I was interviewed by James Stovall, host of the podcast Practical Shamanism. It’s a wide ranging conversation that delves into a fascinating array of topics about death, dying and being dead.
A Guild of Death Midwives
As a society, we need skilled people who can help us to be with death, but there are very few channels through which non-professionals can offer that service. Death midwifery is one solution to the problem. [Read more…]
A Healing Ritual for Abortion
Our goal in this ritual was not only to change the experience for this child, this couple, and those who care about and support them, but also to help build new healing patterns in the cultural field, so that all those who have, or will, go through [Read more…]
A Letter from a Death Doula to a Client
We aren’t wired to be able to meet mortality without the support and love of our community. The challenge is that connecting with that community support can be harder to do under the pressure of a serious illness or impending death [Read more…]
Convening a Healers’ Council
The Community Healers’ Council is a radical experiment in community healing. It’s a ritual practice group for learning the skills of shapeshifting and restoration. It’s a transformational ceremony on behalf of our whole community. [Read more…]
Supporting Twins to Connect Beyond Death
The brother had never been ritually conveyed to the Village of the Ancestors, and the sister hadn’t been helped to reconfigure their bond so she could relate to him as an ancestor, rather than a living sibling. He was, in a sense, still here, and [Read more…]
My Teachers: Deena Metzger
Deena is a wise woman in every traditional and modern sense of the word. She’s one of the many healers and leaders who inspire me as they revive the ancient practice of community elderhood. [Read more…]
Helping Kids Witness Death
I recently did a euthanizing ceremony for Artie, a family’s beloved cat. The vet came to the house, so the whole family (including Panther, the other cat) could be part of it. It was both very sad, and very beautiful. [Read more…]
Principles and Lineage of the Healers’ Council
The Community Healers’ Council is a learning laboratory for ritual practitioners. We meet monthly in Calgary, and use the tools of council, divination, constellation, dreamwork, and ceremony to deepen our connections to
A Hospice Deathbed Ritual
Even the simplicity of an ordered participation can help stabilize things. When they washed his hands and face with warm water and lavender, when they spoke their goodbyes, and when they anointed his forehead [Read more…]