The Artists’
Grief Deck

You need: Water, a glass, calm energy, a moment of your time. Take a drinking vessel and fill it with water. Hold the vessel in your hands and concentrate. Say the names of your loved ones, spirit gui...

This piece, What Is To Come, derives from a time that I observed my husband sitting for a long moment in contemplation. He had just returned home to us after serving time in federal and immigration detention centers.

Interplaying with the grief. Put on a piece of music (3-5 min long instrumental works great) and begin to move. Taking care of your body and listening - Does it need to move gently with a swaying moti...

Recall the people you love who you have lost in your life who have added deeply to who you are. Then write a “blessing equation.” For example: “John + Shannon + Leslie + Chondra = ME” Take som...

Whenever I am grieving over the loss of my loved ones, I talk to them in my head about whatever it is I’m going through, knowing that I won’t be able to hear their answer but also believing that t...

Acceptance – accepting that our loved one is physically gone and recognizing that this new reality is the permanent reality - is immensely difficult. While they may not be physically with us, they w...

It can be very overwhelming, watching and living. Think of the absoluteness of your fingers the sturdiness of arbors. To look past the emptiness right in front of your eyes. To stare at something beau...

Beautiful white roses and lavender. For spring, for memories, for hope, for healing....

Patiently wait for the tears to come. When they arrive, soften your belly and welcome them. Capture the image of your face while it is still wet and flushed. Visit this image often. Spend time observi...

This image reenacts the final weeks of my mother's life, holding vigil in her room, surrounded by condolence flowers, waiting for death to relieve her pain. Having experienced the anticipatory grief o...

What were your loved one’s superpowers? In what special ways did they show up in your life or in the world? Imagine them in one of their best superhero moments, sharing their unique gifts for the be...

Although we are living in a sad moment, imagination helps me to endure the pandemic and isolation. Being at home, I imagined places, cities, beaches, river banks, isles, little towns in the mountains,...

In winter, breathe in the cold, and let the rain shower and cleanse your soul. In summer, bathe in the warmth, and let the light pool and cleanse your soul. That is nature: to be alone, but no...

The outside must seem so scary, eh? I ask you to spare a minute or two to just stop whatever you are doing. Take this time for yourself. You are the culmination of your ancestors and their lived exper...

Some waves are huge! Others, barely a ripple. [breathe] Close your eyes. Where in your body do you feel it? Watch a sensation with gentle curiosity. [breathe] Let it build... peak… subside… … Re...

Gather paper, markers or pencils. This can also be done with collage materials. Make sure you have colors and images that remind you of your loved one(s). Make a map of your heart. Where is your grief...

Sadness can dull your colorful spirit. Embrace the experience to learn something about the shapes and hues that ignite your soul. Soon, your ways of seeing will change. With the eye of an artist, you...

Rituals symbolically connect us to the larger world and each other and those who have come before us. There is some evidence the actions in rituals may actually release endorphins, which can ease anxi...

In the early days of grieving, some depressive symptoms are certainly present and normal. However, going forward, significant depression, exhibited in such ways as an inability to experience pleasure,...