Art of Spiritual Midwifery to the Dying Series
These classes are designed to teach the spiritual understanding and skills for helping loved ones, friends, community members, and clients through the processes of dying. The first two classes, Spiritual Care to the Dying, and The Vigil course, are designed for anyone, who would like to learn more about serving the dying. They are accessible to anyone of any background. It is my hope that as many people as possible can learn these skills that we may serve one another with kindness and compassion. The Complications class is an advanced course for spiritual midwives to the dying and other professionals studying and working within the field. The guild and apprenticeship classes are designed to support the development and training of midwives to the dying.
Spiritual Care to the Dying
This two-day course teaches a spiritual view of the dying process and explores practical and accessible ways to provide spiritual care to the dying. Students will learn about the spiritual needs we experience at the end of life, and ways to greet these needs. This course is for anyone of any background, who wish to serve their loved ones, neighbors, clients, churches, or learn more about themselves. It is a prerequisite to all other courses.
The Vigil: Offering Spiritual Care in the Last Days and Hours.
This five-day retreat is offered to those, who would like to deepen their knowledge of spiritual care to the dying. We learn how to offer vigil and provide spiritual care through compassionate, nonverbal means of communication and presence. We learn specific skills for the dying process such as sound healing, visualization, use of scriptural text and poetry, prayer, energy medicine, and mantra/sacred chanting. Students also learn detailed understanding of the dying/dissolution process as taught by the wisdom traditions with a special emphasis upon the five elements.
Complications: PTSD, Spiritual Pain, Coma Therapy, and Other Labor Complications.
This five-day retreat is an advanced class offered to students, who are training to become spiritual midwives to the dying or are professionals currently working in the field. In this class we will explore the kinds of difficulties that arise in the psycho-spiritual processes of dying as the ego dissolves. We will discuss difficulties that arise throughout the dying process, but special attention will be paid to traumatic histories and traumatic responses to the dying process, terminal agitation, pain expressed by patients, who are nonverbal, and ways to diagnose and treat spiritual pain including coma therapy skills. A base level of knowledge in the field is necessary, as this is a fast paced advanced course for those offering treatment to complications. An understanding of the dissolution process, foundational counseling skills and ego development, and consciousness or spiritual care is assumed. An overview will be presented upon the first day so that we can share a professional language of communication.
The Art of Spiritual Midwifery Guild
This six-month class, is for those, exploring the path of spiritual midwifery to the dying. In this class we learn death and dying through the eyes of the major wisdom traditions of the world, cultivating reverence for each tradition, and learning what they can teach us about our own spiritual path, as well as the journey of dying. We also deepen our understanding of the dissolution process through didactic and experiential exercises. And we explore our personal development as spiritual midwives, and the ways we might work in the field. This is an intimate class, based upon the ancient ways, that a midwife is called by her community as well as her own heart, and that the mystical path and the path of dying are one story.
Art of Spiritual Midwifery Apprenticeship Class
This one year course is for those training as spiritual midwives to the dying, who have completed the guild course. This class is focused upon the path of accompanying the dying throughout the dying process. We will learn to create treatment plans and master the skills for providing treatment through psycho-spiritual and consciousness medicines and means. We will also develop community based resources and skills and ways to work within our community and with fellow professionals. Apprenticeship class is for individuals living in or very near the same community that they may potentially work together to provide services, as well as refer to one another.
Apprenticeship
Apprentices are chosen mutually between Connee and each student. The apprenticeship offers the student an opportunity to integrate all her personal and professional skills together with the skills of a spiritual midwife. Connee offers ongoing individual training as well as supervision and case review for clients until the student is ready to manage cases on her own. For those choosing to work independently in private practice, training and access to resources for doing so will also be offered.
Filed under: Art of Spiritual Midwifery to the Dying Series
