Losing a loved one is a heart-wrenching experience and the start of a major adjustment. In the months and years following your loved one’s loss, however, you will have several great opportunities to incorporate your loved one’s memory into your life.

To learn about the most common and effective ways to cope with the loss of a loved one, watch this ABC news clip. In it, motivational speaker Coach D. Robinson discusses several memorialization ideas that will help honor and celebrate the deceased’s life.

Members of the Oakland community who are looking for a funeral services provider to help them lay their loves ones to rest should get in touch with Chapel of the Chimes Oakland . To speak with a caring and courteous funeral home representative today, call (510) 654-0123.

Viewed as an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to the traditional burial, cremation has become increasingly common in the United States over the past several years. If you are making advance arrangements for your funeral or planning the funeral of a loved one who has recently passed away, this guide can help you through the process of selecting and purchasing a cremation urn.

Identify a Resting Place
Cremation urns come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. Since the dimensions and other characteristics of the urn you choose may be limited by where your loved one’s remains will be interred, take time to identify a resting place before selecting a cremation urn.

Research Urn Options
There is an abundance of options when it comes to choosing a cremation urn. Do some independent research to determine which type of urn is best suited to honor or preserve your loved one’s cremated remains.

Consult Funeral Home Representative
Discussing cremation urns with your funeral service provider can be helpful. He or she will be able to provide you with an overview of cremation urn types, as well as guide you through the process of planning a cremation memorial service . Your funeral director may even have an inventory of cremation urns or know where you can find high-quality urns at affordable prices.

Personalize Cremation Urn
If none of the cremation urns you find when shopping catch your attention as being appropriate for the storage of your loved one’s ashes, you can have an urn custom built. You may also choose to make or contribute to the urn yourself.

At Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, we can help you with every stage of the cremation and memorialization process. To speak with a compassionate and knowledgeable funeral service professional about our cremation ceremonies, keepsake urns, and memorial jewelry, please call (510) 654-0123.

Death is an unavoidable fact of life for all human beings. Still, it is a topic that has become a bit of a taboo in our society. This is unfortunate, as it discourages people from talking about death in a meaningful way that can better prepare them to cope with the loss of loved ones and accept their own mortality.

If you would like to discuss death in an open and accepting environment, visit a Death Café event like the one that will be held at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland on October 30th. Hosted by organizational development coach and hospice volunteer Bill Palmer, this event will be centered around an engaging conversation about death, one that will challenge those of us who are still living to make the most of our lives.

Are you interested in learning more about the Death Café event that will be held at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland this October? If so, or if you are looking for additional information about our funeral and memorial services, call our funeral home today at (510) 654-0123.

As more people become aware of the benefits of making advance funeral arrangements, funeral pre-planning is becoming increasingly popular. One of the advantages of making arrangements in advance is having the opportunity to pre-pay for your funeral, locking in prices and sparing your children or other relatives the expense after you are gone.

Before you meet with a funeral home director to discuss funeral pre-planning options, watch this brief video clip. In it, Angie Hicks of  Angie’s List  explains why it is important that the funeral home at which you make funeral arrangements is insured. She also interviews funeral experts about the advantages of funeral pre-planning.

Are you a resident of the Bay Area who is looking for an experienced, full-service funeral planning professional to help you pre-plan your funeral ? To speak with a caring and dedicated funeral service provider, call Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland at (510) 654-0123.

It is never easy to lose a loved one or to face your own eventual passing, but planning for the inevitable can ease the burden on a family when someone passes away. One of the main decisions to be made in funeral planning is whether you will have a full body burial or be cremated. Cremation is rising in popularity in the U.S., with 42% of people choosing to be cremated in 2011. If you or your loved one wants to be cremated, you have a number of options for ceremonies and memorials. Some people prefer to have a viewing of the deceased prior to cremation, while others wish to have a funeral service after the deceased has already been cremated. Take a look at this infographic from Chapel of the Chimes Oakland to learn more about the different cremation options. Please share with your friends and family.

Having the ability to choose where to scatter a loved one’s ashes is one of the more personal advantages of choosing cremation over burial. If you have recently lost a loved one and are trying to decide what to do with his or her cremated remains, read through the following advice.

Deciding on an Appropriate Place
Reflect on your loved one’s personality and interests. What were some of his or her favorite places? Did she love the beach or the forest? How about baseball, football, golf, or another sport? Natural settings are appropriate for the scattering of ashes, as they enable you to return the remains of your loved one to the earth from which she came. Ballparks and fields are also a good option for individuals who were so passionate about a sport that they would want nothing more than to watch game after game in the afterlife.

Scatter Some, Save Some
If you are torn between a couple of places that were near and dear to your loved one’s heart, don’t force yourself to choose just one location. Ashes can be scattered in several places . You can also scatter some ashes now and save others to scatter on your loved one’s birthday, your anniversary, or at another time in the future. Similarly, you can scatter some of the deceased’s cremated remains and store the rest in an urn or memorial keepsake.

Where Not to Scatter
States and municipalities have varying laws pertaining to the scattering of cremated remains. Check these before scattering ashes to ensure that you are compliant with them. A funeral home representative may also be able to help you identify an appropriate location.

Coping with the loss of a partner, relative, or friend is extremely difficult. To speak with an Oakland area funeral planner who can guide you through the cremation process and answer any questions you may have about scattering cremated remains, call Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland at (510) 654-0123.

When bidding a good friend or family member goodbye after a mid-week rendezvous, you don’t expect “call me soon” or “see you next week” to be a final farewell. When that casual goodbye turns out to be the last, accepting your loved one’s sudden passing can be exceptionally hard. If someone you love has just passed away in an untimely manner, leaving you to cope with the loss and plan your loved one’s funeral , consider the following.

Remember that Grief Is Personal

Grief is a highly personal process. While in mourning, you will experience an array of strong emotions. It is important to remind yourself that this is natural, and you should allow yourself to feel these emotions. The stages of grief cannot be rushed or avoided, even if you know that your life will someday regain some semblance of normality.

Turn to People Who Care

Your friends and relatives care about you. If you feel like talking about your loss , confide in a close friend or family member. Your wellbeing is important to those who love you, and you should not be afraid to ask them for help when you feel overwhelmed.

Take Care of Yourself

Making an effort to stay physically healthy while you mourn will make your feelings much easier to cope with. Though sleeping problems and loss of appetite are common side effects of grief, it is important that you do your best to battle these effects. Try to eat healthy meals, drink water, and allow yourself to spend at least six or seven hours in bed every night.

If you are the next of kin of the individual whose loss you are mourning, you may also be responsible for planning a funeral during your time of grief. Serving the East Bay, Chapel of the Chimes Oakland can provide any funeral planning assistance you need. To speak with a caring, compassionate, and experienced funeral services provider during your time of need, call (510) 654-0123.

Grief is common emotion, but there is no “normal” way to experience it, nor is there a standard timetable for how long it takes to lessen in severity. It can often be overwhelming to cope with the void left by the loss of a loved one, but recognizing the common hallmarks of grief can help you make sense of your own emotions and aid in the recovery process.

Physical Pain

Intense emotions often have a noticeable impact physical health. Acute grief can cause health effects such as insomnia, heaviness, and aches and pains. Indirect health issues can also arise from a lack of appetite or overall fatigue. Even if you have you have your own way of dealing with your emotions away from others, it is important to seek professional grief counseling if you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts, intense feelings of guilt, and feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness.

Emotional Anxieties

While not everyone feels or expresses emotions the same way, feelings of worry, anxiety, anger, and guilt are universal after a major loss. Contrary to popular belief, grief does not necessarily proceed in stages (denial, anger, bargaining, etc.), but is a lifelong process that can strike unexpectedly. There is no right or wrong way to cope, but it is important to recognize them and deal with them in a healthy and productive manner.

Social Detachment

A major loss can change the way you view the world and leave you feeling alienated from others or behaving differently, making it difficult to reach out to friends or family. If it’s too difficult to rely on the emotional support of those close to you, seeking professional grief counseling can provide an outside perspective on how others deal with grief and how their methods can apply to your life.

Our professionals her at Chapel of the Chimes Oakland understand the difficulty of losing someone special and the importance of providing dignified end-of-life services.  From planning to grief counseling, we’re here to help with flexible services and personalized arrangements. Call (510) 654-0123 with any questions or comments.

Join us Sunday, September 15th at 2pm!

Losing a loved one changes your entire life, and while there’s no right or wrong way to deal with grief, it is important to remember that there are others who care for your well-being and who are there to provide a network of emotional support. Some may rely on friends and family, while others may seek solace in solitude or professional grief counseling , but is important to maintain a support system to:

Deal with the Aftermath

People have their own ways of dealing with loss and expressing emotions, but it is important to maintain contact with those who care. Individuals are rarely alone in their feelings of grief over the loss of a loved one, but it’s often difficult to reach out to others who are in the process of dealing with their own feelings, let alone those who do not understand feelings of an acute loss themselves. In these cases, seeking professional grief counseling can provide a much-needed outlet for understanding how others deal with grief and how you can cope with the loss.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Studies show that as many as one-third of those dealing with intense grief for extended periods of time tend to exhibit detrimental mental and physical effects . While it’s important not to avoid or “get over” feelings of loss, it is important to deal with grief healthily and take care of your body and mind. Grieving is a long and difficult process, and it can persist for weeks, months, and even years in cycles. Having a network or supportive individuals can help you prioritize your well-being and work through the more difficult moments.

Chapel of the Chimes Oakland is here to provide a helping hand those who have been impacted by a recent loss of life. Our historic landscape provides a beautiful final resting place, and our professional staff will be there to lend their expertise in planning an end-of-life service. Learn more about us online and call (510) 654-0123 with any questions.