Shroud Making with Leah Giblin (9:30-11:30am)
Leah's workshop will offer participants a chance to print a cloth with leaves and flowers. It will be a taste of the shroud-making ceremony where cloth is imprinted with plants and flowers in a deeply meaningful process that results in a beautiful cloth that is uniquely connected to the family and life of a loved person
Leah's workshop will offer participants a chance to print a cloth with leaves and flowers. It will be a taste of the shroud-making ceremony where cloth is imprinted with plants and flowers in a deeply meaningful process that results in a beautiful cloth that is uniquely connected to the family and life of a loved person.
Leah Giblin is a bespoke textile designer and artist with a focus on sustainability, recycling, waste reduction and non-chemical processes. Leah’s Day Keeper label is designed and manufactured locally in Sydney, with a range of ‘slow’ fashion products and accessories. Leah is applying these design principles to her new range of natural burial garments and shrouds.
Curing the Dread of Death: Theory Research Practice with Ross and Rachel Menzies (9:30-11am)
The dread of death has appeared throughout recorded human history in art, literature, song, myth, and ritual. In both ancient and modern societies, the spectre of death has always been with us, stalking the terrified living who seek to avoid its inevitable arrival. Our attempts to respond to the finitude of life range from ancient burial customs such as mummification to computerised chatbots which imitate the personality of those who have departed.
The dread of death has appeared throughout recorded human history in the form of art, literature, song, myth and cultural rituals. In both ancient and modern societies, death has been personified in various forms, such as a feared god or the grim reaper, stalking the terrified living. The awareness of our own mortality, arguably unique to humans, was famously described by William James as “the worm at the core” of our existence. The lingering tension of death appears to pervade various cultural and religious practices, such as the meditative handling of skull-shaped bracelets in Tibetan Buddhism, the decoration of graves associated with Dia de Muertos (ie. the day of the dead) in Mexico, or the wearing of a crucifix in various Christian denominations. Further, Terror Management Theory proposes that much broader cultural practices (eg. following a sporting team, seeking academic achievement, attaining wealth) may serve as defensive mechanisms in the face of the terror of death.
Considerable experimental research supports the claim that adherence to cultural worldviews may serve to buffer against death fears. In sum, the apprehension or angst about death and immortality appears to be a pervasive aspect of human experience. This workshop reviews the dread of death, and its management, from a broad range of perspectives covering philosophy, art, history, psychodynamic theory, and social, developmental and clinical psychology. Throughout the workshop, one message shines through: Death is not to be feared, but may hold the key to living a vital, authentic life. It will be argued that we cannot live fully without complete acceptance of the fragility and finiteness of life. The challenge is to discover pathways to death acceptance to enable a life of significance and meaning. Practical approaches to death acceptance will be provided in this workshop.
Rachel E. Menzies completed her honours degree in psychology at the University of Sydney, taking out the Dick Thompson Thesis Prize for her work on the dread of death and its relationship to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She published her first paper on death fears in Clinical Psychology Review as an undergraduate student, and followed this by convening a symposium on the topic at the 8th World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (WCBCT) in Melbourne in 2016. Her manuscript on death fears and OCD was the lead paper in the first edition of the Australian Clinical Psychologist. She was recently featured in The Conversation Yearbook 2016, a collection of the top 1% of ‘standout articles from Australia’s top thinkers’ published by Melbourne University Press. In 2017, she gave her first invited plenary address, and an invited workshop, at the 47th Congress of the European Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT). Both presentations explored death anxiety, existential issues and their role in abnormal behaviour. She is the lead editor of Curing the dread of death: Theory, research and practice, released in August by Australian Academic Press.
Ross G. Menzies completed his undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in psychology at the University of NSW. He is currently Professor of Psychology in the Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney (UTS). In 1991, he was appointed founding Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the University of Sydney, a post which he held for over 20 years. He is the past NSW President, and twice National President, of the Australian Association for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (AACBT). He is the editor of Australia's national CBT journal, Behaviour Change, and has trained psychologists, psychiatrists and allied health workers in CBT around the globe. Professor Menzies is an active researcher with more than two decades of continuous funding from national competitive sources. He currently holds over $AUS7 million in research funding. He has produced 8 books and more than 180 journal papers and book chapters and was the President and Convenor of the 8th World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies.
Dance Me to the End of Love with Peter Banki, Ph.D (9:30-11am)
While death is often understood as referring to the end of life, it is important to remember that death can refer to the ending of anything, such as a friendship, a love affair, a social role, a period of one’s life, adolescence, youth or middle age. Death may mean simply a transition, albeit one that seems irreversible. This workshop will convoke and conjure the deaths of our lives and those of others, so that we may dance for them as our witnesses.
While death is often understood as referring to the end of life, it is important to remember that it can refer to the ending of anything, such as a friendship, a love affair, a social role, a period of one’s life such adolescence, youth or middle age. Death may mean simply a transition, albeit one that seems irreversible. This workshop will convoke and conjure the deaths of our lives and others, so that we may dance for them as our witnesses.
Peter Banki, Ph.D is the founder and director of the Sydney Festival of Death and Dying. He is a scholar, artist, festival producer and teacher. He publishes and teaches mostly in the fields of continental philosophy from 18th Century to the present. He is also the founder and director of the Sydney Festival of Really Good Sex.
Peter is also the author of The Forgiveness To Come: the Holocaust and the Hyper-Ethical.
Advice For Future Corpses with Sally Tisdale (11:30-1pm)
Renowned US American author Sally Tisdale will comment on her recently published book: Advice For Future Corpses: A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying. It explores all the heartbreaking, beautiful, terrifying, confusing, absurd, and even joyful experiences that accompany the work of dying.
In this session, renowned author Sally Tisdale explores all the heartbreaking, beautiful, terrifying, confusing, absurd, and even joyful experiences that accompany the work of dying, including:
A Good Death: What does it mean to die “a good death”? Can there be more than one kind of good death? What can I do to make my death, or the deaths of my loved ones, good?
Communication: What to say and not to say, what to ask, and when, from the dying, loved ones, doctors, and more.
Last Months, Weeks, Days, and Hours: What you might expect, physically and emotionally, including the limitations, freedoms, pain, and joy of this unique time.
Bodies: What happens to a body after death? What options are available to me after my death, and how do I choose—and make sure my wishes are followed?
Grief: “Grief is the story that must be told over and over...Grief is the breath after the last one.”
Beautifully written and compulsively readable, Advice for Future Corpses offers the resources and reassurance that we all need for planning the ends of our lives, and is essential reading for future corpses everywhere.
Thinking Differently About Suicide with Natalia Je and Sarah Roffey (11:30-1pm)
As a society, we are not very skilled at talking about suicide. In some ways this is can be explained, because suicide summons two of our greatest fears – the fear of death and the fear of madness.
We will open a space for dialogue and reflection on suicidal urges and acts that steps out beyond the dominant explanatory frameworks: the bio-medical, which assuredly connects suicide to ‘mental health issues’; and religious, linking it to sin and moral weakness.
Deaths by suicide tend to elicit very different responses to ‘natural’ or ‘involuntary’ deaths. Similarly, expressing one’s thoughts of suicide or wish to die is often met with fear, moral judgement and discomfort. Paraphrasing the words of philosopher David Webb, as a society, we are not very skilled at talking about suicide. In some ways this can be explained, because suicide summons two of our greatest fears – the fear of death and the fear of madness.
In this workshop, we will open a space for dialogue and reflection on suicidal urges and acts that steps out beyond the dominant explanatory frameworks: the bio-medical, which assuredly connects suicide to ‘mental health issues’; and religious, linking it to sin and moral weakness.
We will approach the question of our own suicidal thoughts and fantasies: where do they come from? What do they mean? Is contemplating one’s suicide always negative and unwelcome? What is happening in the society that makes such thoughts and actions a necessity for some? Can suicides be prevented and do they need to be?
We will make an invitation to honour and respect one’s feelings and not fear them. And to develop one’s own ways of making meaning and rich language to speak of intense and despairing experiences. We will also make space for those bereaved by suicides of others.
Planning Well with Shanna Provost (11:30-1pm)
Anyone who has had to process a loved one’s death knows that it is a difficult and time-consuming task – even if you know where everything is. This workshop will give you the tools to avoid “leaving a mess” for your loved ones to clean up during their time of grief. You will take the first steps towards getting your affairs in order. The process itself can teach you a great deal about who you are and what you value most.
This workshop is for everyone who will leave a body and ‘stuff’ (that’s all of us!) behind, and who cares enough for their loved ones to not want to leave a mess for them to clean up during their time of grief.
Shanna’s desire for her workshop participants is that they walk away feeling relief that they now understand and have taken those important first steps to getting their affairs in order.
The Rest Easy process encapsulates the sum total of who you are – it is more than making a Will or Power of Attorney.
“Anyone who has had to process a loved one’s death knows that it is a difficult and time-consuming task – even if you know where everything is. This workshop will give you the tools to avoid leaving a mess for your loved ones to clean up during their time of grief. It will help you to gather all your necessary information in one simple, easy-to-access place and provide support in communicating your choices to your loved ones in a gentle and caring way.
This workshop is filled with practical tools and information that will help you to make decisions based on your life/spiritual values; to gather all your information into one simple, easy-to-access place and to provide the tools that support you to communicate your choices to your loved ones in a gentle and caring way.”
We’ll be discussing important aspects of your ‘post-life clean-up’ including ‘What to do when I die (who to contact; what documents you need etc.’, ‘My Funeral Wishes (burial/cremation, flowers/donations, eco option etc.’, ‘Where to find all my financial stuff (bank accounts, credit cards, loans, assets, hidden assets’, ‘All things online (your digital legacy: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn etc.)’ and your ‘Life Snapshot’ where you get to build the memories of your life so far to share with your loved ones.
Surrendering and Mortality with Tod McKendry (2:30-4pm)
In this workshop, Tod will link his personal experiences with mortality knocking at door in the form of a life threatening episode of illness in April with the physical process of letting go.
In this workshop, Tod will link his personal experiences with mortality knocking at door in the form of a life threatening episode of illness in April with the physical process of letting go.
Tod McKendry is tai chai practitioner and player for 20 years experience. He has always had an intense interest in human beings and the human condition. This has expressed itself through involvement in a wide variety of lifestyles and practices from Thai Massage to trading financial markets. He got involved in the recovery movement over 17 years ago and as part of that exploration he developed a keen interest in psychology and counselling, specifically a variant of Gestalt termed Conscious Integration. Todd was recognised for his emotional courage, empathy and technical aptitude and was asked to co-lead and later lead emotional exploration process groups. Todd has always had a keen interest in the nexus of sexuality and authentic relating and the issues that arise through relating and how those issues can be a portal to healing less than optimal formative experiences. Since 1992, Tai Chi Chuan has been a consistent source of experiencing and healing on the physical, emotional and energetic levels for Todd. It has been a source of great insight and inspiration and a touchstone in being present and harmonious in relationship.
The Subtlest of Emotions with John Slaytor (2:30-4pm)
How can funeral photography be integral to the grieving process? "I realise more and more that I am only interested in capturing the subtlest of emotions, a son concerned for his mother as they enter the church to attend the funeral service of her mother, a daughter reaching for her mother’s arm at the graveside, a boy crying in the dust. These photos will never make headlines or win prizes but in an increasingly toxic and partisan world for me they represent the epitome of what it means to be human." John Slaytor
Since I became a funeral photographer ten years ago I have learnt that there are a myriad of reasons why families commission me. What I haven’t fully understood is why the most common reaction to my service by the general public is the incredulous question ”Do people really want that?”.
John Slaytor's workshop on funeral photography will consider how funeral photography can be integral to the grieving process in Australia. The workshop will firstly define what funeral photography is (often people assume it is confined to photographing the body) before outlining how and why Slaytor's work has evolved over the past decade. Finally the workshop will conclude by discussing how funeral photography is used by grieving families.
"I realise more and more that I am only interested in capturing the subtlest of emotions, a son concerned for his mother as they enter the church to attend the funeral service of her mother, a daughter reaching for her mother’s arm at the graveside, a boy crying in the dust. These photos will never make headlines or win prizes but in an increasingly toxic and partisan world for me they represent the epitome of what it means to be human." John Slaytor
