End Of Life Doula
Love, Life and Beyond is.... bringing a sense of honor, dignity, and regard to every experience in life and death, feeling a sense of peace all the way to our very last breath.
~ Shelley Whizin
What is a Death Doula/Midwife?
As humans, we are born with an inhale and die with an exhale. One breath in, and one breath out. It’s what we do with all the breaths in between that matter. Midwives patiently wait for the spirit/baby to be born. They assist in the delivery and are guardians of the birthing experience. Death doulas/midwives wait patiently until the spirit leaves the body. They are the guardians of the dying experience.
When loved ones are dying, oftentimes people don’t know what to do, what to say or how to behave. Death doulas/midwives not only hold the space for the person who is dying, but also for their families and friends. It is probably one of the most sacred experiences ever. Witnessing one’s last breath is a privilege, just as much as witnessing a birth.
Services and Resources
A Life Review is an oral, video, or written record of the most important values, lessons, and truths a person has learned during their lifetime.
When we review our lives, or give someone the opportunity to review their life, it helps to give meaning to what we or they have done in this lifetime. We or they feel that our life matters and their life matters, that we made an impact on someone by living and we are able to leave a legacy.
As an End of Life Celebrant, I create unique, personalized ceremonies, whether they be Funerals, where the body is present, or Celebrations of Life/Memorials, where the body is not present.
Being spiritually oriented, I celebrate the fulfillment of the soul through human experience. I am not religious. However, I take into consideration your religious preferences, which can be incorporated into the ceremony you choose.
A death doula/midwife is a non-medical, emotional, spiritual, and practical support for anyone who is dying, and their families and loved ones.
We know it’s never easy losing someone we love. As a certified death doula/midwife, I hold the space for you and your family during the dying process, much like a midwife does with the birthing process. My intention is to create a healing and sacred dying experience and to always help families cope with death through recognizing it as a natural and important part of life, allowing for a natural closure.
When someone dies, many people don’t know how to handle the situation. I help by facilitating a personal experience with music and ambience.
Why is it so important to talk about death sooner rather than later?
As humans, we sometimes think about the “last” breath of life. It’s a natural part of our human wonderment, but many are afraid to talk about it, thinking if they do, death may happen sooner or even that it’s so far off, and will never happen. They can’t relate. That couldn’t be further from the truth. None of us are getting out of here alive. Everyone has an expiration date. We don’t know when or how, but there is no time like the present to live as fully as you intend, so that at any given moment, you or your loved one can make that transition in peace.
In talking about death, mindfully, heartfully, and soulfully, we have the possibility of easing the dying journey. The key factor is, the sooner we talk about it, explore it, and grapple with it, the sooner we make peace with the fear that sometimes paralyzes our lives so much so, we don’t even end up living the life we want, while we are alive.
Love, Life & Beyond
Love, Life and Beyond is a namesake created to address issues around life and death in order to navigate the living experience with honor, dignity, and regard… to the very last breath.
Love, Life and Beyond is for everyone who wants to understand the life to dying process, while focusing on the “life” part, preparing ourselves and others in a calm and fulfilling way, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
When we bring dying issues into the forefront of our minds, we begin to face life and present our minds with the opportunity to heal from fear.
Through this concept of Love, Life and Beyond, I have created tools for you, and your dying loved ones, so that you are able to create a sacred living and dying experience, and hold the space, while allowing a natural sense of closure to ease the dying process.
Love, Life and Beyond may open another perspective on the human journey. My desire is for you to find your way through your personal experiences and take you to a place where you can feel safe, comforted, and supported, while being provided with thoughts about death and dying, life and living.
Birth is a special journey from a place without memory that happens to every one of us; death can be looked upon as another bookend journey to life, that also happens to everyone. The more that we can gently engage with the dying experience in our life as a sacred experience for our soul, the better equipped we can become for our human journey, and bring precious honor, dignity, and regard to our lives.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
- Frank Herbert, Dune 1965
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