We held the 9th National Palliative Care Conference in Melbourne last week. It was a long and exhausting week, full of fantastic presentations, social activities and time to network with colleagues as well as great opportunities to celebrate what we do.

For me personally, there was a number of anxieties, not least of which being the premiere of the play I collaborated on with my friend and renowned playwright, Alan Hopgood. “Four Funerals in One Day” is a performance piece that explores issues around life, death, euthanasia and the importance of story telling in palliative care.

“Karen is a community nurse caring for her first dying patient. Clarrie has had enough of being a burden on his family and wants to die now. Vi is tired and bad tempered and wondering why she stays working in palliative care, particularly as she has her own problems at home and Sue is walking the fine line of acting as a mentor for junior staff and supporting a colleague who isn’t coping. Four Funerals in One Day is a performance piece that explores the human reality for patients and professional carers living and dying in palliative care.”

I need not have been nervous! The performances of Alan, Babs McMillan, Margot Knight and Michelle Hall were filled with joy and compassion. They truly captured the emotional rollercoaster of working in palliative care……………….the audience laughed (and some admitted to me later, they cried), but mostly the feedback I got was that it made them think.

As practitioners we have always understood the importance of our client’s stories, but we often forget the importance of our own……….. and how our own stories inform our capacity as carers to support people living with terminal illness.

For me, it was wonderful to sit in an auditorium filled with my colleagues from all around Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America, China, Hong Kong, Japan and the U.K and experience the impact of parts of my personal story, combined with fiction (and Alan Hopgood’s mastery of language and performance).

Including a play as a Keynote address at a high profile conference was a big gamble for the organising committee, but given the feedback, it was a gamble that paid off.

The lesson in all of this? if we are to get people in the community talking about what matters to them, thinking about why they are here and what they’re here to do……………we can’t just stand up and lecture them…………..we need to be creative! Using the creative arts to tell stories and engage people is a wonderful way to do just that without it being confronting or overtly prescriptive. For me personally………….it was a wonderful climax to hours of reflection, discussion and hard work and it has not only made me feel proud of my professional work, but has enabled me to build a friendship with a man I have watched on television since I was a kid…………….Alan Hopgood.

Well I’ve had four weeks off work…………and I know, I still havn’t done a show! I am however trying to train up my new partner, so I guarentee you the 2007 version of Dead Serious is going to be exciting and challenging!

Christmas was wonderful for me, surrounded by family and friends and spent in the midst of the warmest summer we have had in a long time. The funny thing was, we had arranged a full trad Christmas dinner OUTSIDE and it turned out we had the coldest Christmas Day here in Melbourne since 1934!!!! It poured rain, blew a gale and was only 14oC (and that was when it warmed up!) Thank goodness for tarps and big heaters on sticks!

The rest of the time I’ve been working on a creative project with a friend (will tell you more about this in the future), working on a couple of new books, reading, thinking, walking on the beach and planning a conference for later in the year on the coast of Queensland……..stay tuned for more info on this one too!

So I’ve teed up some great guests for the show and promise you will be surprised by my mystery partner who will appear in the next few weeks.

So I wish you all a miraculous 2007, filled with fun, joy, happiness, challenges and achievements and look forward to providing you with lots of Dead Serious info! And don’t forget to check out my new and groovy website by following the link and you can find out a bit more about what I’ve been doing and with whom! Let me know what you think!

It’s Christmas time again and while we’re amid the joys of presents, trukey, ham, family and flashing lights we need to take a moment and remember that Christmas can be a sad, fearful and worrying time for many in the world.

Poor, sick, grieving, homeless and lonely people struggle with the whole view of happy families, eating, shopping and celebrating that is continually promoted by the adverters as the ‘norm’, in order to entice us to buy more of their goods.

It is timely to remember that some poeple don’t have the whole “happy family” thing happening, due to a significant death, family breakdown or the total lack of a family. I can’t begin to imagine how awful it would be to spend Christmas alone, no matter the reason……………..maybe this is an opportunity for those of us who are fortunate to have loving families to invite someone along to our celebrations who would otherwise be alone…………….Just a thought!

So from me I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the next time we talk it will be 2007………….WOW!

Next weeks there are rallies all over the country to “beat the drum” and bring David Hicks home by Christmas.

Who is David Hicks?

He is an Austtralian citizen who has been held in Guantanamo Bay for five years. David has not been charged, he has had no tiral and he has been abandoned by the Australian Government. He lives in solitary confinment in a small cell with blank walls and a single frosted glass window and where the lights are often left on 24 hrs a day. He has no access to outside communication and if lucky is allowed one phonecall from his family every six months.

Since Davids incarceration 340 other detainees have been repatriated to their countries of origin including Britian, Europe, Asia, Albania, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Yemen, because their governments demanded their release.
Despite not being charged, David has been abandoned by the government…. OUR government. They have left him to be a ’sacrificial lamb’.
David’s American military laywer, Major Michael Mori stated in The Melbourne Age today (Sunday December 3rd 2006) that “The whole system is about Khalid Sheikh Mahommed. It’s not about David Hicks, nobody cares. Nobody in America cares about David Hicks. Hicks is there because of the Australian Government. All they have to do is ask to bring him home.”

David is an Australian citizen. He deserves just, fair and equitable treatment. If he has done something wrong, I’m sure five years in solitary confinement would go some way to proving he has already been punished. Let’s face it if he had been convicted of rape or manslaughter in Victoria he would now be ready for release. But David has been charged with NOTHING let alone been convicted.

David deserves to be home in his own country to spend Christmas with his family. Imagine if David was your father, son, brother or friend.

So if you feel strongly about human rights, understand that it doesn’t matter if David is innocent or guilty, he has a right to JUSTICE. If this can happen to one Australian citizen, it could happen to any of us.

Information on the rallies being conducted over the next week can be found on the Fair Go for David website and you can register your support to bring David home by emailing The Age on bringdavidhome@theage.com.au

Thanks goodness our major print media are finally supporting the cause of justice and human rights. Well done The Age!

So the rest is up to us……………think about it, read about it and if you feel strongly……….DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

I watched a program on TV a few weeks ago about a guy called John Dobson who founded an organisation in the US called the “Sidewalk Astronomers” in 1968. Dobson invented a mount on which he sets his Newtonian Dobson Reflector Telescope. He carries the mount and telescope around the streets, setting it up on the footpath and inviting passers by to stop and “look at the moon”.

It was an amazing program about a man who is incredible knowledgable about the planets, the universe and the moon and yet is happy to share his knowledge with people from all walks of life FOR FREE. Not only does he provide access for people WHERE they are, but he runs classes and teaches people how to make the telescopes.

Why am I telling you all this???? No, I’m not on the payrole for Dobson, but I was spoilt by my beloved and presented with a Bintel BT 152 Dobsonian Reflector Telescope for my birthday and have spent every night since in the backyard looking at the amazing surface of the moon. I always had a bit of a “thing” for the moon and must say I leave crystal bottles of water out under the full moon each month (and yes…….it tastes much better), but when you look at it through the telescope it is AWESOME. You can see every crater, the seas, the mountains and it looks like you could just reach out and touch it!

The night before last I saw the ‘variable, multiple’ star ‘Sirius’, a huge white orb flashing red, blue, green in the lense of the telescope. It looked like a light on a Christmas tree! Considering that it is millions of light years away from earth, it’s a miracle to be able to access it like it was at the end of the street.

I am now eagerly awaiting the big planets to rise above the horizon here in the Southern Hemisphere so I can finally get a close up view of my favourite planets Venus and Jupiter!

Isn’t it amazing that we can now see what the Greek astronomers could only dream about. Thanks to the work and committment of John Dobson, I am able to access the stars up close and personal…………what a gift!

Well this most contraversial of media promotions for the “land down under” has been applied to me on numerous occasions over the past weeks!

Yes, I’m still alive and well, though have been neglecting both my Blog and the show (for which I’m suitably repentant), but must give you an idea of what I’ve been up to.

The past months have been increasingly hectic in my little world. My ‘day job’ has been extremely demanding BUT great fun and a wonderful brain stimulant. For those of you who dont know what I do during the week…………I project manage one of the three metropolitan Palliative Care consortia here, made up of nine organisations who are funded to provide care to terminally ill people and their families. These organisations range from major metropolitan acute heath services, inpatient units to community providers who care for people in their homes. Our region is that largest and has the biggest population in the state, so it’s quite a job! I am very lucky though as I work with a wonderful team of incredibly passionate people who have such a committment to what they do, that it makes my job a lot easier than it would be otherwise!

So…………that’s my ‘day job’. I also teach at university and regularly speak at conferences and seminars in the health and corporate sectors and to a variety of community organisations on everything from death, grief and loss to complementary therapies, spirituality, self care, legacy and life purpose. I write everything from small articles to manuscripts and education curricula and am currently working on a play with a colleague who is both a seasoned Australian actor, producer and playwrite.

I am on a couple of Boards of Management, the one I am spending the majority of my time on at present is Spirituality Australia a subsidiary of the Father Bob Maguire Foundation, with my pal Fr Bob, Shane Holst and James Grant. I will have more to tell you in the near future about Spirituality Australia which is an exciting initiative that will stimulate people to connect with their personal spirituality in an atmosphere of support and community (yuou can find out more about SA by going to my website.
Amongst all of this I have been working on an idea with my friends Sue and Jan to establish a seminar program starting next year that explores complementary therapies and the angel work we have been doing together over the past couple of years. The three of us went to Sydney in October to the Angel Intuitive Advanced Program that Doreen Virtue conducted, which was a great networking opportunity.

Of course I have been reading, thinking and meditating. The more I think about things, the clearer things seem to become and I really believe the more we focus on manifesting joy and compassion in our world the more we can make “spaceship earth” our reality. We sometimes forget how very powerful our thoughts and feelings are in creating the world we live in. If I’ve learned one thing in the past months it has been to save the energy I used to expend on being angry about injustice and put that energy into thinking and feeling joy, prosperity, sustainability, health and justice for all. This is what will change the world…………..a ground swell of people pouring their energy into manifesting their “preferred future” instead of being worn down by disillusion and disappointment.

So, I hope you will continue to support Dead Serious and I promise over the coming weeks a new and exciting format will provide you with plenty of thought provoking programs with cool tunes and I take great joy in announcing there will be a GENDER BALANCE………..as DS welcomes a new partner in the weeks to come………………YES, I have a male counterpart who will be joining me here on Dead Serious……………so stay tuned!

OH……….my other bit of news………….finally my ‘new, hip and groovy’ website is now live, thanks to my mates at Blue Vapours, Kit and Jane who have done a wonderful job creating a site that is truely reflective of me! So I encourage you all to get along and have a look and leave me an email and let me know what you think! See if you can find the secret tribute to my elemental friends on the Homepage!

That’s it for now team. Talk to you all soon. Remember to visit www.mollycarlile.com and say “gidday”

Molly

Well, I’ve been reading madly in every second spare about “quantum physics’. Why you may ask???

Somehow my exploration of all things esoteric has pushed me into mainstream science which is an interesting development I think. Given that I never understood physics when I was at school (in fact I thought it was like Chemestry, but with more words), it has been a revelation to finally understand what Isaac Newton was on about. Now I understand why I never got it! Newtonian physics is so mechanical, it obviously was a paradym beyond my understanding, but the quantum movement of the modern physics…………….well that’s something I do understand!

I think the link between the major concepts of quantum physics (polarities, the role of the observer and the creative power of mind) all link to the work I have done in psychology, palliative care and energy therapies. Finally it’s all starting to make sense!

So I’m off this week to spend another couple of days studying with Doreen Virtue (the angel lady) and Hemetic philosophy is something we’ll be exploring………there is a very strong link between the ancient Hemetic themes and the modern quantum approach…………can’t wait to share with you what I learn.

SO………….watch this space!

I know Dead Serious is not about AFL footy or soccer (despite recent posts), however now that the AFL home and away season is over and we start the finals this weekend, I just want to let you all know I am a proud Collingwood supporter………..a legacy from my dear old Dad who died in January 2004.

As I hung my big black and white Magpie flag in the front window of the house this morning, in preparation for the first finals game we play this weekend, I could feel Dad beside me. I saw (in my mind’s eye) the silly face he used to pull when he threw his head back and laughed. I heard his voice saying, “We’ll do it this year……..don’t you worry” and I smiled.

I love it when Dad just ‘appears’, always at the footy after an amazing Collingwood goal, but often when I least expect it. When something funny happens, when i feel sad or melancholy or often just for no reason at all…………I feel him there, I see his face and I hear his voice………..then I think to myself how lucky I am that he takes the time to be with me, even though he’s no longer here physically.

On the other side of the equation is my beloved. As it happens, he barracks for Footscray (the Bulldogs)…….a legacy from his Dad who died in April 2003. He was a sports journalist, so my beloved spent many Saturday afternoons in the wind and rain with his Dad while he reported on the Footscray football games.

This weekend the first of the elimination finals is between Collingwood and Footscray…………..BUMMER! This means by this time next week, either my beloved or myself (and the two of our kids I have managed to convert to the black and white army) will be miserable and grumpy because the team we love is out of the competition for another year.

I can’t help but wonder what the two Dad’s will think and wether either of us will get a consolatory visit from our respective Dad’s to offer us an ounce of comfort in the midst of defeat.

i know my Dad will be sitting next to me on the couch as we watch the game on the big screen in the loungeroom, add the beloved and his Dad and the couch could get a little crowded come the first bounce of the ball.

Go the Maggies……………………”We’ll do it this year………..don’t you worry”!

I know you all probably think I’ve dropped off the end of the earth…………this is far from the truth. Fact is, I have been madly working on an innovative project with Fr Bob (of the Father Bob Show on TPN) and a couple of other committed folks on establishing an organisation that encourages people to explore their personal spirituality, (this of course is in addition to all the other stuff I do to earn a living)
As any of you who may have set up a not for profit organisation from scratch will know…………this is a HUGE undertaking and has involved much planning, liaising and negotiating. Spirituality Australia is very close to becoming a reality and as we finalise the Strategic Plan and all the other stuff that is required, I’ll let you know more about the modis operandi of the organisation and how you can access the resources it will offer.

So stay tuned folks………… SPIRITUALITY AUSTRALIA IS COMING!

As i check my stats it seems that lots of you out there are interested in the role, structure and function of funerals.

I have done a show on why we have funerals and rituals to assist us in making meaning of significant losses but I havnt yet done a show on planning and conducting a funeral………….so “hold onto your hats’…………..this one will be up on the site by next week.

In the meantime, give some thoughts to the things you would like to include in your funeral.