Contrary to political and religious hyperbole and extremism, end of life discussions provide positive and loving ways to prevent needless suffering. They empower each of us to decide and declare our desires regarding our care as we approach the end of our life. Please support these. Daily in hospice care I see great pain and suffering caused by medical interventions that, from the start, predictably fail given the frail physical condition of my patients. Inevitably, there is a point in time when aggressively treating illness prolongs suffering. There is a definitive difference between a sick body and a dying body. One can hope to make a sick body well, or at the least, maintain quality of life by aggressively treating disease processes. A dying body is different: one cannot turn a dying body into a sick body. For one who is dying, comfort measures are the only means of ensuring life's quality. And the way to ensure this is by having open, honest dialogue with health care providers through end of life discussions. Interestingly, it is known that those who have hospice care live longer, and presumably better, than those who do not.

Mythologies are ...

Myths are often considered as trivializations, deceptions, or falsehoods. However,

mythologies are more correctly understood as framing metaphors which hold and 

carry forth the values and beliefs of a culture. Myths are stories which organize and

carry the plots of dramatic life events. And plots are organizations of narratives into

significant themes. Plots of life, themes of significance woven into its experience, are both

organized and perceived through the lenses of one’s value systems. As framing

metaphors, myths then not only carry forward a culture’s fundamental beliefs, but also

juxtapose those beliefs with the dramatic plots of life. They frame the way events are 

perceived and experienced, and as a result, frame the significance accorded 

them. Myths provide coherence in the face of changing life conditions.

This from an article I wrote for HeadlineMuse.com some years ago.

Easy to Be Hard to Believe

I had a minister ask me "what is your theology" while talking with him about my therapy services (this was a commons question when talking with ministers).  I replied that it's easy for people to believe how bad they are.  It's very hard to believe our goodness.  His eyes glazed over, and I knew he'd stopped listening.  I excused myself and left.  That's my theology:  It's easy to find it hard to believe our essential goodness.  "Blessed are you."

Radical Christianity

What if, for all of 2010, all Christian churches throughout the world, all television evangelists, all faith healers (real and pretend), limited themselves to only the following message:  "Blessed are you."  The first words of the beatitudes.  Sermons and homilies would be limited to the following words:  "Blessed are you."  No explanation.  No explication.  Just the words:  "Blessed are you."  No judgments, no accusations.  No talk of salvation, or talk of heaven or hell.   No talk of "the true church."  No asking for money.  No selling books, Bibles, prayers, or anything else.  Just the words:  "Blessed are you."  To me, this is radical Christianity.  Just imagine, what if?

Horse of Power

Artist Luis Jiminez was commissioned to sculpt The Mustang for Denver International Airport in 1992. He died in 2006 when parts of The Mustang fell on him. From start to finish was a fifteen year journey of love, rich with purpose and meaning.

The Mustang's blue metallic look, blood red piercing eyes, flared nostrils and eerie appearance cause some to view it as evil or demonic. Others find it repulsive. Many would like it removed.

This is a horse of power. Perhaps belonging to Helios, or Hades perhaps. It is a horse of the other world.

Notice its numinous nature, especially at night when power radiates from its very core.

Imagine for a moment, The Mustang selected this site for its location. The question then becomes what made it choose this location at this point in time?

Check out my two new articles on the ezine, Mythopoetry.com:

The Poesis of Dying: Image and Ritual in Hospice Care

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: Stories From the Dying Process

Stay tuned for new website for my private practice, Life and Recovery, Inc. It will be up soon.