wise words

End-of-Life Doula

Emotional and Spiritual Support for Peaceful Passing

by Gina Marie Saka

Just as a doula helps welcome new life to the world, an end-of-life doula assists in peaceful passing at the end of one’s life journey. The time of death can be scary for individuals and their loved ones, but these practitioners help transform fear into comfort, healing and clarity. An end-of-life doula is a trained, non-medical professional that provides emotional, spiritual and physical support to people that are dying or terminally ill. Also known as a death doula or soul midwife, they assist individuals and their loved ones in navigating anxiety and finding a sense of direction, lightness and acceptance during this difficult phase of life. Their services complement those of doctors, hospice professionals and funeral

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www.tejavalentin.com workers, and fill the spiritual and emotional gaps that inevitably arise when navigating end of life. A soul midwife is a holistic, intuitive companion that often has healing modalities in their repertoire to deepen the sanctity and therapeutic quality of his or her visits. End-of-life doula services may differ slightly, but generally consist of regular visits, deep active listening, text and call access, medical directive planning, evaluation timing for hospice, caregiver support and check-ins, life work review, legacy project creation and vigil plan development. Depending on the practitioner, visits may be complemented with services like reiki, mediumship, art therapy, sound healing and more if the patient desires. “In the Western world, death tends to become very transactional—where a person sets up a will, buys a burial plot, plans the funeral, says goodbyes and waits,’’ says Andi Daniels, End of Life Doula of Innerlight Healing. “But what people don’t realize is that death can be as beautiful as birth—a celebration of life where an individual can express themselves, share their last wishes, process what they’re going through, and die with dignity and grace.” It’s during these precious, tender times that a person can take agency in deciding where and how they want to die. “People don’t always realize that they have a choice to die at home rather than in a clinical setting, to have loved ones and pets by their side, to plan a beautiful vigil with an atmosphere that helps them pass in the deepest state of peace,” Daniels says.

Andi Daniels is an end-of-life doula at Innerlight Healing. For more information, visit Innerlight-Healing.com.

Gina Marie Saka is a professional health and wellness copywriter. She has been a contributing writer to Natural Awakenings magazine since 2012 and currently resides in San Diego. To connect, email GinaMarieSaka@gmail.com.

Realizing Positives From Negatives

by Matt Preston

Photo by shutterstock_569861092

Instances of divine timing is certainly ironic at, well, its timing. Whether this is through signals or signs, synchronicities or instinct, it can be hard to ignore them. One of the most common in occurrence, but not necessarily in sheer volume, are certain songs being played when someone may need to hear them the most. One great example is a song that’s nearly a decade old now, Every Storm by Gary Allan. Having just heard it again recently, while stuck in Jersey traffic of course, it began to spur on some thoughts about various times of positives and negatives that occur in people’s lives. Some of the longest lasting can be from the negative category, but with the right mindset this can be transmuted into the best lessons in life. Negatives from the past, for example, are easiest to pinpoint through virtue of them being in the rearview mirror. As people get older it can become easier to pinpoint these instances to gain experience from. Losing a relative is a common one and can certainly be one of the most jarring ones. The lyrics at the beginning of the chorus in the song are “Every storm runs, runs out of rain, just like every dark night, turns into day.” Now as hard as this example is, in a lot of cases there does seem to be some truth to it. This, of course, depends on the person and situation, but looking back on these times, many individuals can feel that the pain isn’t as raw. From there, the figurative skies may clear up from those darker times. Then there are negatives that are currently happening in someone’s life. Most people can name at least name one, with the hope being that it’s not that serious and/ or common. But as that person is wading through those lower vibes, they may have someone also there helping them through it. If that’s not the case and one has to fight through such times alone, all hope doesn’t have to be lost either. Say an artist can’t gain traction with their endeavor, the hope is they still have people around them that are encouraging and motivating them. If such supporters are few and far between, the creative light can still keep burning, if for no other reason than for the love of the art. The point is to appreciate the positives behind those at someone’s side that keep them focused and their own personal determination to see their project through. A little harder to deal with are negatives from the future, as the variety of ways they could manifest are many and unknown. It’s hard to come up with an example, especially as a positive thinker, as that’s going against type. That’s not to mistake being positive for naiveté though, as many can get lost in that thinking. Most people aren’t going to get to the finish line without a little sweating, an untied shoelace or maybe a shin splint or two. However, this allows people to appreciate the abundance in their lives, both currently and in the past. And if that feeling is lacking, then changing their outlook could not only benefit them now, but their tomorrows as well. In the end, the energy behind this song and the best ways to engage in life is surviving the past, sustaining the present and prepping for the future. And what better way to utilize the darkness than to create light from it—because the past is gone, the present is all around us and the future is yet to be.

Matt Preston is a creative and professional writer from Gloucester Township in South Jersey. Writing is one of his passions; body, mind and soul wellness one of his goals; and belief in destiny his continual motivation. His website and podcast can be found at @TheApatheticVegan.com.