Train In One Of The Top 10 Fastest Growing Jobs Of The Future
How Do I Practice for Death by Tarron Estes
The Evolution Of The End Of Life Doula Movement by Jeff Markel
The Grace of Dementia by Sara Bensman
Holding Space with Death by Marie David
Becoming a Sacred Passage Doula by Shirley Grant
Initiation Of A Death Doula By Kristie Zahn
Conscious Dying Institute (CDI) is paving a new path in the realm of end of life (EOL) care; one emerging from awareness, humanity, dignity, caring consciousness, and a return to the sacred. The purpose herein is to discuss the emerging theoretical perspectives of CDI and to address their implications for broadening the scope of nursing and EOL care.
Read More“When you meet death fully…. You will see that you are THE LIFE…..”
Read MoreCarl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology. Here he speaks about Death and the Human Psyche.
Read More“A culture that denies death inevitably becomes shallow and superficial, concerned only with the external form of things. When death is denied, life loses its depth.” Eckhart Tolle
We found inspiration in this video from Eckhart Tolle.
Many of us have grown up believing that dying equates to suffering. Morty Lefkoe offers perceptive insights on suffering, and how to reframe the notion of suffering. This can be particularly helpful when supporting someone at end of life.
To our graduates and doulas in practice: thank you for all you do! We found Judy MacDonald Johnston's 5 practices for planning for a good end of life a wonderful, accessible perspective on the work we do.
Read More
Practicing self-care is of utmost importance to End of Life Doulas. And sometimes it's as simple as a deep, calming breath, a conscious rinsing of your face, or an inspiring verse. May this poem bring comfort and care to those at end of life and those who serve them.
Eagle Poem, by Joy Harjo
To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t hear;
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren’t always sound but other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing
We are truly blessed because we
Were born, and die soon within a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.
Joy Harjo, “Eagle Poem” from In Mad Love and War. Copyright © 1990 by Joy Harjo. Reprinted with the permission of Wesleyan University Press.
First of all, I would like to thank you for the role that you have played in bringing this workshop on Conscious Dying. It was the most profound workshop with highly conscious people, and therefore absolutely transformational. I felt like I was in a bubble in the universe of like-minded people. I bow to you for your commitment and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the role you are playing in elevating human consciousness. MM
There is no possible way to express enough gratitude for your generous gesture towards me in the program! The situation with the father of my children had been away of my conscious awareness for a long time--the loss of LOVE and the loss of my maternity in the way that most women experience it in a day to day basis.
I do not even know how it happened that I raised my hand to work with you. My infinite gratitude to you to have receive my pain and open my compassionate heart towards the man I have LOVE THE MOST DURING ALL MY LIFE. For whom this love has never vanish even if immense suffering has come upon me and I my children. May the suffering of my children and myself bare the fruit of true compassion towards Alfredo.
I would like to extend my gratitude to all the participants for their generous time and attention given to me during the program. Let them know that I am committed to be a channel to lessen the suffering of others as a token of gratitude to all and every one present with me during this last two days!
Blessed be your father that perceived the wisdom teacher in his woman child! May I honor all your teachers and guides in the work you do!
¡Con todo mi cariño y gratitud! G M
Caregivers encompass uncountable numbers of an often poorly educated workforce who take care of our loved ones when we cannot. These caregivers live in our communities. They become a part of our homes and families. Increasing caring literacy for these medical and non-medical caring professionals is a way to give back. It provides a career path that not only stabilizes caregivers in the fundamental science and stages of dying, but it may increase spiritual awareness, loving kindness to self and other, and overall sense of well being as well.
Increasing end of life literacy may positively influence the patient’s experience of care, decreasing pain and suffering in our communities. It may expand our understanding of “do no harm”. In our time of deepest vulnerability, frailty, and dependence, caring literacy protects all of us.
I just wanted to thank you all again for such a lovely weekend we shared. It was truly a beautiful experience and you are all such beautiful souls! I returned home from our time together with words and emotions lingering from the death experience … and wrote “SURRENDER” … so I thought I would share here …
SURRENDER
As she sits in stillness, she takes note of her inner space - her space full of past wounds, rushing thoughts, and emotional roller coasters; her space full of ideas, hopes, and dreams. The space that holds her physical being.
And she clearly sees that she is more - that she is not simply defined by what is contained within. She is separate from anything that moves through and all that accumulates inside her body, her mind …
So she let's go of all of it ... inviting a moment of pure surrender ... a surrender that draws her beyond her suffering, beyond her attachments, beyond her perceptions and beliefs and dreams.
And in that moment, resting in that expansive space of no boundaries, no limitations …
She just is.
As she dwells silently, curiously in that place of pure Love, she recharges her heart, her soul. She finds peace, comfort and strength.
With the Beauty that permeates, it would be easy for her to stay, to get completely lost in the place of intoxicating Love ... but she becomes aware of that which waits for her return; that which pulls, tugging tirelessly at her attention.
So once again, and with intention, she surrenders.
She surrenders back into her human-ness to hold her space full of past wounds, rushing thoughts, and emotional roller coasters; her space full of ideas, hopes, and dreams.
She surrenders because she realizes that her close proximity to woundedness, pain, and emotion does not separate her from Love; it actually accentuates Loves presence. It allows her the opportunity to embrace what it means to be human - to experience dis-ease, suffering, fear, longing - all of which open her heart to tenderness, compassion, and empathy for herself and others.
She surrenders because she knows that it is all one and the same. By fully embracing the condition of being human, she surrenders to Life; and her surrender to Life is, ultimately, her surrender to Love.
Most caregivers attending at end of life bear witness to mysterious and unexplainable events that happen around the dying process. Most of these events have a feeling of awe and mystery. They deserve our respect. They deserve to be shared and acknowledged.
Read MoreAccounts of subtle energy as factual reality have existed since the beginning of recorded time - experiences with angels, devils, fairies, elves, gods, heaven, the void, mysteries, colors, sounds and miracles - a whole universe of mysterious events during life and death.
Read MoreThank you all for keeping the energy strong. This emails have been so helpful to me as I plopped back down to earth and struggle with the balance of keeping the weekend alive and taking care of business.
Listening to my heart - I shared the link to the Sophia's bath and have been coming back to that clip throughout my day. This was well received and a few "curious inquiries" about the topic. Yeah! Blessings always in all ways to each of you. My world is sweeter because of each one of you.
Jill
From Shoni K -
Good Morning Tarron,
Thank you again for the weekend. With an awareness for each of our individual needs you gracefully guided us toward new pathways.
~shoni
From Christopher S - May 2015
Thank you for that poem Tarron. Thank you for this work you are teaching.
Here's a poem I wrote a while back that I realized could have been written about our weekend together.
Thank you for releasing so many healing tears.
Tears fall,
Relax, do not sob or fight with the flow.
Open every tightness
Let light into the dark frozen places that resist.
There is warmth and tenderness in tears,
Let this tenderness,
melt the hardness.
The softness you try to shield and hide
feels vulnerable
because life is tenuous and brief.
You know the kiss of death -
it always patiently awaits
for you to let it in.
But who is this that does the letting?
Who is the one that receives this kiss?
Breath moves through this body -
this “I” cannot stop it.
LIfe itself determines how many more times
this belly fills with invisible sustenance
and then without clinging
releases and surrenders the breath
for another to begin.
There is no celebration,
no awe or wonder at how breath continues,
but there should be.
Why should there be any clinging to a tear
as it forms in this eye,
and then trails down
this cheek?
LIfe is in this tear,
it is in the emotion,
a rising energy that this body struggles to contain.
Don’t struggle.
Something bigger than this body is moving through it
that causes the tear to form
and this breath to rise and fall.
Become this motion in the belly.
Become the energy beneath emotion that births tears.
Become the openness
in which all this is occurring.
Hello all. I have to say that the conference has helped me see the importance of focusing on our death as a way to live more deeply. It's amazing how that shifts the way I look at life.... Hugs and Peace, Rachel
From Siobhan A
So sweet to read through all the emails, the threads that continue to weave us together. I wanted to share the lyrics to the song I sang on the last day. You can probably find the melody on YouTube if you would like to learn it, but if not, just call me!
Oh Love (death, birth, life) prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy
Tried and True
And in thanksgiving
I will be a living
Sanctuary
For you
Much love, and I thank and bow to each of you for your generous and couragous hearts as you embark on this journey into the land of Lady Death.
Our wonderful Phase 1 graduates of the Sacred Passage Doula Certification program warmed our hearts with poems and beautiful expressions of their experience. This post and page is a thank you!
From Kelly S - May 2015
Thank you all for such a generous, beautiful experience!
I'm overwhelmed still. All my love, Kelly
The center leads to love.
Soul opens the creation core.
Hold on to your particular pain.
That too can take you to God.
Rumi
(My) biggest area of professional growth was understanding how important ceremony and ritual is for me as an individual and a doula. Also – all the discussion about what our doulaship is going to look like and what actual steps we will take to help our vision come to fruition was enormously helpful.
I learned wholeheartedly the mission of a Sacred Passage Guide; I learned that part – a huge part of my role will be outreach; I learned that my gifts took intentions and sacred awareness of what makes me the doula I want to become; I loved all the teachings around vigil, the doula panel and after death care, and grief gates.
Because I am drawn to death, the sacredness of it and my own sacred selfishness urges me to ... serve as a source of education, companionship and ceremonialist – a sacred passage guide for those who are dying and their families.
I loved every minute of this certification; I’ve appreciated so much the teachers, especially Greg, Marilyn – who have been tremendous in sharing their experiences, wisdom and knowledge. Thank you Tarron for bringing this language and this sacred right to us, and giving us the opportunity to share it.
--2016 End of Life Doula Graduate
