Carolyn Coleman, MDiv, MA, End of Life Doula, Conscious Dying Educator
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Service Area: Middle Tennessee, worldwide (via Zoom, Skype, other platforms)
Contact: 615-938-0802
A master at what Stephen Jenkinson calls "the skill of broken-heartedness," Carolyn Coleman understands the value of having hard conversations about dying, death, and grief. She has been present to all three frequently in her life, and she believes this value sets the foundation of living well. An Episcopal priest since 2007 and a student of world religious traditions since 1989, Carolyn operates with both spirituality and the human religious imagination in mind. Yet she is also highly practical and possesses great attention to detail. An excellent communicator, Carolyn focuses on transparency, clarity of mutual understandings, compassion, and soulful listening. Additionally, she is adept at public speaking to a wide variety of audiences. One of her special skills is crafting communications or teachings to specific audiences. The foundational value of all her work is integrity. Upon this rests her openness, hospitality, honesty, caring communication, and vulnerable strength. In an interview she once said of herself, “I’m really good at death.” She means she is the calm, comforting and healing presence many need in uncertain times. Good at being still and quiet, Carolyn encourages and coaxes out the confidence lying within those who are dying and those who support their journey out of this life.
With this unique background, Carolyn brings a breadth of understanding and communication skills to her work as a Conscious Dying Educator and Death Doula. Founder of Dying Well, the vision of which is “to return dying and death to its sacred place in human living so that human cultures overcome death phobia and embrace dying well as a vital part of living well,” Carolyn offers diverse populations tools for living well through end of life planning and formation. She hopes this work will reach more and more persons who wish to live deeper, fuller lives. Not just a “one and done” preparation kit, Carolyn’s work strives to cultivate gratitude for and welcome of each element in human experience: birth, grief, loss, love, death, illness, joy, sadness, etc.—each one, as Rumi writes, “a guide from beyond” to show us the profound richness of this life.
I would very much love to share some of your life in the following ways:
End of Life Preparation & Formation for Individuals, Couples, and Small Groups
• Vital Documents education
• Life Legacy Review
o Obituary Preparation
• End of Life Care Planning
• After Death Care and/or Final Disposition Planning
• Options for After Death Care and Final Disposition
Conscious Dying Educator
• “What is a Death Doula”
• “How to Get Rid of a Body: Options for Final Disposition”
• “Dying Well, Part 1: How Death Can Help You Live Well”
• “Dying Well, Part 2: “Vital Documents & End of Life Care Planning, a Primer”
• “Write Your Obituary to Unearth Your Life”
• “Via Negativa: The Gifts of Grief”
• Caregiver Series (for Faith Leaders, Doctors, Nurses, Primary Caregivers)
o “What the Dying Need (and Don’t Need)”
o “Conscious Communication & Practicum”
o “Caring for a Grieving Community”
• “Preparation for Death: Guided Meditations for Living Well”
• “Soul Collages: Meditations on Dying, Death and Living Well”
Death Doula
• Serving the dying and their supportive community at home, nursing care, hospice or hospital
• End of life comfort care: guided meditations, holding, singing, healing comforting space organization, teaching family and friends comfort care
• Communication mediation between the dying, their supportive family/community, and/or medical caregivers
• Demystifying the death process through compassionate communication
• Sitting vigil with the dying and/or supporting community
• Spiritual support especially for the dying, but also supporting persons, and, if needed, facilitating faith leader support, ritual, and presence
• Emotional support especially for supporting community, but also the dying
• Intentional observation, action and speech, such as honoring touch and facilitating words of gratitude and forgiveness (some may call this “ritual” or “ceremonial” action)
• Technology-assisted conversations between the dying and far off family or community
• After death wakes or vigil
• Home funeral planning and/or celebrant
• Burial celebrant