Welcome to
The Afterlife Advocate
A Conversation
about Conscious Dying, Conscious Grieving
and the Journey of the Soul
Issue # 25 - January 2017
Published by The Afterlife Education Foundation,
producer of the Original Afterlife Conference
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Dec. 31 at midnight
Earlybird prices end for the 2017 Afterlife Conference!
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January 27-29
San Juan Island, WA
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Portland, OR.
Jan 27 - 29
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Spiritual But Not Religious
H
ow many of you consider yourselves to be "spiritual but not religious?" Do you know there's now an acronym for that? It's called SBNR.
SBNR is such a trendy term that it's even the subject of a five-day intensive course I'm taking at the San Francisco Theological Seminary next month.
Being spiritual without being religious is a topic of heated debate in many theological circles, as evidenced by some of the material I'm reading for the class.
As you might expect, opinions are divided along party lines.
Traditional, conventional religious people think it's terrible to "cherry pick" spiritual ideas and cobble together a "personal theology." And on the other side of the aisle, progressive thinkers and mystics can't imagine relating to the divine any other way.
Here are two vastly different views from two noted theologians:
1. Harvey Cox, a Harvard professor of divinity observes that "people are drawn more to the experiential than to the doctrinal elements of religion." He is talking about personal interaction with spiritual energy; a mystical experience that truly connects one to the divine, instead of simply parroting what is taught by church and culture. *
2. In stark contrast, Rev. Lillian Daniel disdainfully refers to SBNR theology as a "cheap god of self-satisfaction," and insists that "humans shouldn't have the space to come up with our own human-invented God" (the latter statement begs the obvious question... aren't all gods human-invented?). **
In America's current political climate, it will be interesting to watch this divide evolve. Let's hope that our religious freedoms remain intact.
Blessings for a peaceful and productive 2017!
Rev. Terri Daniel, MA, CT
Founder, The Afterlife Conference
Interfaith Chaplaincy, Bereavement Support
* The Future of Faith,
2009
** When Spiritual But Not Religious Is Not Enough, 2014
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Are Mediums for Real?
We published an article back in 2014 on this topic, and we're revisiting the question because it
is such a popular one. Here you will find two excellent resources that answer the most common questions about what constitutes a
good mediumship reading.
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The enemy is not death.
The enemy is needless suffering.
We recently came across an excellent article, and are excited about sharing it with you.
It is a must-read for patients, caregivers and professionals.
The 92-year-old patient is bleeding into her head, but has blood clots in her lungs. She suffers from advanced heart disease and has been on both a respirator and dialysis for three weeks. She is failing as, like flimsy rowed dominos, vital systems collapse. Her chance of surviving the hospitalization is less than one in a hundred.
Despite death lurking, just another complication away, this nonagenarian is treated with maximal, aggressive, unrestrained care. She is not only full code (when her body stops they will pound on her chest and pour joules of electricity into her broken heart), but she is receiving over 30 different medications, a list which grows as medical complications breed new catastrophes, everyday.
READ MORE...
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The Afterlife Conference Announces
The Easley Family Scholarship
Thanks to a donation from our friend Ellee Green and the Easley Family Foundation, we are able to offer three partial scholarships to the 2017 afterlife conference.
Scholarships are for first-time attendees only, and are available in three categories:
. Students
. Seniors (over 65)
. Newly bereaved -- less than one year
To apply for a scholarship, email
office@afterlifeconference.com with a short explanation (250 words, max) of why
you should be awarded the scholarship. Students must include a copy of a student ID card.
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Grief as a Mystical Journey
Coming to California
Many of you have asked when Terri Daniel's
Grief as a Mystical Journey workshop will be returning to the west coast. We're delighted to announce that it's scheduled for Feb. 11 in Santa Rosa, CA. Please click below for details.
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f so, you might want to read some our past issues.
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u can find our archives
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