The Illuminated Woman

It’s hard to believe that this is the final episode of the Grief With Grace podcast for 2020. Last week we passed more than 3,500 downloads, so I want to thank everyone who listens, shares it, sends me messages, and leaves a rating and review. I’m humbled and grateful, and I’m excited about all the guests and topics I already have lined up for 2021. Registration is still open for my virtual year-e...

Paul Jacobs is a world-renowned medium. He studied at and taught at the Arthur Findlay College in England, the premier college for spirituality and mediumship studies. I’m extremely honored that Paul was kind enough to do this interview. If you’re skeptical about mediumship, please listen in with an open heart - I think Paul will open you up to a new way of looking at the Spirit world and the gift...

2020 has been a wild ride, hasn’t it? We’ve all been affected not only by our own grief, but by the collective grief of the world as a whole this year. Whether your child went to Spirit this year, or another loved one, or the way of life that made you feel somewhat safe, we’re all grieving. As the end of 2020 draws near, we naturally look forward to 2021. Due to the ongoing Covid situation, there’...

This week’s episode is heavy and difficult, but necessary. As we face the holidays, a New Moon and Solar Eclipse, the Winter Solstice, and a Full Moon all happening this month, the energies are intense. It isn’t uncommon for people to fall into states of depression around the holidays. Add in deep grief, and it’s easy to find yourself in a dark place. If you need professional help, please reach ou...

Jennifer “Jaki” Johnson has a fascinating background, but she never settles. She follows her heart to wherever it leads. From being a radio producer with Steve Harvey, to flight attendant, to wellness, Jaki has led a rich life, but it’s been filled with grief and healing. In this interview, Jaki shares her grief and healing journey, and the role that forgiveness and self-love have played in her he...

This episode will be released on Thanksgiving Day 2020. It can be difficult to be thankful when you have a child in Heaven. Add to that the fact that it’s 2020 and many people aren’t able to be with family for Thanksgiving, and it’s a very challenging time. In this episode, you’ll hear some ideas for how to experience this day, how to bring gratitude into the day, and how to find some moments of j...

Self-care is more than just a buzzword. It’s also often an uncomfortable idea to many women. It brings up all of our self-worth issues and limiting beliefs about what we deserve. When we’re dealing with grief, guilt, and simply trying to survive, it’s often not even on our radar. In this episode, I share: How self-care is the foundation on which we build (or deepen) a strong, healthy connection wi...

The holidays pose unique challenges for grieving parents.  Do you celebrate or do you ignore it all? If you celebrate, how do you celebrate? How do you honor your child in your celebrations? In this episode, I offer some insights and ideas for honoring your grief as you navigate the holidays, regardless of which holidays you celebrate and regardless of how long it's been since your child went...

“The new normal” is a catch phrase many people throw around, particularly in 2020. For grieving Moms, it doesn’t always sit well. What does that phrase really even mean?  Listen in as I explain why life is anything but “normal” when you have a child in Spirit, and why the whole notion of a “new normal” is really a myth. I also share what one Mom, who has 3 children in Spirit, recently told me abou...

In some recent conversations with other grieving Moms, we talked about some of the things people say to us that hurt or anger us. They come up a lot in Facebook groups. So I thought I’d take some of them on, and offer some suggested reframes for them. When we have a child in Spirit, our nerves and emotions are fragile. Just one word can cut us to our core. But are people usually doing this intenti...

Did you know that color has the power to heal? In this episode, Michal Spiegelman shares her own grief journey, and how she used color to heal from her losses. Michal is an amazing intuitive healer, a Reiki Master, and the founder of Beacons of Change where she holds space for women to tap into their ancient feminine wisdom. She has studied in Israel, Germany, England, and the United States. Join...

How do you grieve with love? In this episode, my friend Jonathon Aslay and I break that down. When we met in 2009, we each had two sons. We had no idea that 10 years later, we’d each have one son in Heaven. Jonathon’s son, Connor, left this life six months before my son, Greg, did. Jonathon is the author of two books, Understand Men Now , and his most recent book, What The Heck Is Self-Love Anyway...

Have you ever felt like you’ll never feel happy again after your child left this life? Or that you don’t deserve to feel happy? Or you feel guilty when you do feel a moment of happiness? Happiness can seem elusive, or self-indulgent, after we’ve experienced a great loss. And yet, it’s one of the basic human emotions that we’re here to experience. Cutting ourselves off from happiness or any other e...

“What goes around, comes around.”  “Karma’s a bi*ch.” Poor karma. It really does get a bad wrap. It’s so misunderstood and blamed for so many things. In this week’s episode, I break down exactly what karma is and what it isn’t. I also share: What the Law of Gestation has to do with karma How quickly karma can play out How we can shift our karma How past life choices affect our current karma The po...

Wouldn't it be nice if the world stopped when we’re thrown into the abyss of grief? We all know it doesn't and even in the midst of our grief, we're often faced with seemingly endless challenges. So how do we find compassion when things spin out of our control? How do we find grace and compassion in those times? I dive into that in this episode. What really causes us to lose our pat...

From corporate career to Happiness Coach to Compassionate Bereavement Care provider, Karen Castilon has been through many transitions in her life. Karen’s oldest son, Josh, left this life in 2014. She talks about the guilt her family experienced after Josh’s transition and the words she heard the night he transitioned. Talking with Karen was like having a conversation with myself. We share many of...

So many of you emailed or messaged me on social media about last week’s episode and how helpful you found it. One question asked about breaking down the concept of grief. This episode does that in a way I hope will help you shift your thinking around it. I give you an analogy that has helped my clients look at grief in a new way. I also used another analogy to talk about the different emotions of...

We all experience trauma. It can occur at any age, during our birth, while we’re in our Mother’s womb, or in past lives. And it comes in many shapes, forms and experiences. In this episode I talk about: Where we store our trauma Some of the physiological signs of trauma How we carry trauma from past lives The fascinating example of organ donors and recipients The key to shifting the trauma we carr...

Trauma, like grief, comes in many forms. There’s a level of trauma a parent experiences when their child leaves this life, whether the passing is expected or not. Most people aren’t aware of that, even when they’re living it. The trauma journey is as unique for each person as is the grief journey. Michelle Robertson is no stranger to trauma. In her healing journey from various traumas, she found t...

This special episode is dedicated to my late friend, Taire. In the intro episode to this podcast, I talked about grief being like an unwanted dance partner that we all tango with at various times throughout our lives. Today, grief unexpectedly took my hand for yet another spin around the dance floor. The death of my high school friend to Covid-19 hit me hard for many reasons. Sitting in it, I real...

Crystals. They’re beautiful. They’re magical. They’re mystical. Did you know they also have incredible healing properties?  Siobhan Gouws is a delightful lady from South Africa. She’s a certified crystal healer who creates gorgeous mandalas, does crystal healing (no matter where you are in the world!), and has used crystals in her own healing. We had a wonderful conversation and covered: How cryst...

There’s an old Buddhist quote says “Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.” In this bonus episode, I talk about pain, suffering, and shifting the emotions of grief. Emotions - what are they really? The difference between pain and suffering Emotions and thoughts - and how they affect us How our thoughts cause us to suffer Some simple ways to shift your emotions Questions to journal on: Who w...

Sally Stacey is a lovely woman I connected with on Facebook in late 2019. She’s a bereaved Mom who has an incredible connection with her son, Tommy, in Spirit. In this episode we talked about: How her connection to nature assisted her in connecting to her son in Spirit How shifting internally helped her shift her life in the years before her son went to Heaven How “sitting in the power” helped her...

This episode is a little longer, but I promise you it’s worth listening to in full! I first met Tara Mariino online in late 2010. At that time, I had no idea how our paths would end up being similar in so many ways. At first, I was drawn to Tara’s grace, beauty, elegance, and essence.  As I learned Tara’s story of grief and loss, and saw the beautiful life she created from that space, I was inspir...

This episode was requested by several listeners. When one of our children goes to Heaven, life becomes surreal. We fall down a rabbit hole of grief. But many of us have other living children, so how do we continue to parent them and help them navigate their grief when we're trying to figure out how to navigate our own?  In this episode I offer some tips and tools to help children of various a...