My sister Sandycrow and I were recently presenters at The Death and Dying Symposium hosted by my friend Anne-Marie Keppel of Stardust Meadows Village Death Care, in Craftsbury, VT. Most of the guests were Death Doulas; midwives who attend to the dying during their transition into the spirit world, assisting in similar ways that a midwife or doula would assist a birth.
Sandy and I have been involved in the process of death and dying since we were in our twenties; long before there was officially such a thing as a death doula. During these younger years, we found ourselves in the role of midwives to death mostly out of necessity. We were comfortable with death and dying and a lot of people were not, which meant if someone in our family, friends, or community needed assistance we found our way there. Over time our relationship with death morphed, mine leaning into spirit communication and the afterlife, and Sandy's transformed into the end-of-life services of funerals and memorials.
Sandy's class focused on creating funeral services and was held in the back of an old graveyard. As we gathered around the gravestones, the respect and openness to spirit and death itself were remarkable; as the powerful doulas attending the event were those who, like my sister and I, have chosen to live their lives with death as a companion. As I sat listening to my sister's words, I watched as spirits filled in our circle; some local to the graveyard, and others connected to the Doulas.
As Sandy's teachings ended, we meandered past gravestones to the knoll behind the library where the Spirit Gallery would be held. By this point, I had a solid line of spirits following me as I made stops for necessities. Many of the spirits were those who had gathered around the doulas as they listened in the graveyard; some being personal connections, and others those they had assisted in dying there to give their thanks!
Gallery-style spirit communication is intended for larger groups. The Medium; directed by the spirits present, determines who will receive messages. Due to the size of the group messages cannot be delivered to all guests. However, the messages passed are so specific that it is often a moving experience regardless of whether a personal message was received.
As the Gallery began, I pointed out to the guests that they all had spirits around them! Regardless of whether they received a personal message or not, there were spirits present for all of them. I also spoke of how many of them would develop a deeper relationship with the spirit world; often including spirit contact, as they developed their craft, as sitting with the dying connects us to the death and the spirit world. The messages passed were filled with emotions, stories, and details of lives lived, but they were also filled with thanks, pride, and joy at the lives lived by those who were there in the living. Just as our story is formed in part by our ancestors, so to our the dead transformed by the living!
spreading love-
salicrow
Books on Death and Dying-
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
(Coming April 2023)
SPIRIT SPEAKER
A Mediums Guide to Death and Dying
Salicrow
In this compassionate and straightforward guide to the spiritual process of dying and what happens after death, psychic medium Salicrow answers the most common questions asked by her clients over her decades of work as a spirit speaker.
DEATH NESTING
Anne-Marie Keppel
(available now)
Death Nesting incorporates ancient and modern death doula techniques, mindfulness practices, and herbal support to physically, emotionally, and spiritually care for the dying. The focus is on "whole being" caregiving for home deaths but can be implemented into other settings such as acute care to create a more holistic experience.
Spirit Communication w/Salicrow- individual and group sessions
Featured in this Blog-
Sandycrow- ceremonies for lives transitions (funerals, weddings, and cronings)-
Stardust Meadows, Village Deathcare- Village Deathcare Course
#beloveddead, #spiritspeaker, #psychicmedium, #salicrow, #spiritcommunication, #deathnesting, #stardustmeadows, #deathanddyingsymposium, #deathdoula
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