The path to healing from a loss is different for each person,
one which may have many unexpected twists and turns,
but a road that has been deeply furrowed
by the many who have traveled its path.

Journey of Hearts™ is a haven of hope and a place of peace on the road to healing from a loss. This site is a place to visit, to sit, to read, to think, to cry, to be, to dream, to remember, to discover, and hopefully, in time to heal. It is somewhere where visitors can feel connected and not so alone, to realize that others have experienced these emotions, lived through them and survived. It is a place where the grieving will discover that there is hope.

Journey of Hearts™ was created to provide education, resources and support for those on the very personal journey of grief following a loss or a significant life change; this journey is often without clear direction, but one that must still be traveled.

Grief is a journey,
often perilous and without clear direction, that must be taken.
The experience of grieving cannot be ordered or categorized, hurried or controlled, pushed aside or ignored indefinitely.
It is inevitable as breathing, as change, as love.
It may be postponed, but it will not be denied.

Finding A Healing Place
This sections contains carefully selected images, similar in size to the one above, colors, and quotes for the times when visitors may be too distraught to read, but may still benefit from just sitting and experiencing the colors and images on the site.
A Healing Place is

• A collection of images chosen for their calming, soothing or uplifting properties.
• A thought, a quote, a poem, a lyric - to aid in reflecting on the image.
• A place to find blessings, prayers, poems and quotes.
• A simple ritual - lighting a candle, saying a blessing, meditating with a labyrinth - that helps to promote relaxation and enourage focusing.
• A some simple directions for enhancing the imaging and visualizing.

Choose your image, focus on it, the quote or inspirational writings and let your mind wander...

Nature Awareness
This section also utilizes the healing quality to nature in the selection of many of the images. Nature's healing abilities have been known and utilized for centuries. We have termed this process Nature Awareness. A two part article explains more about "Nature Awareness as a Therapeutic Modality" Part 1: The Healing Qualities of Nature and Part 2: Coping with Loss Using Nature.

People instinctively turn to outdoor and nature-loving activities as a way of relaxing and enhancing their well-being. Nature can aid in facilitating self-awareness and promoting healing. Images of the rebirth in nature can be useful as symbols for the strong internal forces, bringing hope of surviving the loss. For many the outdoors is a source of inspiration, solace, guidance and regeneration.

The healing experiences of the outdoors and the wilderness can serve as a very valuable resource to help the grieving and the ailing in discovering their inner forces by using visual examples of nature overcoming adversity ever-present in the wilderness. She can also be a constant source of solace, a trusted companion and a close friend who is always ready listen to help the bereaved in finding their inner forces, refocus, deal with the grief process and discover a sense of peace following a loss.

Blessings, Prayers, Poems & Quotes
Blessings, Prayers, Poems & Quotes can be helpful to us during times of loss & grief when the grieving are searching for ways to cope with the intense feelings of loss, communicate the extreme emotions of grief, or understand the grief of others.

During times of loss the grieving may find themselves looking for ways of making some sense of what often seems insensible. Many turn (or return) to their faith and the traditional healing found by saying, reciting or hearing blessings or prayers. Others turn to words—written, spoken or sung, written by themselves, written by others—as an effective way of finding a voice for their feelings and expression for their grieving heart. Words, in whatever form, help us to realize that we are not alone or unique in our feelings of grief or desolation.

For me, reading words written centuries ago or contemporary works that capture the essence of the emotions that I have felt, reinforce the knowledge that I am not alone in my grief. Words can provide a source of solace, hope, comfort and reassurance—emotions much needed during the grieving process. These blessings, prayers, poems and quotes are shared to provide hope to others that they too will survive.