The Artists’
Grief Deck

Get out some paints and let your mind relax. Paint large strokes or circles – It doesn’t have to be anything you recognize. Give each color a feeling, if you desire, and pick which colors you want...

Connect with an ancestor, either by genealogy or culture or choice. It may help to imagine or conjure their image, or perhaps you may just feel their warmth or light. What might you thank them for? Wh...

A Walking Meditation Take a quiet walk toward an outdoor place you enjoy such as a park, beach, or woods. As you walk, pick up any small stones that catch your eye. Stop long enough to examine each st...

In grief, time feels like the enemy. Making music helped me find a better relationship with time when feeling difficult emotions. Even if you have not played in a long time, there is no bad time to ge...

Touch another person's hand and wait until the temperature becomes consistent. There is one more thing in common between you. If you are by yourself, put your hand on a surface or an object and wait u...

Radical acceptance is a path. Equanimity is a goal. Five hundred years ago lived Akbar, third emperor of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. Seeking wisdom from his advisor Birbal, Akbar asked, “What w...

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,...

remember and count your ancestors generously you are not alone find the place that knows this inheritance well - the nook of your elbow, the curve of your hair let yourself feel some light - the wind...

They say that smell is the strongest sense we have especially when it is attached to a memory. In India, I light up incense sticks that remind me of my religious grandmother doing pujas. It almost fee...

Look at the sky.

Look at the sky out your window.

Look for all the variations of color and light you can see. Maybe there are clouds and they are moving...

Scribble with crayons on multiple newspaper sheets. Crumple up each newspaper sheet into a ball. Find a dartboard or target outside to throw each of these balls at and let your physical energy transfe...

Find or create a likeness of your lost loved one. It could be a photograph, a small sculpture, an object that belonged to the person or something else. Choose something that represents them at their b...

Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself, and I think of all the things I'd be doing if I were outside and how much things have changed since all of this started. The family and friends I havenâ€...

Grief is a four-dimensional possession. It fills some part of this room, and it also reaches back in time and toward the future. First study how 3D objects are enclosed: how 2D cloth or paper can be l...

Try to create space in your mind and heart and take three deep breaths. Then Remember there is no "right" way to grieve. This is a personal process and there is no time limit....

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...

Grieving is one of our most natural activities. Thich Nhat Hanh says, "When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may...

Go in front of the whitest wall in your house. Put your right cheek on the wall, it's like hearing the voice of the wall. Close your both eyes and think about baby hands- with all the details- chubby...

You can’t bring back the dead, but you can learn their wisdom, passed down from generation to generation. What did you learn from your loved one? What were the gifts that you received? How might you...