Navigating Grief: Resources and Support After Loss

Losing a loved one is an extremely difficult experience. Coping with loss is always hard, and it can feel like a major challenge just to get through each day. Even though you know that grief tends to fade with time, it’s difficult to believe that a brighter future is coming.

This is where grief support can play such an important role in navigating loss. There are many different types of grief resources available, meaning there is sure to be something out there that will help you work through this period of life and find your way forward. Let’s take a closer look at some of the resources you may want to consider.

 

Grief Counseling and Therapy

Speaking with a licensed counselor is often a great starting point for dealing with grief. Someone who specializes in this area will understand the emotions you are facing and can help you move forward. Even just a few one-on-one sessions with a therapist may make a huge difference in how you see the situation and what you think about the future.

 

Support Groups

Although it may feel like it now, you are not alone in this process.  Unfortunately, many of the people around you have or will go through it – it’s a universal human experience and you can work through it just as others before you have done. Connecting with other people through support groups can go a long way toward easing the burden that comes from perceived isolation. Talking about your experiences with others, and listening to their stories, will prevent you from feeling alone and may lead to meaningful new relationships.

 

Books and Online Resources

You might not feel ready to speak with someone else about your situation. That’s okay. There are alternatives such as books that have been written on grief, and online videos and other resources exist that you can tap into for help. It may prove to be the case that you only need these resources to find your way forward, or you might gradually transition from books and online resources into support groups or therapy sessions.

 

Creative Outlets

Finally, some of the best healing may come from things that aren’t actually related to grief at all. At least, not directly. Having a way to let your creativity come out during this time can be especially powerful. For example, you might get back into a hobby like drawing, painting, or playing music, or you may start a new hobby in one of these areas. There is a surprising power that comes from creativity and it will help adjust how your brain is working during this stage of life.

 

We Are Here to Serve You

Finding a way to honor the person you have lost can play a role in the grieving process. If you would like to turn their cremation ashes into beautiful stones that you can hold onto for a lifetime, connect with us today. Our stones provide a tangible connection to your loved one and you can trust that the entire process will be handled with the respect that it deserves.

FAQ

Why Stones?

Stones speak to us.

They are beautiful solid reminders of connection and dependability.

They provide a way to hold and be close with your loved one in a tidy and touching way.

We spend a lot of our free time outdoors, particularly around water - trout fishing, kayaking, camping, hiking. Often, we collect rocks and stones as reminders of these adventures.

Believing in the power of stones as a part of nature, we began crafting ashes into their shapes. Starting in 2023, we developed a process that we believe gives people a beautiful alternative to the traditional ways of storing or scattering ashes.

Why Not Scatter Ashes Or Keep Them In An Urn?

  • While scattering ashes is a very common way to say our final goodbyes to a departed loved one, there are negative environmental impacts from this practice. Cremated human ashes contain very high levels of salts and highly alkaline components - these can cause damage to plants, soil microbes, soil nutrient balance, and leaching of salts into groundwater. Salt Stress in Plants and Mitigation Approaches
  • Everyone handles grief, loss, and death in their own way, and that is why we are here. Personally, we feel that transforming ashes into a form which can be touched and held close or returned to nature feels less confining than an urn or columbarium.

How Long Does The Process Take?

Our current order time is 4-5 weeks from when we receive your loved one's package in our workshop.

How Do I Ship The Ashes To You?

  • Currently the only legal method of shipment for cremated remains is via USPS Priority Express with appropriate labeling:

How to Package and Ship Cremated Remains

  • We will mail a package of shipping materials and instructions to your home once your order is received through our website. These should arrive within 5-10 business days from USPS.
  • *The buyer is responsible for the shipping cost of sending cremated remains to Sacred Stones*
  • We will keep you informed about the status of the shipped ashes and stones.

Are They Environmentally Friendly?

  • Our process involves the careful removal of excess salts and highly alkaline components of cremated remains prior to formation of the stones.
  • After the removal of these components, our stones and the solidified ashes within may be placed in nature without the concern of damage to the soil, water, and ecosystem.
  • Our stones include a protective shellac coating for increased longevity when exposed to the elements, without any risk of plastic or chemical contamination.

How Long Do Our Stones Last?

  • Our stones will last indefinitely indoors - outdoors they will break down over time due to normal wear and tear due to weather conditions. Over time meaning months to years (not days or hours).
  • Our stones are water-resistant but not waterproof, we use shellac as an environmentally friendly exterior coating (versus epoxy/plastics which would be waterproof but result in plastics being released into the environment). 

Do I Have To Order Online?

  • No, you are welcome to pay over the phone and we will confirm order detail with an itemized invoice.
  • We try to be as flexible as possible during such a difficult time of loss - we can process your payment through email or you can send us a check.

What Size And Color Are The Stones?

  • Each stone is approximately 2-4 inches wide.
  • Our collections of Sacred Stones use a variety of shapes and sizes so that each stone is unique. Each stone is modeled after a real stone collected from nature, so each one is perfectly unique.
  • Generally the stones are white to tan in color. But the color of the stones will be unique due to the natural variations in pigments contained within the cremated ashes of your loved one, reflecting their own unique characteristics and life to be remembered.