How to dispose of cremation ashes?

[JayC9]

after my first experience of observing a person go through the stages
from being mentally and physically able, to a sharp deterioration in their health
as their diseased failing organs are substituted for machines to prolong life
finally bedridden and unable to communicate intelligently
to being an inanimate fleshy bag of tubes and dying tissue
first thought apart from being an obviously hideous demise is
what an inordinate waste of time, money and resources

would like to report it was a nice send off but to be honest it was horrible
the monks paused half way through the first ceremony to eat another breakfast
then they wanted to reopen discussions over trivial money matters
what a farce, the reality of modern day buddhism
for the cremation they bang on the coffin and tear off the lid
revealing a bagged corpse as a final tender thought for all congregated
they proceed to smash in the sides of the coffin and stuff it into the furnace
for the finale they reopen the furnace door so everyone can throw in flowers
as the heat and image of his flaming remains burns into everyone’s memory

he’s sitting in a small bag in my garage now, don’t really know what to do with him
when we discussed his last wishes, we never talked about what to do with his ashes
thinking mountain, hike, few words, scatter, it’s the done thing right?

 

[JayC9]

another question the whole episode begs is that of my own will and final wishes
do any of you already have yours written out?

 

[crazyjoe]

mix with cat litter.

 

[JayC9]

mix with cat litter.

lol, is that your final wishes joe?
not having handled someones ashes before i was expecting a bunch of dust in an urn
but no, they give me a cloth bag of crunchy ashes with solid bits in it, which i'm presuming are bones

 

[Spanky11]

I want mine to be opened inside a Burleigh right hand barrel by Occy!

 

[mountain muscle]

Well that sounds lovely, oh and comforting.

You know you could take an intro flight in a single engine airplane and dump the extra passenger over the mountain for about $50?

 

[BlueBird]

How about distributing amounts over specific areas the deceased enjoyed? Do it clandestinely though, especially on public lands as the practice is pretty much prohibited.

I, for one, wouldn't mind a green burial or even a ritual of excarnation, although I can understand the public health issue regarding expeditious disposal...so either option is probably not relevent (in mass practice) considering population.

 

[EnderJE]

I wanna come back as a zombie and haunt the people who are jerks.

Hi Erzulie!

 

[JayC9]

I want mine to be opened inside a Burleigh right hand barrel by Occy!

typical surfer, hearing that man, i'd like to be sprinkled on hartley reef my home break

 

[hardrock]

Smoke me in a joint.

 

[JayC9]

How about distributing amounts over specific areas the deceased enjoyed? Do it clandestinely though, especially on public lands as the practice is pretty much prohibited.

I, for one, wouldn't mind a green burial or even a ritual of excarnation, although I can understand the public health issue regarding expeditious disposal...so either option is probably not relevent (in mass practice) considering population.

i only know his character really rather than haunts, though there's reasons for this, he spent the last 4 years of his life in a hotel room basically, only known him for a year, no family or friends here, was a general in the British army, made it alive through africa and europe against all the odds, told me everything about the world wars, i wish i'd had more time to get to know him, which is why i need to finish this right, bit low on inspiration but it has to be done tomorrow morning

what's a green burial? have you stipulated this in a will?

 

[JayC9]

Smoke me in a joint.

amen brother!

 

[JayC9]

don't worry, i'll come to all your funerals

 

[Raptorex]

bro, the only thing you can do is treat the ashes respectfully and perhaps sprinkle them over the ocean or maybe somewhere where you guys met. Sounds like a great person and don'to think any of us go out much different (many of us will get mental illness followed by poor health).

Sorry for the loss.

 

[JayC9]

bro, the only thing you can do is treat the ashes respectfully and perhaps sprinkle them over the ocean or maybe somewhere where you guys met. Sounds like a great person and don'to think any of us go out much different (many of us will get mental illness followed by poor health).

Sorry for the loss.

thanks man you're right, they actually do that service here but it doesn't feel right for some reason, he came to asia 15 years ago after his wife died because the climate was suitable for his ailments, he also could get cheap nursing and still buy female interest which may have been a factor towards him living very happily till the ripe old age of 90, it's an interesting point because most older people seem to die closely after their life partner, and he outlived her by a considerable margin, though they were one person, genetic longevity or more to it?

 

[Raptorex]

thanks man you're right, they actually do that service here but it doesn't feel right for some reason, he came to asia 15 years ago after his wife died because the climate was suitable for his ailments, he also could get cheap nursing and still buy female interest which may have been a factor towards him living very happily till the ripe old age of 90, it's an interesting point because most older people seem to die closely after their life partner, and he outlived her by a considerable margin, though they were one person, genetic longevity or more to it?

I love to listen to "older" people tell their life stories. God bless him bor. I have a picture of an "older guy" I befriended many years ago and I use to go fishing with him and just talk. He has since passed and I have this nice pic of us together with our fishing poles. I try to look at it every once in a while and smile.

 

[JayC9]

I love to listen to "older" people tell their life stories. God bless him bor. I have a picture of an "older guy" I befriended many years ago and I use to go fishing with him and just talk. He has since passed and I have this nice pic of us together with our fishing poles. I try to look at it every once in a while and smile.

hear you man, that's all we can wish

 

[crazyjoe]

 

[BlueBird]

what's a green burial? have you stipulated this in a will?

To me a green burial can range from this: http://www.acfnewsource.org/environment/green_burial.html
...to putting someone out in the back 40 and let nature and the elements take care of it. Of course, I mean no disrespect, I'm one of those who believe it's a bizarre practice to bury someone in a metal coffin than into a cement vault six feet under....and I think my feelings reflect historical sentiment.

Like MM said, it's a matter of respect, treat his ashes as you would his live person and I'm sure a solution will come to you.

ps, I don't have a will, but I have let my parents/family know my wishes. However, I do plan on filling out one of those simple living will statements.

 

[timtim]

hunter s. thompson shot his out of a canon. just saying.

 

[flex229]

stand on the edge of a cliff in southern california with me in an empty coffee container. pour me out and recite: "flex. flex who loved bowling."

 

[GUARDIAN]

damn u beat me to it! lol

 

[JayC9]

To me a green burial can range from this: http://www.acfnewsource.org/environment/green_burial.html
...to putting someone out in the back 40 and let nature and the elements take care of it. Of course, I mean no disrespect, I'm one of those who believe it's a bizarre practice to bury someone in a metal coffin than into a cement vault six feet under....and I think my feelings reflect historical sentiment.

Like MM said, it's a matter of respect, treat his ashes as you would his live person and I'm sure a solution will come to you.

ps, I don't have a will, but I have let my parents/family know my wishes. However, I do plan on filling out one of those simple living will statements.

that's very cool, this whole escapade actually sparked off lots of business ideas, sounds terrible but can’t help it, graveyards are so empty gray and miserable, at a loss why people want to be buried next to another ominous headstone that looks identical to theirs, comfort in numbers, maybe most people don't think about death realistically till it's no longer important or too late? why do people say they celebrate the memory of a lost one in joy, yet rest them in a cheerless environment? how about a plot of land, landscape it and for every person that’s buried there, plant a tree and a small flower garden with a simple plaque. instead of row after row of manicured lawn and morbidity you end up with a natural wild gardened wood of memory for loved ones to walk around. most peoples fears about death i feel are about being forgotten, that's the thing about trees, they grow and live through the generations and see a lot more of life than we do

 

[JayC9]

classic movie

 

[JayC9]

hunter s. thompson shot his out of a canon. just saying.

supposedly a rational suicide, not possible according to the ef general consensus

 

[flex229]

shit, all you assholes beat me to it.

stand on the edge of a cliff in southern california with me in an empty coffee container. pour me out and recite: "flex. flex who loved bowling."

 

[timtim]

supposedly a rational suicide, not possible according to the ef general consensus

loved this guy. not a shame he did what he did. he said he was running on extra time in this world in more words than that. a genius.

 

[JayC9]

to finish the story, we decided to bury his ashes somewhere high with a view, watched ‘the bucket list’ a few weeks ago, liked the sentiment. so this afternoon the wife and i climbed up a hill with a panoramic view of the coastline and surrounding countryside, it’s the highest spot around but not very. we get to the top and the sky darkened, i thought ‘not again!’ you see what i failed to mention earlier is that when they picked up his corpse from the mortuary, an almighty electrical storm broke out, the following day when they cremated him, again there was an ominous crack of thunder and it rained in torrents. now i’m not a superstitious guy but the coincidence didn’t escape me nor anyone else by their expressions

anyway, so while i cleared a patch and dug a hole to bury the ashes and plant a small lime sapling, it got darker again and rain started to drizzle lightly. typically the wife is sitting high and dry under her umbrella barking out orders. everything seemed to settle and it went all quiet, looked behind down the valley and saw rain in the distance and a large black storm cloud creeping over. i felt a drop in the air pressure and told the wife to collapse her umbrella, she sensed it too and was anxious to get off the top.

quickly finished up by burning an incense stick and saying a few words, the very moment i mentioned his name there was a deafening crack. its difficult to describe the sheer amplitude of sound and energy, like a cannon being discharged with your ear pressed to the barrel. the air smelled burnt. the wife was cowering on the ground next to me covering her head with her hands, completely terrified staring at a fizzling small tree not twenty feet from where we stood. the tree looked like it had exploded from within, leaves were peeling off and flaking like embers.

the wife ran down off the top in a flash, clearly in shock and trying hard not to cry. bolts of lightning crashed down left and right every thirty seconds or so, was trying to calm her down telling her that we’ll be alright when really i was absolutely shitting myself. after a few minutes the lightning moved away and we pelting it down in torrential rain covered in mud, we made it back to the truck in record time feeling shaken. spent the rest of today going over it in my head, what if, seriously freaked me out! happy to be alive.

http://img31.picoodle.com/img/img31/4/4/27/f_2704081304m_43487e7.jpg - ashes to ashes
http://img31.picoodle.com/img/img31/4/4/27/f_2704081258m_6dd144e.jpg - view towards the coast

 

[BlueBird]

You're a good guy, Jayc9

 

[Raptorex]

nice bro

 

[samoth]

I was so waiting for that.

 

[canadianhitman]

Dig a hole. Mix ashes with quality topsoil, some peat moss, and perlite to fill the hole. Plant a tree or flowering shrub in the mix.