What Can We Mindfully Learn From The Suicide Epidemic December 29, 2014 • 0 Comments I know it’s the holidays, not the best time for this topic, but this past week I learned about the recent suicide of a high school senior here in San Diego, a young man voted home coming king at his school, and thought to be happy. I also met a prominent Hollywood figure who knew of four recent suicides in…
Talk About It: Don’t Allow Never to Define Your Future December 8, 2014 • 0 Comments This past week, I encountered the same conversation that I have had again and again during the last four years. It goes something like this: “My [Father/Mother/Sibling/Grandparent] chose suicide [ten/twenty/thirty/forty] years ago, and my family has [NEVER] discussed it.” Never is the common denominator and it is its own kind of wilderness. Never will stop healing dead in its tracks.…
Practical Matters, Mortality and Discussing Death November 7, 2014 • 0 Comments I was asked in two interesting questions in an interview the other day that I have been contemplating for a quite some time: Why aren’t people talking about suicide, and what is it I hope to accomplish with my work? There are so many reasons why we don’t talk about it but, death in general, makes most people uncomfortable and…
Talking About Suicide for Healing September 1, 2014 • 0 Comments As a result of Robin Williams’ suicide, I have had quite a few requests for radio interviews. I really enjoy them because it is interesting to hear what people are curious about in regards to this subject. Common themes have emerged and there have been a few probing questions that have really made me stop in my tracks. Suicide is…
A Forensic Exploration Into Understanding Suicide August 22, 2014 • 2 Comments I have been pondering suicide from a more forensic point of view, trying to understand what it is that makes the subject so very difficult for us to explore and discuss in a way that will ultimately be healing and expansive on both the collective, and individual, levels. This exploration has grown out of the soil of my own discomfort…
On Robin Williams’ Death and the Suicide Epidemic August 18, 2014 • 7 Comments Robin Williams’ death, and the subsequent media storm, rendered me wordless last week. I tried to write, but couldn’t find words to express the sadness I felt. From the moment I heard about his suicide, I was lulled into a kind of trance, watching the media swirl around, offering up vacuous commentary and opinions. Why did a news feed need…
Conversation: A Sacred Vessel of Healing Exploration May 26, 2014 • 0 Comments I continue to cross paths with people who have been touched by suicide and the common denominator in all these encounters seems to be the unfortunate feeling of isolation, because no one in the family talks about it. The event is relegated to the “unmentionable topics” closet that all families, and cultures, seem to have, and left to fester in…
Suicide Chat: Making the Topic of Suicide Less Taboo May 2, 2014 • 0 Comments “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because…