There is but one freedom, to put oneself right with death. After that everything is possible.
- albert camus
SERVICES + OFFERINGS
Death Doula, Educator + Companion
Let’s talk about and embrace death, a great teacher, prepare and plan for it with openness, care and compassion and in doing so it will make the idea of dying a bit more comfortable, the unknown a little more approachable and living a bit more free.
Licensed Facilitator and Guide in The Sacred + The Ceremonial
Offering opportunities to explore, grow and heal through the wisdom and guidance of sacred plant medicine journeys. With clear and established intentions through thoughtful preparation, administration and integration the experiential insights gained can provide an ineffable opportunity to address existential inquiries, trauma, depression, dependence, and PTSD.
MISSION + VISION
To provide care, support, education and equitable access to an inclusive community to foster trust and connectivity where one can feel safe, heal, find liberation and prepare with curiosity and dignity for the natural stages of the Life/Death cycle.
True philosophers make death and dying their profession.
- plato
DEATH + DYING
death \'deth\ (noun) 1. the act or fact of dying; the end of life; the final and irreversible cessation of the vital functions of an animal or plant, 2. the state of being dead; the state or condition of being without life, animation, or activity. (Oxford English Dictionary)
It is estimated that 110 billion humans have died over the last 192,000 years (the era of homo sapiens), or roughly 94% of all humans that have lived on this Earth. Today there is roughly 8 billion +/- humans on the planet and on average 60 million +/- die each year.
You are not alone in the act of dying.
It is in fact the greatest unifier of the living.
A Death Doula is your advocate and ally in your journey.
The modern Western world has d/evolved to fear and stigmatize death, attempts to deny it, postpone its inevitability and turn away from the greatest truth of life itself - that it will at some point in it’s current physical form come to an end. The Life/Death cycle is all around us in the natural world witnessed through the changing of the seasons, the end of a personal relationship, the six week lifespan of the honeybee or feeling the warmth of the sun on our backs that too will eventually, in approximately 5 billions years, come to it’s own end, evolving into something new.
Life and death are deeply personal experiences that are bound together. Dying a good death is about facing death consciously, with the support of people, practices, rituals and tools that guide and support the journey. It honors your personal, spiritual, cultural, emotional, and physical needs and wishes, allowing you to continue on with a sense of wholeness and resolve. It reflects your values, beliefs and connections with peace, acceptance and dignity. It involves embracing the unknown with courage and curiosity, letting go of fear and regret to greet death as an integral part of life. Acknowledging and preparing for death is a gift not just for yourself but also those you hold dear.
The bureaucracy of death in the modern world is Kafka-esque and can be daunting, confusing, maddening, stressful, burdensome and emotional for the dying and their families. Many customizable options and documents exist that can provide both empowerment and peace of mind.
It is never too late to embrace death proactively. How about planning a celebration of life? Writing or recording letters to loved ones. Assemble an ancestral altar and archive. Dub and distribute a memento mori mixtape for friends to dance to in celebration of their eternal connection to you. Would you like the handling of your body to be more environmentally considerate as an act of reciprocity with the natural world that sustained your life? The options continue and their exploration can be heavy, deep, fun, refreshing, freeing, revelatory and enlightening.
Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
- marie curie
Death was once familial and communal. People experienced, honored and tended to death regularly - in the home and in the community. If we, begin to embrace death as something purely natural and a shared communal experience, we give ourselves a gift to participate more presently, with gratitude, and fulfilled in life itself. It is important that we become friends and partners with death allowing us to approach the inevitable with love and wonder. A good death is not just a transition from the physical plane to the next great unknown but a culmination of an authentic life fully lived.
Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know.
Because in that other room I shall be able to see.
- helen keller
THE SACRED + THE CEREMONIAL
With clear and established intentions through open and thoughtful preparation, administration and integration the insights gained from sacred plant medicine journeys can provide ineffable healing opportunities to address existential inquiries, end of life anxietyand fear, trauma, depression, dependence, and PTSD.
Sacred plant medicines, such as psilocybin can offer the potential for healing and foster interconnectivity to self, others and the environment and have been used for millennia by indigenous peoples around the globe - from ancient Celtic Druids in Ireland to the Mazatec people of the Sierra Norte in Oaxaca, Mexico. Psilocybin mushrooms are believed to date back approximately 67 million years, nearly 65 million years before humans walked the earth and appear on all continents excluding Antartica.
The Tassili n'Ajjer Mountains World Heritage Site in southeastern Algeria from the Neolithic Era is home to some of the world's earliest rock art (10,000 BCE) including this powerful mushroom infused honey bee headed shamanic figure.
Express gratitude and trust the sacred plant medicine - a great teacher and guide.
Mystical experiences, meditation, and/or the use of sacred plant medicines can bring about a temporary state known as Ego Death - a profound psychological or spiritual experience in which your sense of self, or ego, and the boundaries that define one's identity temporarily dissolves, leading to a feeling of unity with the universe, nature, or a greater cosmic truth. Experiences, like each living thing, are unique and varied. It can involve a deep sense of transcendence, where personal concerns, desires, and fears fade away, allowing a perspective beyond the ordinary self. A transformative moment that offers profound insights into the nature of existence and one's place within it. It often fosters feelings of interconnectedness with community and nature, humility, and a redefinition of what is truly meaningful in life.
And please take note, it is a round trip.
NATURE CONNECTEDNESS
Biophilia is defined as “the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life”. This nature connectedness is considered a key contributor to psychological well-being and psilocybin has been shown to reveal and/or increase the depths of this connection - to the self, others, and the world at large. Time in and with nature is associated with lower levels of anxiety, high psychological functioning, greater happiness and positive affect.
Nature based experiences, a reconnection to the Mother Goddess, can foster an empathetic connection to nature and a humility of one’s self within it often described as awe-inspiring. The experience of awe is considered to be a positive component of both contact with nature and of psychedelic mystical-type experiences.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
- albert einstein
RECIPROCITY
Reciprocity is at the heart of working with sacred plant medicines as an act of solidarity as well as social and environmental responsibility, honoring both the Indigenous cultures from which these traditions originate and the natural world that provides them.
These sacred medicines offer wisdom that can lead to personal and communal healing and it is important to support indigenous communities through direct action for the sovereignty over their ancestral practices, and cultural lineages.
Reciprocity also extends to nature and the land itself. There is a grand interconnectedness that exists. Humans, nature, and fungi are woven together in a vast web of mutual support and transformation through the continuous Life/Death cycle. To walk this path with authenticity, we must recognize that our healing is inseparable from the well-being of the environment and Mother Earth.