Cultural Practices in Death and Grief and What They Teach Us

with Aranja Berkmüller

Join Aranja for an exploration of how different cultures handle the complexities of death, from funeral rites to the grieving process. What values and strategies do they have in common?

Despite our numerous differences, there are certain principles underlying many worldwide customs around death and grief that are remarkably similar. We just seem to have lost touch with them, especially as the pace of life increases and we become averse to anything that is not growth.

What do these traditions teach us about death and loss? How might we (re)connect to their supporting principles? And how might we adapt these principles to our current situation without culturally appropriating?

Aranja will touch upon several traditions in this workshop, placing special emphasis on Southeast Asian and Buddhist customs, sharing from her own heritage.

Informationen zu dir auf englisch/ Bio in English: Aranja (she/they) is a queer psychological and systemic counselor, psychedelic integration coach, and death doula, specializing in topics of grief, death and dying, social justice and trauma.

In addition to her counseling work, she loves sharing unsolicited opinions on topics nobody wants to talk about, giving podcast interviews and talks, and crafting workshops and transformational experiences. With her bicultural heritage, multicultural upbringing and background in international humanitarian work, Aranja is knowledgeable about a range of thought systems, beliefs and traditions associated with death, loss and grief.