Dust to Dust - What is Terramation?
It goes by many names: terramation, human composting, soil transformation, natural organic reduction (NOR), recomposition, and body composting. It is one of the many options now available as an alternative to burial or cremation and is quickly gaining popularity as one of the most environmentally friendly options for disposing of your remains.
Death Culture in the Sacred Valley of Peru
The Wisdom of Andean culture holds the belief that we are beings of light. We come here, from the Absolute Sun, to be in communion with our Cosmic Mother, Pachamama, our Cosmic Father, the Four Directions, our Ancestors, the Apus; to dance and thrive with Love and Spirit. To honor our relationship with Mother Earth and the Cosmos as we grow from seeds of Divine Consciousness within the container of physical “time” and “space”.
Why are we so weird about death? Bringing death more visibly into the cultural fold.
Let’s face it—the American death culture is dysfunctional. Just this month I attended a wellness event in Los Angeles where Bryan Johnson, founder of Don’t Die, promised his eager audience that biological aging and dying are outright unnecessary. It’s as if acknowledging mortality is an act of treason against the preferred “live forever” mindset.
When death does arrive, it’s too often treated like a medical failure with its spiritual significance neglected. American funerals are traditionally somber, hurried affairs of dry-eyed propriety, with the deceased cremated or tucked away in a sealed coffin. There’s little room for lingering, grieving, or celebrating the life that was. Contrast this with other countries, where death is woven into the fabric of life.
Intercultural Communication as a Tenet of Care
In service at the end of life, at a time of great vulnerability and tenderness, a Death Doula exercises a deep awareness of cultural differences and the competency to adapt when needed. We can encounter differences in perception, values, communication styles, and norms.
What is a vigil plan?
When a person is dying they will experience a period of time when they are “actively dying”. This refers to the time when the person’s body begins to shut down and they have begun the process of transitioning into death. It is not uncommon for this to last for many hours, several days, and in some cases even longer. During this time the person is often in and out of consciousness or unresponsive. This is the opportunity for you and your family hold a vigil. A death doula can help this process go smoothly, from planning and for the duration of the vigil.
Companioning: A Compassionate Approach to End of Life Care Giving
Companioning is a term that has been applied to many different fields over the years, but has gained significant traction within the deathcare landscape at present nodding to the therapeutic benefits this approach has offered the bereaved.
Expert Dr. Alan Wolfelt, has developed a comprehensive approach to assisting those who are bereaved through the practice of companioning. Wolfelt advocates moving beyond the medical model’s approach to care, which prioritizes the assessment, analyzation, and resolution of other’s grief. Instead, companioning offers caregivers the opportunity to act as a witness, a soul guardian to those who are mourning.
Hospitality is a primary component at the core of companioning. When we provide hospitality, we bring comfort to another by being fully present and thus developing a sense of familiarity with the personal stories, needs, desires of another.
Separating MAiD from “assisted suicide.”
Language surrounding death becomes charged, by default, because strong feelings tend to color our impressions of end-of-life options. It’s hard to avoid. Still, nuance is important and so is accuracy. “Dignity in death” is the rallying call of proponents of medical aid in dying and that phrase points out the difference nicely: the element of choice is what supports dignity, but also choice as an informed and rational component in end-of-life decisions. Without legal, safe, and comprehensive choices, end-of-life patients are left in the dark, in despair, in pain, and without dignity. With these nuances in mind, MAiD is plainly differentiated from suicide. MAiD offers informed, science-based, medical alternatives to needless pain and suffering for terminally ill patients.
What is a death doula?
A death doula can mean the difference between chaotic stress and an easeful death. We operate like your own personal buoy so that we can be a calming presence in your turbulence, keeping you above the waves, and helping you float. If a doula helps you get through your paperwork, navigate relations, and address your worry, it creates the space you need to relax and transition on your terms and as you decide. It is our honor to do so.