Ethical Will Information for Beginners

What is an ethical will? This questions is asked over and over again. If this is a question that you don’t know the answer to then here is a brief recap:

An ethical will is a document which passes on truths, morals, values and philosophies from one generation to the next. They have a long history and are rooted in the Jewish faith. While they were traditionally a religious document, today they are mainly non-denominational in nature. In fact, many ethical wills today are written from a secular perspective.

Ethical wills can be formatted in a number of ways. The first format is an ethical will essay. The essay format tends to produce long documents that are full of rich details. The second format is the ethical letter. This format is shorter, usually about a page, it is addressed to a single person and imparts personal messages.

In addition to ethical will documents, the information contained in an ethical will can be transmitted in other projects. For example, you can create an ethical will pendant, an ethical will poem or an ethical will video diary. The project that you select needs to reflect your personality, skills and resources.

If you are interested in writing an ethical will you will want to do some research on format and style. You can use information found on the Internet or you can use an ethical will workbook. Workbooks can be found online and at bookstores.

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Memorial Day is a holiday that is dedicated to the memory of loved ones that have passed away. Since this is a day of reflection it makes a great point in time to create your ethical will or to create an entry for your ethical will. It can also be a great time to share with your family some of the traditions, morals and philosophies that you cherish in your life.

If you want to write or update your ethical will on Memorial Day the first step that you take will be to find a quiet place to reflect on your experiences. Your bedroom, your office or even a park bench at the cemetery can all make great places to think about what is important to you. You can take notes on your thought or complete a free writing exercise. When you write notes on your thought you will want to date the entry and note your writing location. Then you will write down phrases that will help you create a formal spiritual ethical will entry later on. If you are interested in a free writing exercise then you will want to open your notebook and first write down the time, day and location of your entry. Then you will give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to just write down your thoughts as they come to you. Each time you change your train of thought or change topics you will want to create a new paragraph or move on to the next page.

If you are interested in sharing your philosophies or the tradition of writing a spiritual ethical will with your family then find a time when you are all together to share these precious jewels with them. After dinner is a good time to talk about your experiences and to share the importance of family traditions like spiritual ethical wills. A good way to kick off the discussion is to simply launch into a story from your past. Select a story that tells about a time when you learned something important about life, love and family.

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Over the last year we have talked about writing pleasant and sentimental spiritual ethical wills. However, since a spiritual ethical will is your last remarks on life you do have the option to write an ethical letter that is, well, curt or less than flattering to the people that you address the letter to. While it is better to write an ethical essay that imparts uplifting messages, if this hope is not the message you want to send you can take another path.

An ethical will is the prefect place to clear the air. Writing an ethical letter that confronts people that have wronged you in your life, or that have taken advantage of you or others can be a very cleansing experience. When writing this type of letter you will want to identify the conflict that you want to discuss and then list all the points that support your side of the conflict. For example, you can identify a time when a specific person took advantage of your good will by borrowing money and not paying you back, by not being there for you when you needed a shoulder to cry on or by treating you badly after you treated them like royalty.

You have two options when it comes to writing a negative ethical will. Your first option is to make it personal. Create an ethical letter for each person you want to “yell” at or clear the air with. This letter will be read only by them. Your second option is to write a single multi-person ethical will that is to be read after you pass away in front of a group of people.

While writing these letters can be a good way to cleanse your own soul and get negatives thoughts out of your head, you may want to destroy these letters after they have been written. On the other hand, it may provide you with one last pleasure knowing that you were finally able to put someone in their place.

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Writing a spiritual ethical will can take you anywhere from a half hour to several years. It all depends on how much time you want to spend on it and how many revisions you intend to make. While you only need to write one draft of your ethical will, many people find it beneficial to periodically update their ethical will. Updates are generally done when new people enter your life or when people leave your life.

When making your revisions it is always a good idea to read through your last version. This will refresh your memory about what you have already written and it will also give you ideas about what changes, deletions and additions that you will want to make. For example, you may want to update your ethical will by adding the names of your new grandchild to the ethical will or by adding a new section in your ethical will that focuses on something new that you have learned about life and love.

Before you make any revisions on your ethical will it is a good idea to save an archived version of your last version. Label it with a version number. This way you can go back to your previous versions to see what changes were made. When you start working on your next version save it as a new version number. To keep track of your versions you can create a file name system like Ethical_Will_2009_v.1., Ethical_Will_2009_v.2. This will help you to identify the exact version that you want to read.

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Now that February is nearly over most people naturally begin to think about spring, which starts in about a month. Spring is a great time to think about life and your experiences. It is also the perfect time to work on your spiritual ethical will.

As this blog has discussed for over a year now, an ethical will is a tool that you can use to pass on something meaningful to the people that mean something to you. One way you can start the transfer of your ethics and morals is to give the young members of your family with an ethical will pendant.

An ethical will pendant makes a great gift for a confirmation, a graduation, a holiday gift or a birthday gift. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can be customized to fit the preferences and age of the person you want to give the pendant to. For example, you can create a special golden pendant with a special saying on it for a keepsake item for your new grandchild. You can also create a special ethical will pendant for children who enter your family through a marriage or adoption.

Selecting an ethical will pendant can be a lot of fun. You can choose between precious metals, acrylic and plastic. You can also choose between circular, oval and square pendants, as well as from solid pendent pieces and lockets. You can add your pendent to a gold or silver chain, or you can add it to a string of beads or a strip of yarn or leather. Be as creative or traditional as you want.

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Life is a marathon learning experience. Each year brings with it new insights, new wisdom and new appreciations. It is because of this that you will want to revisit issues and skills that you have already acquired. By learning more about your skill you will gain a deeper insight into that skill and you will improve your ability to complete your tasks.

One skill or activity that you will want to periodically relearn is how to write a spiritual ethical will. By relearning “what is an ethical will” you will improve your understanding of this document’s importance and you will improve your ability to translate your life’s wisdom in written form.

This year as you relearn how to write an ethical will try to focus on these topics. Start by going back to the history of ethical wills. Learn about when they were first used, who wrote them and why they wrote them. These insights to the process of writing an ethical will can be very beneficial to you when you try to write your own ethical will.

Next pick up an ethical will workbook. A workbook will walk you through the steps of writing an ethical will, and will provide you with writing exercises, examples and tools. All of these things can be very helpful during your writing process even if you have already written an ethical will before.

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Happy New Year! It is hard to believe that it is already 2009. However, as you celebrate the New Year, whether it is by relaxing, cleaning or organizing your life, think about either writing or updating your ethical will.

Writing your spiritual ethical will is something that everyone needs to do. While it sounds like a lot of work, an ethical will doesn’t have to be complicated. It can, instead, be a very simple document that is no more complicated to write than a simple letter. To write an ethical letter all you have to do is express your true feelings to someone that you love. You can address this letter to one person or to a group of people.

If you have already written your spiritual ethical will then today is a good day to revise your ethical will. To start with you will want to read through your last draft. This can be a very cathartic experience. As you read through your last draft take notes about things that you want to change. For example, you may have someone new in your life or you may have revised your life’s philosophy. When you revise your ethical will make sure you date the revisions. This will provide you with a time line of your changes and help you to identify the most recent version of your ethical will.

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Now that Christmas and Hanukkah are both over, the next holiday on deck is the New Year. With only one week left until the end of the year, it is natural time when you think about what you have done over the last year and what you would like to do during the next year. This is why we sit down to write out New Year’s resolutions.

New Year’s resolutions are things that we want to do to improve ourselves during the next year. For many people losing weight and quitting smoking are the two most common New Year resolutions that are written. However, so is make more money and learn new things. However, while these resolutions are viable and helpful, this year why not take a more spiritual approach to your New Year resolutions.

Spiritual resolutions will help you to evolve into the type of person you want to become. These are the resolutions that will make you feel good to write about in your spiritual ethical will. For example, you can have a New Year resolution to be more charitable, to be more giving to your family or to be more involved in your kids’ lives. You can also write resolutions to be more accepting of differences, to be more open with your heart or to be more active in your community. These New Year’s resolutions will not only make you a better person, but they will also make the world a better place to live in.

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With just one week left until Christmas, many of you are probably still scrambling for last minute gifts. If you are looking for a last minute gift that has a special meaning then consider giving an ethical will pendant. This gift will not only make a great gift for a person who enjoys an attractive necklace, but for people who are interested in spiritually enlightening gifts as well.

Another last minute gift idea is to write a holiday ethical letter for the people that you love. This letter can be formatted as a holiday letter. What will make this gift special are your remarks and insights into your life philosophies and spiritual values. You can also talk about holidays from your past, share family stories and include photographs. While many people wait until after they have passed on to hand out their ethical letters, you can give preliminary letters out while you are still alive.

Your third option is to put together a family tree as a gift idea for your family members. You can use family tree design software, you can put it together by hand or you can use a family tree workbook. To enhance the look of your family tree gift, consider adding old family photographs, new family photographs and add memories and biographies for each member of the family on your tree. This gift will not only be a special family heirloom, but it will also encourage other generations of your family to continue adding to the family tree.

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With just a couple of weeks left in the year, now is the perfect time to think about writing your ethical will. If you still need to ask what is an ethical will here is a quick break down:

A spiritual ethical will is basically a good by letter to your loved ones. It discusses your philosophies on life, your religious beliefs and your hopes for your heirs and their futures. It is also a document that you can use to clear up any misunderstandings, arguments or hurt feelings that may be weighing on your mind. Finally, this document can be used to provide your heirs with guidelines on how to live their lives to the fullest.

The origins of ethical wills can be traced back to ancient Jewish traditions. This tradition was intended to pass down religious and philosophical values to the next generation. Over the centuries the tradition of writing ethical wills has been adopted by many faiths and cultures. Today, this tradition is quickly gaining secular popularity, even though it has a religiously significant purpose.

If you are ready to write your ethical will then all you will need is a pad of paper and a pen, or you can just sit down at your computer and use your word processor. Enjoy the process of uncovering your philosophies and at addressing those people that made your life worth living.

Happy Holidays!

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