Learn about mindfulness and compassion-based tools to nurture and empower caregivers as they serve the needs of others.
About the guest:
Roy Remer is the executive director of the Zen Caregiving Project in San Francisco and the lead creator of the Mindful Caregiving Education curriculum. He is an educator and end-of-life caregiver since 1997 and a dedicated practitioner in the Soto Zen tradition. Roy is also the author of Zen Caregiving: How to Care for Yourself While Caring for Others. Learn more at the website:
In this episode:
- Being a caregiver is part of the human experience and will affect most of us
- Caregiving can be a pathway for growth but certain illnesses (especially dementia) can exact a huge toll on caregivers
- The value of learning genuine presence
- How this book can help everyone be better prepared in the future to become a caregiver
- How serving others differs from helping, which is outcome focused
- Our compassion is incomplete if we don’t also care for ourselves
- Caregivers do not receive adequate preparation or support physically, emotionally, or spiritually for the task of caring for others
- Why grief and guilt are common experiences of caregivers
- Simple rituals for processing grief while providing care
Links mentioned in this episode:
Resources:
- Caregiver Self Assessment Questionnaire
- Caregiver Online Support Circles
- Guided Meditations for Caregivers
- Field Guide to What Really Matters: Presence
Related episodes:
- Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver with Beverly Thorn PhD
- Care Boss: Strategies for Family Caregivers with Jennifer A. O’Brien
- Practical Tools for Home Caregivers with Barbara Karnes RN
- Contemplative Practices for Death and Grief with Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison
Other links:
- What Really Matters Podcast: Presence – The Most Important Skill for Uncertain Times
- Hospice Wisdom with Barbara Karnes Resource Page
- 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying by Karen Wyatt MD
- Latest post on Substack: We Need Another Word for Grief
- What Really Matters Podcast: Roses for Tracey and Grief with Wings
- Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
- Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
- Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu
- Buy me a coffee
- Donate on Paypal
