The Salons
Bringing gentle presence and meaning to communities across New England.
In the centuries-old New England tradition of intimate, candlelit gatherings, The Salons bring neighbors together to speak gently and honestly of life, death, and the mystery that connects them. Each Salon is rooted in the philosophy of Meditative Heartbeat Therapy (MHbT) — a practice that teaches us to listen for the pulse of the eternal within ourselves. Where the clinical setting of MHbT helps patients and caregivers meet death with presence, the Salon brings that same grace into the community: open, reflective, and free of judgment.
Imagine a parish hall aglow with candlelight, the hush of breathing hearts, and a gathering where everyone belongs. Led by Daniel DeLoma, creator of MHbT, these gatherings are warm, spiritual, and non-doctrinal, each framed within the host community’s faith tradition. They are always free of charge to churches and attendees as gifts of presence and conversation for weary times.
In a world of noise and distraction, the Salons invite a sacred stillness. Here, we practice what MHbT calls attunement to the inner flame: the quiet rhythm of the heart that reminds us we are alive, finite, and luminous.
Why These Conversations Matter
MHbT teaches that avoidance of death is avoidance of life. By facing our mortality, we rediscover wonder and gratitude for each breath. Research and hospice experience alike affirm that open dialogue about dying reduces fear and deepens meaning.
In The Salons, this insight becomes lived practice. We learn to:
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Be comfortable living knowing that we will die and recognizing mortality not as threat but as teacher.
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Begin to look forward to death, not morbidly, but as the soul’s continuation in love’s greater rhythm.
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Find and honor the eternal flame within the heart — that unextinguishable spark of consciousness and divine presence.
These are not abstract lessons but felt experiences shared in candlelight. The conversations light a lantern for each person’s spiritual journey — gentle beacons toward courage, gratitude,and faith.
The Flame Within and the Lantern We Carry
At the heart of MHbT is the belief that every life beats to its own sacred rhythm, a flame kindled at birth and carried beyond the grave. When we gather in Salon, we tend that shared hearth. Each story spoken, each silence honored, adds oxygen to the collective flame.
Even as we honor loss, we recognize continuity — the heartbeat that never ceases, only changes form. The candle we light in memory of another becomes the lantern we carry for ourselves.
The Salons are not lectures but living rituals of remembrance and renewal. It is MHbT made communal. Each gathering is an act of courage, a small step closer to grace, and a testament that the light within us is eternal.
Host a Salon
If you belong to a church, meetinghouse, or community group that longs for honest, healing conversation about life and death, The Salons can come to you.
Each gathering is shaped to your faith tradition and always free of charge for both hosts and attendees.
Invite Daniel DeLoma to bring this candlelit conversation to your community as an evening of reflection, tenderness, and shared courage.
Together, we will learn to live knowing we will die, to see death not as darkness but as the continuation of the flame within.
Fill out the form to explore hosting possibilities.
What Happens in a Salon
We enter quietly and let our eyes adjust to the soft light. Daniel will light a candle and begin the sound a heartbeat recording — the symbol of MHbT’s living rhythm — to mark our shared beginning. A brief poem or story opens the space, followed by a guiding question such as:
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“How do we live well knowing we will die?”
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“What would it mean to look forward to death as a homecoming?”
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“What is the flame that burns within the heart?”
Each person is invited to speak from the heart or to rest in silence, listening for the pulse of wisdom that rises in community. There is no hierarchy, no performance. There is only presence. We breathe together, laugh, sometimes cry. We end with a small ritual, honoring that every ending carries light into what follows.
Though death is our topic, most participants describe a sense of lightness afterward. An unexpected peace born of honesty and connection.
All Are Welcome
Whether you are clergy or caregiver, mourner or seeker, skeptic or believer, The Salons welcome you to the table.
Come sit by candlelight, listen to the rhythm of your own heart, and discover that the flame you carry is eternal. When we gather, those flames illuminate the path for us all.