Art of Dying Art of Dying_Volume III_joomag | Page 53

the dying from unnecessary measurements of pulse and other vital signs. It is essential that the dying’s energy be allowed to flow, that the dying be allowed to fully launch. The body and breath will do the work of departing no matter what we may do or not do. There are no mistakes. Every death is unique. I call the last subtle energy realm, “Breaking Into The Light.” This is the time when, as all major religions teach, the dying person leaves their body and enters an exquisite light field. If the doula feels drawn, he or she can center awareness in their third eye, toward the pineal gland, and open themselves to the beautiful promise of entering that light-field with their patient. The last three months of life are generally an awkward time when nobody knows what to say. When told they are terminally ill, most people fixate on how to stay alive. This is so human. We are wired for survival. And the medical system is a great partner in this realm. Yet while we are surviving, no one asks why we want to live longer. No one asks us about our essential well-being or objectively assesses the quality of the extra life gained. Those who choose another round of chemo or surgery can suffer so much from the treatments that they lose sight of what they wanted to live for. An important question is if the person is in pain. Often, the dying person isn’t suffering. Often we decide to medicate the dying person because we cannot tolerate what's going on within ourselves. I have developed a "Best Life Care for Best Three Months of Life" training model where we ask questions about our priorities, as though we have three months to live. We expand the timeline around what we call death and dying, allowing people the opportunity to fulfill what they care about and value most in a longer period of time—while they have enough physical and mental energy to do what they desire to do. We help people identify the steps that they would take to move from their current reality to a realized vision of their spiritual life goal. Maybe they're not the best months of their life but they are the best last months they could possibly have. The “Sacred Passage: End of life Doula” certificate training, if integrated into system training, would be tremendously effective to help achieve what everyone wants: an improvement in patient care and satisfaction; a decrease in cost around the last three months of life; and an enriching increase in staff satisfaction through elevating their calling to that of a spiritual practice. The Conscious Dying Institute furthers the evolution of human consciousness through restoring death to its sacred place in the beauty, mystery, and celebration of life. From a conversation with John Wadsworth TARRON ESTES is founder of The Conscious Dying Institute. She is an End-Of-Life-Educator, Organizational Learning Consultant, Caritas Coach, an Associate Faculty with Dr. Jean Watson's The Watson Caring Science Institute. She designs and facilitates "Sacred Passage: End of Life Doula Certificates" in the United States and Canada. Tarron graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelors in Creative Writing and Journalism; Professional Coaching Certificate, Leading Learning Communities; Certified Massage Therapist, Regina School of Massage; Alaya Process Certification in Somatic Psychology. Tarron lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she hikes, bikes, writes, designs, collaborates and cooks up fun things with people she loves. WWW.CONSCIOUSDYINGINSTITUTE.COM VOLUME III | 53