teaching stories – End of Life University

Learn how telling stories can make you a better and more effective teacher about end-of-life issues.

In this solo episode I share some of the research around the power of stories to teach and to change behavior, which is why we should all be using stories when we are working with people around end-of-life issues. You can harness the “magic” of stories to motivate your students to take action and to develop greater empathy for others. Find out how to become a better storyteller in your work, no matter what role you play.

Listen here:

This episode includes:

The neuroscience of stories and how they work to change our thinking
Why stories are “empathy machines”
Why everyone should use stories in their work, but especially in work that involves death and dying
How stories help with healing
- Teach about the past
- Increase empathy
- Make sense of life
- Reveal what is hidden
- Engage the imagination
- Enhance memory
Characteristics of a good story
Tools needed to become a great storyteller
Types of teaching stories
- Personal
- Witnessed
- Borrowed
- Nature
- Historical
- Myth and legend

Links mentioned in this episode:

Research on storytelling

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
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

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.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 308 Map of Memory Lane: A Grief Book for Children with Francesca Arnoldy

July 19, 2021July 16, 2021 kwyattmd

Learn about a new book for children that gently introduces the idea of loss and cherishing our memories.

My guest Francesca Lynn Arnoldy is a community doula and educator who developed the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine’s End-of-LIfe Doula training programs. She is also a bereavement researcher with the Vermont Conversation Lab, and leads workshops about doula approaches and end-of-life wishes. She is the author of Cultivating the Doula Heart: Essentials of Compassionate Care as well as the forthcoming picture book Map of Memory Lane. She discusses the importance of resources for educating children about death and grief from an early age. Learn more about her doula work and her book at these websites:

www.contemplativedoula.com

www.francescalynnarnoldy.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Why Francesca was inspired to write a book about grief for children
How children grieve differently from adults
Why we need to teach children from a young age about the cycle of life and death and how to approach grief
How Francesca handled grief with her own children when their dog died
Many adults today are still dealing with issues of unresolved grief from childhood
Why we need “healthy preparedness” for the end of life at all ages – the education should begin in childhood
How the book is a valuable teaching tool for parents/grandparents/teachers/doulas to use with children
Why simple and clear information is preferable for children
The importance of grief legacy work and how doulas can help families with this process
How Francesca is using crowdfunding through Kickstarter to get the book into print

Links mentioned in this episode:

Francesca’s Kickstarter Page for Map of Memory Lane
Sign up for the 2021 online reading group A Year of Reading Dangerously at this link
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
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

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 supporters Michael F. Potvin and Jeremy E. Damec! Your contributions make all the difference!

EOLPodcast, mortal wisdom, Spirituality

Ep. 284 The Hero’s Journey at the End of Life

February 1, 2021January 31, 2021 kwyattmd

Learn what the Hero’s Journey can teach us about the dying process and how to support someone on that journey.

In this solo episode I share some thoughts about the archetypal Hero’s Journey, conceived by Joseph Campbell as a template for the transformative experiences of our own lives and those who are facing the end of life. Each of us has the opportunity to be a mentor for someone who is going through the ordeal of their own hero’s journey and this model can help us understand how to offer support and what is needed from us. Download a one page handout at the link below:

Heros-Journey Download

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Why the archetypal Hero’s Journey applies to people at the end of life
Why things generally have to fall apart before transformation can occur
How dissolution of life’s equilibrium can lead to either transformation or regression
The importance of a mentor for people experiencing the sacred end-of-life journey
The most important tasks of the end-of-life hero’s journey
- Reframing Suffering
- Strengthening Connections
- Finding Meaning
- Facing Fear of Death
How unaddressed shadow issues can sabotage transformation at the end of life
The benefits of stories as tools for a mentor
How to utilize stories to assist with transformation

Links mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the 2021 online reading group A Year of Reading Dangerously at this link
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
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

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!