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by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
In my video above, I shared how your personal preferences are a great starting point for getting your end-of-life plans done. I provide the step by step journey to relief, peace of mind, huge cost savings, and satisfaction from getting your personalized creative memorial planned within 2 months using earth-friendly, cost-reducing *alternatives* to traditional funeral plans with less or -0- corporate &/or religious involvement. Click Here To Join my CREATIVE MEMORIAL PLANNING FACEBOOK GROUP to access my FREE video series with Reflections For You ebook! ​ ​Are you ready right now to get your End-of-Life plans mapped out using alternatives to the traditional customs? Learn more about Creative Memorial Planning options with my Creative Memorial Planning Webinar here! The webinar will help you learn about your concerns, questions, or goals. GET YOUR Qs ANSWERED ON YOURCREATIVECHORD PODCAST! ​ I’d love to feature answers to listener-submitted questions about anything you want to ask about Creative Memorial Planning. All you have to do is email a voice memo to Jenny@YourCreativeChord.com of no more than 2 minutes, sharing your name, where you’re located, what your question is, and any context you want to share. A few selected voice memos will be included for future podcasts, so please only submit if you’re comfortable having it shared! If you have questions and prefer not to have your voice featured on my podcast, feel free to drop them in the comments here.
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by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
Using courage to do the hard stuff empowers you with more confidence and forges inner strength. Why? When you do what’s hard—eventually you make it to the other side of that task or situation. You know what you feel once you've faced the challenge? You lighten up your life. You feel lighter because you’ve done what needs doing —so you have no regrets. It’s an incredibly positive feeling. I wish for you to experience it. The way you do that is by mustering your courage to face your fear, the discomfort, the challenge or obstacle, and moving forward anyway. Having courage doesn’t mean you don’t have fear, anxiety, or doubt. But moving forward even when you feel afraid, nervous, or anxious is courage itself. Once you have bravely moved forward to do the hard stuff anyway, you have created within yourself an expanded life state that will enable you to handle life’s inevitable obstacles more readily and with greater ease. It's like Eleanor Roosevelt said about facing the worst. Once you've gotten through it you can face anything else that comes along. Because you'll have found your inner strength and capability. This is my experience. Speaking of facing challenges, do you know what to do about your death and why it matters that you do it? I hope you use your courage to get your end of life plan in place now, regardless of your age or schedule. Facing this task courageously relieves not only you—but paves a much smoother path for surviving loved ones. Do you know what to do when someone dies? Do you know how to prepare your loved ones in advance for your end of life? (Other than just doing nothing about it and/or leaving it to corporate funeral reps to handle it in their corporate custom ways at their premium prices-- with earth damaging effects?) ​ Why does that matter? Watch my video above to learn more...
Join Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group to attend my upcoming SUNSET SUMMIT, from October 26 -30, 2020.
SUNSET SUMMIT will feature thirteen fabulous experts offering ways for preparing and transforming your Golden Chapter of life by living fully and dying well! SUNSET SUMMIT will feature LIVE presentations from experts throughout the 5-day event. You'll hear from death educators, transition doulas, grief therapists, hypnotherapists, and coaches. You'll gain educational information on support for caregivers, tips for dealing with anxiety, and wellness for midlife, as well as more earth-friendly, gentler, personalized alternatives to traditional end of life plans. SUNSET SUMMIT will ONLY be available to Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group members.  by Jenny Leigh Hodgins We die how we live. Yeh, I know my topic is How Can We Access A More Mindful State Of Living? But living fully and dying well go together like PB & J, a ball and glove, or fish and water. Here’s the silver lining to that seemingly dark cloud; there are huge benefits from accepting and addressing our mortality. ‘We die how we live’ means that we can access a much more mindful state of living in the present with a sense of relief and peace of mind—once we grapple with the issue of death. None of us will escape the experience of loss. The fundamental commonality we have is that we will all leave this world at some point. Reality check: we have no control over when we go. This is what I’ve learned through personal tragedies and helping many others as an unofficial celebrant through their losses. Through that role I helped others sort out how to handle the remains, prepare a Goodbye Ritual, emcee, facilitate, perform, or speak at the services. I also helped sort out the agenda and create programs, prepare recordings and other personalized tributes as part of the event. I was in that situation because people did not have end of life plans in order and frankly, were unable to function due to grief and heavy emotions. So they could not get anything properly done. No Plan Adds Burden I saw this heavy suffering firsthand many times when there was no plan in place. This is what motivates me as a Creative Memorial Planning Coach; I do not want to see YOU suffer or your loved ones needlessly suffer in that way. I’ve heard some folks say that a plan, and in particular, a Goodbye Ritual is unnecessary. I beg to differ. I have seen both sides to this. When there’s a plan, despite the natural grief process, the burden is lighter, and the legacy provided with a detailed plan becomes a source of comfort, and proof of a loving gesture for surviving loved ones. No plan in place simply adds burden to those already in the vulnerable position of deep emotion. I cannot understand why anyone would dump that onto their loved ones. Mapping out your end of life plan is important as a way of relieving burden, extra expense, suffering, and providing a loving legacy. An end of life plan is a way of leaving our compassionate mark on others and the planet (when opting for alternative, earth-friendly choices). It saddens me when someone doesn’t care enough to get a plan in place. They don’t see how that impacts surviving loved ones. I have seen it. I don’t want people to go through that. Impact Your State of Life But, back to the original topic--having an end of life plan also impacts your state of life. You can relax knowing you’ve done your best, made that compassionate cause, and left your legacy through your compassionate actions. As a Creative Memorial Planning Coach, and host of Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group, I’m different from other end of life pre-planners because I strongly support ALTERNATIVES to the traditional corporate funeral customs. I share about these alternative options in my private group and through my hybrid self-study/coaching program Explore, Choose, and Plan Your Creative Memorial. I’d like to invite you to join my group. I’m hosting an exciting SUNSET SUMMIT October 26-30! You'll learn about alternatives to traditional funerals and end of life plans that are more gentle, comforting, cost-reducing, and planet-friendly. SUNSET SUMMIT will feature a variety of experts offering ways for preparing and transforming your Golden Chapter of life with gentler, personalized, cost-reducing, earth-friendly, and meaningful midlife and end of life services and support. We'll have LIVE presentations from experts throughout the 5-day event. You'll hear from death educators, transition doulas, grief therapists, hypnotherapists, counselors, social workers, wellness and mindset coaches. You'll gain empowering information on living fully, dying well, caregiver support, dealing with anxiety, midlife wellness, and alternatives to traditional end of life plans. SUNSET SUMMIT will ONLY be available to Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group members. So, I invite you to join the group . Please help me spread the word; invite anyone you feel would benefit from learning more about alternatives to traditional corporate funerals, end of life planning, and how to leave a loving legacy with less or zero corporate or religious involvement.
Join Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group to attend my upcoming SUNSET SUMMIT, from October 26 -30, 2020.
You'll learn about alternatives to traditional funerals and end of life plans that are more gentle, comforting, cost-reducing, and planet-friendly. SUNSET SUMMIT will feature a variety of experts offering ways for preparing and transforming your Golden Chapter of life with gentler, personalized, cost-reducing, earth-friendly, and meaningful end of life services and support. We'll have LIVE presentations from experts throughout the 5-day event. You'll hear from death educators, transition doulas, grief therapists, hypnotherapists, and coaches. You'll gain educational information on support for caregivers, a Natural Burial Site within a 41-acre conservation sanctuary, living fully, dying well, and more earth-friendly, gentler alternatives to traditional end of life plans. SUNSET SUMMIT will ONLY be available to Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group members. 
There’s no good time for end of life planning. It only gets easier once it’s DONE.
Advancing like a LION through the end of life planning challenge results in positive feelings like confidence, peace of mind, and a sense of relief. I know this because I've been a creative memorial planner and celebrant for many people. ​ On the other hand, and I know this from personal experience, if you do nothing to prepare an end of life plan, surviving loved ones will have more suffering and burden than their grief of the loss. This is why it's important to use courage to get things in place now. Courage, when it comes to an end of life plan, translates into a lasting, loving legacy for your loved ones. In my video above, tune in to learn how I introduce funeral ALTERNATIVES that help the planet and SAVE you and your loved ones unnecessary expense!
Are you fearful of the End of Life conversation?
​Watch my LIVE video to get FOUR STEPS you need to take in preparation for your most critical moment.
by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
Are you fearful of starting the End of Life conversation? I get it. Death is a taboo topic. We wanna LIVE! But are you able to live fully and mindfully if you haven’t prepared yourself or loved ones for a defining and crucial moment? Follow these 4 STEPS to start a plan for your most crucial moment: 1. Start the conversation. 2. Share your ideas for your creative memorial plan—how to handle remains, where/contact info/payment plan, a Goodbye Ritual (earthy to celebrations of life with a full memorial agenda) 3. Ask for your loved ones’ wishes/preferences/feedback to personalize a meaningful memorial plan. 4. Get these details written and ready The results will be a tremendous relief, peace of mind, a sense of accomplishment, and a lasting gift of your love to those who mean the most —because YOU made the difficult decisions so THEY won’t have to. I help 50+ adults, caregivers, veterans, & families explore earth-friendly, cost-reducing ALTERNATIVES to traditional funeral plans with less or -0- corporate &/or religious involvement—& map out a personalized, meaningful, creative memorial plan. 
Join Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group to attend my upcoming SUNSET SUMMIT, from October 26 -30, 2020.
You'll learn about alternatives to traditional funerals and end of life plans that are more gentle, comforting, cost-reducing, and planet-friendly. SUNSET SUMMIT will feature a variety of experts offering ways for transforming your Golden Chapter of life with earth-friendly, personalized, cost-reducing, and meaningful end of life services and support. We'll have LIVE presentations from experts throughout the 5-day event. You'll hear from death educators, transition doulas, and grief therapists. You'll gain educational information on support for caregivers, a natural cemetery within a 41-acre conservation sanctuary (Natural Burial Site), and more earth-friendly, gentler alternatives to traditional end of life planning. SUNSET SUMMIT will ONLY be available to Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group members. Join now by clicking the image above or the button below.
by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
As a caregiver for my senior mom, we recently updated her End Of Life plan. I helped Mom change from a corporate funeral prepaid plan to an alternative that saved her THOUSANDS and is more in line with her personal values and beliefs. What I learned: I see the itemized breakdown of corporate costs as extravagant and mainly lining corporate pockets w profit—straight out of my Mom’s pocket—and people like her. I’ll admit that a pre-plan MIGHT save you money if you’re going the full traditional funeral route; caskets, corporate facilities for visitations and receptions, transportation like hearses and limousines, graveside burials, etc. The truth is that the average traditional corporate funeral costs in the USA run between $8-$25K depending on where you live. The pre-paid policy option claims to save you money by locking in the price against inflation. But these preplanned policies are more costly than necessary and definitely more expensive than the alternatives that I help you explore as your Creative Memorial Planning Coach and within my Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group. Let me paint a clear picture: After looking through Mom’s itemized prepaid plan she’d previously arranged through corporate funeral, I recognized that a prepaid policy costs two to three times more than the ACTUAL cost of the services requested (depending on the services opted for). Corporate funerals help keep death a mystery so people don’t readily ask the right questions. Most people get easily overwhelmed by the topic of death due to emotion and spiritual beliefs--and therefore willingly pay premium fees for corporate funeral staff to handle it. There are often what I call ‘blanket fees’ that are just pure gravy for corporate funeral-- in addition to the actual itemized services and products you opt for--and you will *pay additional* fees beyond this blanket fee for each of these itemized services and products. I get it —corporate funerals are there for profit. They’ve got to keep their lights on—so that expense falls directly on you and YOUR pocketbook. The more you opt for, the more they stand to gain. But end of life planning doesn’t need to break your bank account or deplete your pocketbook! As your Creative Memorial Planning Coach, I can help you with that! Instead of the excessive cost or the abrupt and impersonal customs of the corporate funeral route—here’s what I offer you:
My program is a two-month hybrid self-study and one on one coaching program—with video tutorials, templates, checklists, and my Reflections For You workbook as a supportive guide. I work through every detail with you at *your own pace* to cover the issues of most importance to you—within a two-month period. I help you map out your creative memorial plan within two months--so your loved ones don’t have to think about it in their most vulnerable moment. Imagine how you’ll feel knowing that you’ve got your end of life plan completely mapped out within two months. Everything in one place, your personal wishes and options completely customized to your personal values. You can rest assured that your surviving loved ones have nothing to figure out or pay for or deal with because you’ve got it all done for them. Get my help with exploring earth-friendly, cost-reducing ALTERNATIVES to traditional funeral plans with less or -0- corporate funeral &/or religious involvement. Relieve the burden from your loved ones by getting your creative memorial plan mapped out! Join my CREATIVE MEMORIAL PLANNING GROUP to access my FREE video series with Reflections For You ebook!  by Jenny Leigh Hodgins
I'm super pumped to have been featured this week on the Women Living Well After 50 Podcast! This is a great podcast by my fellow entrepreneur buddy and Creative Memorial Planning Facebook Group member, Australia-based Sue Loncaric. Her podcast episode is called CREATIVE MEMORIALS - WHAT ARE THEY? AND WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER ONE. Check out her intro below and click the links to explore more: "I was delighted to have a chat with Jenny Leigh Hodgins from Creative Memorial Planning to discuss the various options available to us if we are looking for an alternative to the traditional funeral. After chatting with Jenny, I had the conversation with Mike, my husband and we are both in the process of documenting our wishes. We have had previous discussions about what we wanted, however, we hadn’t documented them. This episode was also originally published on the YouTube channel so you can also watch the video here." HIGHLIGHTS from our chat:
Click here to listen to the podcast. Let me know if you found the podcast to be helpful! Share widely on your social media and forward by email if you wanna show me some love. 🦋🌳 Book a FREE Discovery Call with me to see how I can help you explore earth-friendly🌎, cost-reducing💰💰 ALTERNATIVES to traditional funeral plans with less or -0- corporate or religious involvement— and map out your personalized, meaningful, creative memorial plan!❣️  Photo by Jenny Leigh Hodgins  Photo © 2019 Jenny Leigh Hodgins By Jenny Leigh Hodgins All goes onward and outward. . . and nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier. —Walt Whitman My father passed away from cancer 5 years ago. Before he got cancer, he diligently put together his will and last wishes. He gave each of his children and my mother the book with his end-of-life plans in it. He frequently bugged each of us to create our own will and prepare our final wishes. My father’s love for his family was exemplified by his preparation. He knew what he was doing for us. We had experienced the trauma of losing my brother in a car accident in 2004. John was 11 days short of turning 29 years of age. Understandably, this impacted all of us deeply. Twenty-nine is not a time you expect death! Planning for my brother’s memorial and dealing with his estate was a challenge complicated by the shock and grief of loss. In contrast, my father had prepared in advance to designate everything he wanted us to have, and a role for each of us to play in his memorial. He chose the exact music, poetry and quotes he wanted us to use. I’m a pianist, so he had me perform his favorite music, Debussy’s Clair de Lune. He asked my flutist sister to perform. Other family members were assigned things to read aloud. As my father was a veteran, my nephew-in-law led the military flag ceremony. My father’s care manifested clearly through his deliberate arrangements. He had thought through the details so we would not have to. He chose the place (my parents’ church), the emcee and faith leader (their minister), honorary pallbearers (friends and extended family), and everything on the memorial agenda. He took the burden of having to think about these things off our shoulders. You may have noticed that my family is multi-talented. My father assigned things he knew were in the wheelhouse of each person. But it doesn’t matter if you include performances in your memorial plan. What matters is having a plan for your memorial. This isn’t a topic limited to caregivers. As my family knows, death is something that can happen to anyone at any time. You may not think it's necessary to discuss. But trust me, you need to hear this. Even if you don’t want a memorial ceremony at all. I'm wearing my big girl pants now because I know it’s important to: • Do the hard things. • Face the difficult. • Feel the fear and do what you need to do anyway. • Initiate the difficult conversations because something needs to be said. And talking about death is the worst, most unappealing topic. Before you click away to escape this conversation, I encourage you to keep reading. Considering your memorial plan is important if you care about anyone else in your life. Most people don't think about this until it's too late. I know from personal experience that if you don't think about this, it will be much harder on you or your loved ones than you want it to be. If you ponder things before they’re needed, you may at least be less devastated by the added stress of memorial planning. It’s an unpleasant conversation. But if you aim well ahead, you or those who lose you won’t have that extra strain. And it’s a real burden I wish upon no one. I’ve been through scenarios after a loved one passed away, where no plan was in place. This left survivors with the double-edged sword of dealing with both the grieving process, and trying to guess at how to handle memorial plans in a way that best honored the deceased. This is hard enough to think about on a good day. But complicated by grief, or, sometimes a common situation where surviving loved ones are not in harmony with each other, or unable to function altogether, and you have a recipe for suffering all around. I want you and your loved ones to avoid that. Your Compassionate Preparation Is For Others The loving thing to do is make a plan. Tell all your loved ones what it is. You may even ask for their input about what would be meaningful for them. Once you’re gone, it’s not about you anymore. It’s about providing the most comforting transition for your surviving loved ones. When thinking about your final wishes, keep this in mind. Everyone will be blown away by loss. I’ve been through the loss of loved ones many times. I’ve helped plan memorial services for more than a dozen people. This is why I know the impact of having versus not having a memorial plan. [Helpful Hint: Your local Hospice provides FREE grief counseling.] How To Plan Ahead For The Worst & Relieve Your Stress I’ve seen how grief deeply affects others. I know it’s important to talk now about things you may need to consider. Best to prepare for a memorial before dealing with grief, as grieving can make it highly difficult to function. Preparation Takes A Load Off Of You Losing a loved one is made a little less painful for you and/or your surviving loved ones if you prepare in advance. Better to have a general plan to handle the worst, than have no plan when that worst moment hits you like a brick. It’s gonna hit you like a brick anyway. But at least with a plan, your grief will not be further compounded. You or your loved ones may also avoid paying more than necessary for services because currently you are not slammed with grief and can function to think about things without bias. I want to ease your burden with this conversation. I don’t care whether you want a memorial service or not. Nor do I care about the cost, the presentation, what you want included, where or who will be involved. Knowing what’s important to you regarding memorial plans for your loved ones, or in preparation for those who will survive you, is the critical point here. Whether To Include Or Exclude Societal Traditions “The average funeral costs between $7,000 and $9,000. This includes viewing and burial, basic service fees, transporting remains to a funeral home, a casket, embalming, and other preparation. The average cost of a funeral with cremation is $6,000 to $7,000. These costs do not include a cemetery, monument, marker, or other things like flowers.” —Lincoln Heritage Funeral Advantage According to Policy Genius, funeral costs have risen by a whopping 227.1% in the last 30 years, and total costs average between $18,000 - $28,000. Think About Ways To Save Money & Keep Things Simple Funeral arrangements have developed as a societal tradition. From ceremonies to burials, there are many things to consider. Knowing your options may lead you to decide to include or exclude some or all of these traditions. You, not a funeral company or your religious institution, are in charge of what happens. Your life insurance policy (if you opt for one) may cover some or all funeral costs. If you pay a funeral business for your end-of-life services, they may or may not cover some of the things mentioned here (or future blogs in this series). They will definitely charge you money for all their services. Some religious institutions hold funeral services, and the religious staff or ministry may have their specific ideas for how they’re handled. You may have limited funds, making it difficult or impossible to afford paid funeral services. You may also prefer more freedom to control memorial plans than your religious institution may approve. Bear these points in mind as you consider your ultimate wishes. I cannot emphasize enough that grief can make it challenging for you to be clear-headed about memorial services. Since a funeral home is a business, be aware that they probably won’t be guiding you toward the least expensive options. If you don’t care about expense, or if appearances are more important to you, you'll be in a good position for the inevitable presentation of more expensive options; embalming, an elaborate casket, grave site plots, tombstones, the cost of the burial, ushers available at the memorial ceremony, etc. If you opt for cremation, be prepared for a pricey selection of urns, and the cost of a presentation of the urn at the memorial service (in essence, the urn will sit on top of a larger box). Taking The Environment Into Account If formality is less important to you, or if finances are an issue, consider the fact that everything buried will disintegrate. There are far less expensive choices such as opting out of embalming, caskets, burial, tombstones, or even urns. When choosing cremation, embalming may be omitted. You may decide instead of buying an urn, to transfer remaining ashes to a container of your own, or scatter them as part of a memorial ceremony. Another point to recognize is the decrease of available space for burial plots. Concern about protecting our environment is another point in favor of memorial plan simplicity. For this reason, my father chose cremation without an urn. My mother was given his remains in a large box. Our family met at the location where my father had requested his ashes be scattered. We took turns dissipating ashes to honor my father’s wishes. My niece bought uniform glass jars for each of us to respectfully preserve some of the ashes. This lessened the expense for my family and allowed us to choose our own way for closure and as a tribute to my father. No matter which services or presentation style you choose, whether having a plan for funding your memorial, additional funeral services, opting for the simplicity of cremation without an urn, or simply spelling out your final wishes in a will, your thoughtful preparation will take the burden off surviving loved ones. I’d love to hear from you. It means a lot to me that my content is helpful and empowers you. Please take a moment to join the conversation below to let me know if this blog is helpful or if you have questions or suggestions! 🦋🌳I help 50+ adults, caregivers, veterans, & families explore earth-friendly🌳, cost-reducing💰ALTERNATIVES to traditional funeral plans with less or -0- corporate &/or religious involvement—& map out a personalized, meaningful, creative memorial plan. ❤️🌻 I provide the step by step journey to relief, peace of mind, huge cost savings, and satisfaction from getting your personalized creative memorial planned. 💰💰💰❤️🌳 🌎 Join my CREATIVE MEMORIAL PLANNING GROUP to access my FREE video series with Reflections For You ebook. Recommended Reading: 5 Ways to Master Caregiver Learning Curve HOW TO USE SELF-CARE TO FEEL HAPPY Your Troubles Are Your Progress Barometer & Catalyst For Your Full Potential 5 Ways To Use Music & Nature For Self-Care Defeat Fear & Doubt with Your Courage & Capability How To Deflect Negativity To Become Happier Believing In The Positive My Top Tips For Winning Over Insomnia Connect with YOURCREATIVECHORD on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook! |
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