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Media Reviews
The Visioneering
Group
Michael Stillwater and Gary
Remal Malkin
Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying
Perhaps the only constant in life is change ... and one
of the most difficult changes for people to deal with successfully
is loss -- loss of a job, a relationship, the loss of one's
youth, and most significantly, the loss of life, one's
own
or a loved one's.
Now, in the U.S., because of both our pioneer "go-it-alone" attitude
and the dispersal of family and friends so common today, few of us have
meaningful support when confronting these important life
changes. Fortunately for us
all, a new two-CD giftbook from Companion Arts is changing
the way we deal with
loss. Through a groundbreaking technique of melding music with the spoken
word, this new resource provides heartfelt wisdom and guidance
in a totally unique
way.
In a program that lasts more than an hour, the dozen tracks on Graceful
Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying offer counsel from some of the
world's most
highly respected teachers and authors -- from Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross,
America's legendary pioneering expert on death and dying; to renowned spiritual
teacher,
Ram Dass, Ph.D.; to the respected Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat
Hanh; to Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi of the Jewish Renewal Movement;
and Sunanda
and Arun (grandson of Mahatma) Gandhi.
The album is likely to be of special interest to the 80 million members
of the Baby Boom generation. These middle-agers, born between 1946 and
1964, are
beginning to face their own mortality, while caring for their aging parents
and experiencing their loss through death.
Award-winning producer Gary Remal Malkin and Michael Stillwater created
Graceful Passages to be a support system for anyone dealing with loss,
either personally
or in the course of their family or professional relationships.
"Most
of us have not confronted our own mortality," notes Stillwater, "so
when we face loss or death in our lives, it triggers all those unexplored
fears. Healthcare professionals and family caregivers can equally benefit
from the
kind of support that Graceful Passages provides, for by facing these issues
in a non-threatening way, their ability to offer more compassionate care
is strengthened."
Woven with Malkin's original music, the first CD delivers spoken messages
that transmit the hope, wisdom and vision of contemporary wisdomkeepers.
The same
music without messages, featured on the second CD, helps the listener relax
while providing a catalyst for both contemplation and their own heartfelt
communications. Together, the two CDs provide a comforting container for
the listener's experience. "It's
an interfaith resource," notes Malkin, "for people of any religious
background, or no religious background at all. Graceful Passages is a 'journey'
that helps stimulate compassion and understanding, ease anxiety and create
an intimate environment where deep, healing communication can take place."
Malkin and Stillwater have already received hundreds of responses from
people who've used it in their practices with people confronting loss or
death.
Recalls Stillwater, "Many people said that it enabled them to have the
deepest, most meaningful conversations they'd ever had in their lives. Others
found
a peace and release from fear that they'd never known before."
The Graceful Passages CD is wholeheartedly endorsed by best-selling authors
such as Ira Byock, MD; Dannion Brinkley; Christiane Northrup, MD; Stephen
and Oncrea Levine; Harville Hendrix, PhD; Joan Borysenko, MD; Gay and Kathlyn
Hendricks,
PhDs; Larry Dossey, MD; and was included as an online and printed resource
for the recent Bill Moyers PBS special.
These issues surrounding loss are so universal -- they're just beginning
to be brought "out of the closet" in our culture. Graceful Passages
has a wide application to help so many people by addressing issues of loss
with depth
and innovation.
John Raatz
The Visioneering Group
Los Angeles, CA
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