This is going to be what feels like the most important episode of LTSG to date.

While my previous and future episodes are meant to open a discussion around the end of life, a reality we will all face sooner or later, THIS episode actually has the potential to save lives.

So, if you are listening to this today and if you happen to work in marketing, PR, for a newspaper, radio or in a school or university and would like to help to get this message out, please do get in touch with me. You can email me at podcast@learningtosaygoodbye.com

Today I am sitting down with Dr. Ruby Javed, who is the Chief Forensic Toxicologist at the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Dr. Ruby has a stellar career with over 17 years of experience in drug-related science in both the private and public sectors.

Not only is she a powerhouse at a job that most people would find hard to stomach, but she lives with an incredible passion and zest for life. We are both mothers and in that capacity, today’s subject is very close to our hearts.

I have seen a few mediums in my time. Some were ok, one was downright awful, and I walked out after 10 minutes. But then there are those that just leave you amazed. One of them is Jen Shaffer. Jen is a world-renowned Psychic Medium. She has been on serval TV shows and movies on Gaia. She works with law enforcement on criminal cases and often hosts small group readings called Wine and Spirits.

Maybe it was the name that drew me, but I did not know much about Jen, when I attended one of her Wine and Spirits group readings a few months back. What came out during that reading blew my mind and I just knew that I had to have her on the podcast.

But I did not want to have the regular “reading on a podcast kinda thing” – I wanted a look behind the curtain to find out how this whole medium thing works.

In recent years I have had quite a few strange things happen to me as well, messages, visions … stuff like that. Crazy stuff, that I am still in the process of wrapping my head around. Maybe it is because of my work as an End-of-life Doula - I am not sure.

I was never scared when I knew or saw something – just confused and scared that I might go nuts. And it is a process to recognize messages for what they are and to get the courage to talk about them. So, I am super excited to hear what an expert like Jen has to say about that. Maybe I am not going crazy after all.

Feelings are funny things. We think we experience them mostly on a mental level. Our brain makes sense of the things we feel, and we label them – as in “I feel happy” or “I feel sad, or anxious, or angry.” But it is in our body that most of these feelings settle in the end. How do we get rid of those tight muscles caused by anger, or the weight on our shoulders, where grief holds us down? This is what we will tackle in today’s episode. 

I had a chat with Paul Denniston, the founder of grief yoga and author of the book “Healing through Yoga: Transform Loss into Empowerment.” Paul and I met at a workshop years ago and his teachings touched something inside of me that I really wanted to share with you all here.  

Not only will we talk about how what we label as “negative” feelings settle in our bodies but we will also get a few hands-on tips on how to get things moving, releasing grief, pain, anxiety, fear, and anger that might have settled in our bodies for a long time.

If I would ask you, “where does your consciousness reside?” your first instinct might be to say “well, the brain of course,” right? After all, isn’t that the part of our body that does all the thinking? Where our thoughts are turned to words, where we debate with others and most of the time with ourselves, where we define who we are? But is that true? What relationship do the brain and consciousness have? And what can we do to go beyond the brain and access deeper levels of awareness? Hear from Dr. Eben Alexander and Karen Newell about the mind-brain-relationship and how binaural beats help us to go deeper.

Neurosurgeon and bestselling author Dr Eben Alexander never believed in life after death until he got a look behind the curtain when he experienced a Near-Death-Experience and came back to tell his story. When I came across his book, while working through my own grief, I was blown away by the hope it instilled in me. Let his journey inspire you to look at death and what comes after from a new perspective.

Holidays and grief - those two do not mix very well. Learn a few tips and tricks on how to get through the holidays while honoring your loved one’s memory and being patient with your own feelings.

Meet Neale Donald Walsch, best-selling author and modern-day spiritual messenger and hear what God would say about death and life and what comes after.

Are we hard-wired to grieve a certain way? Find out how what role your nervous system plays in grief and how to understand this complex emotion better.