My Journey to Becoming an End of Life Doula

As with many of us who are called to end of life work, my path is a long-turning, well-worn one. What has prepared this me for this role as an End of Life Doula (EOLD) has been an intense seeking for meaningfulness and truth that brought me to traverse on the path of many of the worlds’ religious traditions including shamanism, which took me to over 45 countries around the world.

 

The most significant opening or awakening to this life journey began with a mystical experience with Jesus in response to an urgent plea to understand my authentic self in my early twenties. This prayer was not the ordinary ritual prayer of a churchgoer, as my experience in the Christian Church was soured as a teenagers by words from the pulpit that struck me as racist and homophobic. Still, the Christian faith was a strong influence in my early family life and I longed for the spiritual communion with Jesus that many Christians spoke about as a born-again experience.

 

I had an active spiritual life from a young age, yet I never had a spiritual experience with Jesus. This time when I prayed a simple prayer to understand Jesus’ heart, there was a desperation in my prayer at a difficult point in my life. The room where I uttered the prayer transformed into a vast void and Jesus appeared placing his hand on my shoulder and imparting me with a transmission of energy that released my struggle and introduced me to the peace that passes all understanding.

 

That energetic transformation continued for several decades, yet I could not comprehend what had occurred or what was the next step in my spiritual path. I plunged into various spiritual practices and studies. Eventually, my studies led me to Maryknoll Theological Seminary, a progressive Catholic seminary, and the Unification Theological Seminary, which provided an interfaith experience where I earned a Master of Divinity degree with Magna Cum Laude honors.

 

Although a mastery of divinity remained elusive, my studies provided a deepening of the awakening into the awareness of the oneness of all genuine spiritual paths leading us to discover our inner spark of divinity.

 

As a Seeker balancing family and the spiritual life, there was, at times, a challenge to balance between establishing an egoic sense of self in order to operate in this three-dimension realm, and this deeper sense of self.

 

At this point, I now consider myself now a Finder with a mission to serve others walking this journey back to our original home--our essence of oneness with all that is.

 

As for other educational foundations supporting my work, I have been trained as an EOLD by the International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA) and have volunteered with hospice. I hold a certificate from the New York Open Center’s Art of Dying Institute in Integrative Thanatology and am a member of the Association of Death Educators and Counselors (ADEC).

 

As a doula, I hold space for others as they focus on the inner journey that is accompanied by the dissolution of the ego and the physical body. The term 'holding space' is often used in shamanic circles where a shaman creates and holds space that protects and manages both the internal and external environment for people as they seek transcendent states through the aid of sacred plant medicines.

 

I am here to hold space in a way that will allow you the freedom to explore the depths of being while managing to provide a protective space for your journey into the very bone of life.

 

If the reader is curious about what possibly lies beyond this physical three-dimensional realm to explore other possible realms of consciousness and life, then it's possible ours would be a beneficial partnership. Additionally, if the reader is curious and intrigued about the possibilities of a mindful approach to the end of life, whether you have a terminal diagnosis or not, I invite you to contact me to arrange a free 30-minute consultation to delve deeper.

 

It is my honor to serve you.