Tag: spiritual care

EOLPodcast

Ep. 372 Creating a Spiritual Care Directive with Rhonda LoPresti

kwyattmd

Learn about the importance of having a directive to let others know about your spiritual wishes at the end of life, even if you are not religious or spiritual.

My guest Rhonda LoPresti is an end-of-life coach, home funeral guide and longtime practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. She has created a Spiritual Care Directive for Buddhists and also a Universal Spiritual Care Directive to guide people in expressing their spiritual wishes at the end of life. Rhonda offers a 9-week course called “Writing Your Spiritual Care Directive–A Buddhist Plan for the Time of Dying” and she shares why it’s important to plan ahead for our spiritual care at life’s end. Learn more at her website:

www.peacefullyprepared.com

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This episode includes:

  • How Rhonda became interested in working as an end-of-life coach and home funeral guide
  • What is a Spiritual Care Directive and why is it important
  • Why people who do not consider themselves religious or spiritual still need to consider their spiritual wishes at the end of life
  • Components of a spiritual care directive (for Buddhists and non-Buddhists)
  • Why a spiritual advocate is helpful at the end of life
  • Why some people may prefer not to be touched during the active dying process
  • What a “goodbye ceremony” might consist of
  • Why create a “spiritual will”

Planning is an act of kindness.”

Rhonda LoPresti

Links mentioned in this episode:

  • Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County Soul Care Speaker Series October 12th at Noon Pacific: Register here
  • DDNBC Workshop with Barbara Karnes and Karen Wyatt October 13th at 6:30 pm Pacific: Register here
  • Contact Rhonda for a free copy of the Spiritual Care Directive: rhonda@peacefully-prepared.com

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest patrons Laura Sue Cleminson, Nancy R. and Charlotte VanVactor, and to Athena Berens for making a donation through Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 328 Sacred Death Care and the Deathwalker Archetype with Sarah Kerr PhD

kwyattmd

Learn how to tell if you’ve been called to be a “deathwalker” and how to offer sacred care to others at the end of life.

My guest Sarah Kerr has been a death doula, ritual healing practitioner, and trainer since 2012. She draws on nature-based spirituality, sacred sciences, and the richness of the human soul in her work and she is the founder of The Centre for Sacred Deathcare. She discusses the “deathwalker archetype,” how many people are being called right now to do this work, and the courses she offers to help us create more complete maps for dying, death and bereavement. Learn more about Sarah’s work at her websites:

Education and training: www.sacreddeathcare.com

Death doula services: www.soulpassages.ca

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Sarah was drawn to the work she does as a death doula, ritual practitioner and trainer
  • Why social healing requires getting accustomed to endings and death
  • How death care helps us merge our knowledge of science and spirituality
  • How The Centre for Sacred Deathcare got started
  • Challenges and blessings that have arisen from COVID
  • Simple, personal rituals for being present during difficult times
  • What is the “Deathwalker Archetype” and how to know if it is active in your psyche
  • How Western medicine leaves out the Soul when dealing with health issues
  • Why we need new maps for dying, death and bereavement
  • The 3 maps of The Soul’s Journey Course Sarah teaches
  • Why Deathwalkers need to be in community with one another

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my new patron Lelia Ball! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 286 The Three Regrets: Stories from a Buddhist Hospice Chaplain with Tenzin Kiyosaki

kwyattmd

Learn how a former Buddhist nun brought her gentle, compassionate approach to hospice chaplaincy.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Laughter Yoga Webinar mentioned in this episode has been rescheduled for March 10th due to severe weather-related power outages experienced by the presenter. You can still register using the link below.

My guest Tenzin Kiyosaki has been a certified interfaith hospice chaplain for the past 13 years. She also practiced as a Buddhist nun for 27 years after being ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and brings an Eastern perspective to her hospice work. She is the author of the book The Three Regrets: Inspirational Stories of Love and Forgiveness at Life’s End and shares the spiritual wisdom she gathered from her work with dying patients.

Get the book here.

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Tenzin was inspired to become a hospice chaplain
  • What Tenzin learned from her Buddhist studies about the end of life
  • What hospice work is always an ongoing learning experience
  • How Western culture avoids the subject of death while Eastern cultures embrace it
  • The failure of Western medicine to accept impermanence
  • What led Tenzin to return her vows and become a lay person once again
  • The role of a chaplain in hospice to find the “heart” of each patient
  • Do chaplains and hospice need different titles to overcome bias in our society?
  • How to help patients who regret a lack of accomplishment in life
  • Helping patients who have not shared enough love during their lives
  • Why regret at the end of life is actually a good sign
  • A Buddhist perspective on medical aid in dying

Links included in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference!

End of Life, EOLPodcast, Spirituality

Ep. 214 Present Through the End: Spiritual Care of the Dying with Kirsten DeLeo

kwyattmd

Learn why being present for others is actually a perfect self-care practice.

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My return guest Kirsten DeLeo is an international trainer with the Spiritual Care Program and teaches about contemplative caregiving. She is the author of the newly-released book Present through the End and will discuss how and why we should strengthen our own ability to be present with others as part of our spiritual care of the dying. Learn more at Kirsten’s website:

www.kirstendeleo.com

presentthroughtheend

Get the book here.

Listen here.

 

This episode includes:

  • Dying is a spiritual process more than it is a medical process
  • How to prepare to become a caregiver for someone else
  • How to increase our own ability to be present with another
    • Slow down
    • Be mindful of our own breathing and physical presence
    • Be mindful of our thoughts and feeling
    • Listen without thinking of what to say next
    • Focus on heart-centeredness
  • Caring for ourselves and caring for another are not separate
  • Being present with another person for even a few moments nurtures us and helps alleviate our stress
  • Examples of questions to ask as conversation openers
  • Signs that death is drawing near

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on Patreon.com/eolu, your contributions mean  everything to me!

End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 165 Part 4: The Palliative Care Team Chaplain with Stephanie Ryu

kwyattmd

PodcastPallRyu

 

 

ProvidenceRyuITIn Part 4 of our series on palliative care I share an interview with Stephanie Ryu a palliative care chaplain. She’ll discuss her role providing spiritual support to patients with advanced illness. 

Learn more about palliative care here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

madrid-2713916_640My awesome Spain trip is at an end as this episode airs and I’ll be making my way back to Colorado! You can check out all of my pictures on Instagram at kwyattmd!

Tune in next week to hear my stories from Spain!

FEATURE PRESENTATION:

In this presentation Stephanie Ryu will discuss her role as a chaplain on the palliative care team.

You will learn:

  • How the work of a palliative care chaplain differs from other chaplaincy work
  • The role of spiritual care in the whole-person approach to illness and healing
  • The importance of spirituality at the end of life
  • How chaplains assist patients of all religions and those who follow no religion

Stephanie Ryu is a graduate of St. Xavier University and Fuller Theological Seminary. She completed CPE Residency at Providence St. Joseph – Burbank in 2012-13 along with a 6-month fellowship in hospice and palliative care. She now serves as a Palliative Care Chaplain for Providence Health and Services.

Tune in next week for a brand new episode!! If you like this content consider leaving a review on iTunes.

Until next time …

Face Your Fear         BE Ready         Love Your Life

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End of Life, EOLPodcast, Hospice, Spirituality

Ep. 82: How to Provide Spiritual Care for the “Non-Spiritual” Patient

kwyattmd

What can you do when a hospice patient refuses spiritual care? Here’s how to meet the need for a spiritual approach to dying for every patient.

PodcastSpiritual

Wyatt18smallIn this episode I’ll share the story of a hospice patient who refused spiritual care because he was a non-believer and how we discovered what really mattered to him at the end of life.

 

ANNOUNCEMENT:

The online course Step-by-Step Roadmap for End-of-Life Planning is still available. Learn more about it at www.eoluniversity.com/roadmap.

supportonpatreon-e1412764908776You can help support this podcast and the End-of-Life University Interview Series by making a small monthly donation at www.Patreon.com/eolu. To thank you for your donation I’ll promote your end-of-life related website, business, or organization on this podcast. Thank you to all of our current patrons – you make this podcast possible!

SPIRITUAL CARE FOR NON-SPIRITUAL PATIENTS:

This episode was inspired by my recent attendance at the Accompanying the Dying Residential Retreat hosted by Deanna Cochran of Quality of Life Care and led by Kirsten DeLeo and Dr. Ann Allegre of the Spiritual Care Program. This retreat provided a deep dive into the task of providing spiritual care to our patients at the end of life and offered an amazing opportunity to explore our own depths of spiritual practice and presence.

In my work in hospice I have long thought about those patients who refuse all spiritual care because they are “not religious” or just not interested. But everyone has a spiritual aspect, whether or not they are aware of it or develop that part of themselves. And every dying patient is entitled to receive the presence and compassion of a spiritual care provider. But how can this care be offered without offending or intruding upon the patient’s own beliefs?

Theologian Paul Tillich has defined spirituality as one’s “ultimate concern” meaning that whatever really matters to a person at the very end of life is the expression of that person’s spiritual nature. So for some individuals the ultimate concern might be a religion or a particular practice, but for others it could be anything … even baseball.

In this episode I tell the story of a hospice patient whose “ultimate concern” was baseball and how we eventually recognized that instead of trying to get him to talk about the meaning of life or his regrets, we just needed to let him talk about baseball. Listening to his stories about his favorite team was the path that ultimately helped him heal some of old regrets and unfinished business.

This story illustrates the need for the following conditions whenever we provide spiritual care to a patient who doesn’t identify as having spiritual needs:

  • Listen. The importance of allowing the patient to talk about the topics of his or her choice cannot be over emphasized. Deep listening with a compassionate heart is essential for honoring the perspective of the patient.
  • Discover the “ultimate concern.” When patients are allowed to guide the conversation they will naturally reveal what really matters to them.
  • Honor the patient’s wisdom and experience. Listen with reverence as the patient talks about his or her values and priorities. Recognize what is sacred to the patient even if it seems ordinary to you.
  • Connect patients to their own feelings of peace and joy. The “ultimate concern” is usually the source of positive feelings and experiences for patients. Help them recall those moments of being connected with something greater by listening to stories or guiding them to re-imagine a previous happy occasion.

In the podcast you will hear how Warren’s story came to a close as an example of finding a path to healing by going through the ultimate concern of baseball. Enjoy listening!

Remember to tune in every Monday for a new episode. Until then:

Face Your Fears.               BE Ready.                   Love Your Life.

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