End of Life Doula Training
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by Jeffrey Markel
To be trained and certified by the Conscious Dying Institute places you as a participant in the movement To Restore Death to Its’ Sacred Place in the Beauty, Mystery and Celebration of Life, Create a New Wisdom-Based Culture of Care and Healing and Contribute to the Evolution of Human Consciousness.
Training represents a prime opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills. Skills that will be useful-- as we are all destined to be touched by death. Through shared learning and practice, End of Life Doulas elevate the experience of deathing. They learn to surrender and trust deeply in each moment. The rich, intensive, life-evoking training graduates receive prepares them to be supportive end of life companions who offer comforting healing care guided by what people want and need most.
Since many in our culture have a fear of dying and being in close proximity to death, it is so important for someone with the training to be present to support the person who is passing and their loved ones. It can transform an experience of denial into an experience of great tenderness, and presence.
Training not only prepares you to be able to offer your skill to those in need, it can be transformative for you. It allows you to show up in a way that very few opportunities can afford. Death is an obvious rite of passage; and rites of passage are the defining moments of our lives. To be present at birth, coming of age, marriage, and death are privileged times. We are changed by being witness. We are changed by being participants.
Being present in these times makes a deposit to your spirit. You become more. Your needs and desires change. You want a quality of life that is abundant and authentic. You make different decisions to the deepest life questions. And as this happens, you bring more to the families that you serve.
It is an important decision to you choose who you want to be. We often make that decision consciously or unconsciously at an early age. But this is different.
Being an End of Life Doula is a decision for the more mature, the more experienced. Someone who understands the value of caring and comfort. Someone who has experienced relationship, loss and love.
What attracts nurses, hospice worker, chaplains and other people to be present in a time of need? It is often that they want to help, to heal. They have a knowing in their hearts that this is their calling. Becoming a trained End of Life Doula is an opportunity to enter into a sisterhood and brotherhood of trained practitioners who provide essential care to those in need at one of the most important times of their lives. The expense of resources and time is worthwhile because in a relatively short period of time you will feel qualified to be seen in a way that is new, exciting and invaluable.
There was a time not too long ago when it was difficult to become a registered midwife in the United States. Many organizations pushed back against the idea, even though there is a history everywhere in the world of midwives – birth doulas - being the one constant at birth for millenniums. Although there may not be a history of End of Life doulas in this country, having someone who is trained to support us at the beginning and again at the end of life makes sense. It makes sense because we are generally present at very few births and very few deaths. The experienced, trained doula can make all the difference in the world. A difference that takes birth and death from the cold and clinical to the warm and heart centered, from being afraid and disconnected to being present and fully engaged.
If this training, this opportunity to be more engaged with others and to bring more fullness to your own life speaks to you, then consider joining us. Eight day programs are split into two sessions offering a training that is holistic and palliative in nature, increasing caregivers' capacity to give spiritual, emotional, physical, and practical care to anyone, regardless of diagnosis or care setting. It illuminates an authentic caring healing presence, restores the true purpose and power of healing agents, and is appropriate for clinical professionals, home and family caregivers, and staff in hospitals and senior health care systems.
To secure a spot in this opportunity please contact CDI at info@consciousdyinginstitute.com. It will change your own life as well as the many appreciative persons you will serve. We look forward to hearing from you.