laughed and shared wonderful insight.
We had deep philosophical discussions about what awaits us after we die and we also commented on each other's personal thoughts.
Looking forward to organizing another one.
Highcliffe Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Lis Horwich on Feb. 19, 2016, 10:43 a.m.
A lovely afternoon with a small group of women interested in speaking about death. We referred to a very interesting article in Intelligent Life Magazine on death: https://www.intelligentlifemagazine.com/features/how-to-have-a-good-death. We could do well with asking for what we want to happen when you die, we might need to learn how to love ourselves in order to be brave enough? Studying to become a Soul Midwife was eagerly discussed and the many gifts being brought to us from sitting at the bedside with a person dying. Another opportunity is becoming a Death Doula, which in Greek means: Female slave! We used to call women like ...
Beim dritten Linzer Death Cafe im Jänner 2016 kamen 18 Menschen zusammen, insgesamt eine sehr bunte Mischung vom Alter her, von den Lebenserfahrungen wie auch von den Einstellungen und Überzeugungen her. Wohltuend war nicht nur der respektvolle Umgang mit teilweise stark widersprüchlichen Überzeugungen in Bezug auf einem Leben nach dem Tod, sondern auch und ganz besonders die heitere, lockere Atmosphäre. Zum Schluss stellte ein Teilnehmer überrascht fest: “Wir reden hier vom Tod und Sterben, doch alle lachen und vergnügen sich!” Die gesamte Gruppe stimmte recht herzlich zu.
Death Cafe Des Moines Write up
Posted by Carmen Elliott on Feb. 16, 2016, 11:40 a.m.
Last month was yet another great conversation! We started out talking about how David Bowie’s death plans affected his loved ones and fans, and “who is the funeral for, anyway?!” It was a great way to start the evening: questions that led to discussion.
We had a few new people join us, which was a welcome surprise: we had a snow storm that evening, so we only had one of our “regulars”, plus the three facilitators, attending that evening. Our visitors rounded out our small group to 6 people and brought a burst of new energy! They are interested in starting a Death Café in their corner ...
Death Cafe in Toronto for widow/ers whose loss is 2+ years ago Write up
Posted by Justine Silver on Feb. 15, 2016, 1:09 p.m.
The second Death Cafe for this group was smaller - with 6 people - which led to a more intimate discussion.
Via evaluation, participants described the session as emotional, comforting, understanding and inclusive.
My favourite answer to the question "If someone told you they were thinking of attending a Death Cafe, what would you tell them" is . . . "Can I pick you up?"
Hornby Island, BC Death Cafe III Write up
Posted by Sylvia Sienikehä Elysiana on Feb. 11, 2016, 1:06 p.m.
Another beautiful gathering, about 20 attendees.
Happy and honored to hold space for these events!
Highcliffe Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Lis Horwich on Feb. 9, 2016, 4:35 a.m.
A very enjoyable evening at Highcliffe Death Café. We had one new member joying us to make our small group perfect this evening. We talked much about Kundalini awakening, which one member has experienced, he felt he all too often were not understood by folks, he shares this information with. He was so relieved he was heard this evening. We shared a discussion about some books on the table, several written by Emma Heathcote-James: “They Walk Among Us”, was highly recommend and Fritjof Capra: “The Tao of Physics” and “Uncommon Wisdom” as “must” read books. Talked briefly about funerals, if we cared for a David Bowie style with ...
Montpelier Death Cafe Write up
Posted by MontpelierDeathCafe on Feb. 8, 2016, 4:02 p.m.
"How not avoid what is uncomfortable, how to embrace it. How to make space in this our society for this experience." These were some of the challenges an attendee shared with the group after their experience of being with someone through death. "Death has changed everything for me in the most profound way that I am actually grateful for the experience," admitted another.
To be with someone who is dying is to come close to a profoundly liminal experience. As one member said, "Death is the transition between the seen and the unseen." And while deeply sad, it can be awe inspiring to realize that "whatever we are ...