Conversations on Death

After a 3 month pause, I'm back with bi-weekly episodes!

In this episode, Kelly and I talk about the ins & outs of post mortem photography, spirit photography & the history of spiritualism and seances, as well as photography of the dead during The Civil War.

Kelly Christian is a Chicago based writer and future archivist. She is interested in the intersection of technology and systems of power in relation to death and mourning in American culture. Her graduate work explored post-mortem photography and related visual representations of grief and their cultural ramifications. She has written on such topics as the life insurance industry in early 20th century Chicago, the troubling legacy of lynching photography, and the relationship between colonialism and taxidermy. Kelly continues to explore the more macabre moments in American history, and how they resurface in the contemporary social landscape. She is also a contributing member of The Order of the Good Death.

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Connect with Kelly!

Website: http://www.kellyachristian.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellybakeswell/
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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

In this episode, I talk to Erica Buist, a journalist and writer from London, England. After finding her father-in-law dead after a week, she decided to visit seven death festivals - one for every day they didn't find Chris. From Mexico to Nepal, Sicily, Thailand, Madagascar, Japan and finally Indonesia, Erica chronicles her experiences in her first book, This Party's Dead, which comes out in February 2021.

We discussed the lessons learned from visiting all seven death festivals, her journey with trying to understand how other cultures deal with death anxiety; how people move past the knowledge that they're going to die in order to live happily day-to-day and how they celebrate rather than shy away from the topic of death. We also talked about transhumanism, the death positive movement, and Santa Muerte. Super fun & interesting episode! Enjoy, deathlings!
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Connect with Erica!

Website: https://www.thisisnotajourney.com/
Instagram: @ericabuist & @thispartysdead
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericabuistwriter
Twitter: @ericabuist & @thedeathtivals

Preorder 'This Party's Dead': https://unbound.com/books/this-partys-dead/
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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Global Death Doula Summit: https://www.doulagiversinstitutefhl.com/death-doula-summit/

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

On this episode, I talk to Karen McDonnell Hilligoss, author of How Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Taught Me That Life Is Worth Living.

In 2015, shortly after the death of Dr. Dyer, Karen started to experience miracles surrounding him. These experiences helped Karen spiritually evolve into accepting several serious diagnoses involving her children's health that had previously caused her to lose her faith. 

Join me as Karen tells us about how these signs from Dr. Dyer taught her that there is no such thing as death and that love is eternal.

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Connect with Karen!

Website: http://www.karenmcdonnellhilligoss.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/McDonnellHilligoss
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Gui_Kgm0moXtMQeXBvAQQ
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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

On today's episode, I spoke to Marisa Meddin, who, aside from being a coach, is also a medium. A few years ago, Marisa discovered she's a psychic medium who had the gift of communicating with those who had passed on through written format. That's right - she writes letters with words and messages from those who have passed on.

We really let our conversation flow on this episode. We talked about mediumship, signs, quantum physics, reincarnation, her travels, past lives, her ayahuasca journey, and much much more. Hope you enjoy it!

If you're interested in seeing an example of a letter written by Marisa, you can do so here: www.marisamedium.com/conversationsondeath

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Connect with Marisa!

Website: www.marisamedium.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlmeddin

View a sample of one of her medium letters!
www.marisamedium.com/conversationsondeath
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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

On today's episode I talked to Lisa Nisleit, founder of MVP Castings. She specializes in all types of life casting including babies, couples and families and, most importantly, in end-of-life castings.  We talked about her story, her passion, and the lessons learned from working closely with death.
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Connect with Lisa!

Website: http://mvpcastings.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MVPCastings/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mvp_life_castings
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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

This podcast episode is very different from others. It’s with one of my best friends, Tristan Velez, where he tells us about losing his best friend, Chris, to a motorcycle accident at the age of 28. 

Tristan and I discuss the intricacies of handling the unimaginable, from the legal aspect, to the funeral planning, and even navigating his relationship with the parents who lost their only child. We get a glimpse into what it's like to deal with an unexpected death both physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

We rarely get to hear about how the lives of those ‘left behind’ are altered after a sudden death. This is one of those stories.

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Connect with Tristan!
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tris_velez/
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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

On today's episode, I talked to the lovely Shaina Garfield, founder of Leaves With You, which was founded by Shaina to help others feel more connected to one another and the Earth when they or a loved one are at the end of their life. Shaina draws on her design background and meditation practice to hold space for the families with whom she co-creates coffins and rituals.

Shaina and I talked about her story, the importance of the weaving ritual, traditional coffins, rituals in other cultures, the origins of Leaves With You, and many other things. Really fun and insightful episode! Hope you guys enjoy! 

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Connect with Shaina!

Website: www.leaveswithyou.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leaveswithyou

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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

On today's episode, I talked to Vivencia's founder, Mariana Bandera. She's an Anthropologist & Archaeologist who has an affinity to the past, shaping who we are and who we want to be. She has a deep connection to the ceremony of death throughout all cultures and how memories are preserved. We discussed her Mexican culture and its relationship to death, her work with archeology, and the importance of connecting to our ancestors through ritual. We also talked about her amazing company, Vivencia, where you can commemorate your life story so that your legacy can leave a lasting impact for future generations.

I am obsessed with this woman's work so I highly recommend you give this episode a listen as it has lots to learn from and reflect on.

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Connect with Mariana!

Social Media: 

Website: https://www.vivenciaproject.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivencia_org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vivenciaproject/

Free Resources: 

Life Letter to Your Loved Ones

https://www.vivenciaproject.org/lifeletter

Bridge Meditation: Connecting to Your Ancestors

https://www.vivenciaproject.org/meditation

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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

This one's a little different!

Here I present to you guys a recording of my event with 'Reimagine: Life, Loss & Love', where a group of us played The Death Deck and got into some interesting conversations surrounding death, dying, and the afterlife.

Reimagine Festival is going on until September 1st and they have a packed schedule with amazing speakers and workshops. To access the schedule of events, check out the link below.

Enjoy!

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Reimagine: https://letsreimagine.org/worldwide/schedule
Co-Host: https://www.instagram.com/deathpositivenyc/
Death Deck: https://thedeathdeck.com/

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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤

Today I talked to Cathy Byrd, author of 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much: An Astounding True Story of a Young Boy's Past Life Memories'.

At the age of two, Cathy's son, Christian, began sharing vivid memories of being a baseball player in the 1920s and ’30s. From riding cross-country on trains, to his rivalry with Babe Ruth, Christian described historical facts about the life of baseball legend Lou Gehrig that he could not have possibly known at the time.

Join me as Cathy  recounts her journey from skeptic to believer as she not only navigated Christian's past life memories, but also hers as Lou Gehrig's mom.
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Connect with Cathy!

Website: www.cathy-byrd.com

Get the Book 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much':
https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much-ebook/dp/B01MZ9BA07/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UAZVIN3RX34C&dchild=1&keywords=the+boy+who+knew+too+much&qid=1594620153&sprefix=the+boy+who+knew+%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-1

Christian on the Dr. Oz Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHy9Nly6VVk
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Get in touch!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conversationsondeathpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/
Email: [email protected]

Check out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤