It has been said that “knowledge is power.” We believe that prehospice education can provide important insights to the spiritual and physiological events that occur in the dying process. This knowledge is both comforting and empowering for the dying person and their loved ones. If we can view death (or as Ram Dass says “dropping the body”) as a natural part of our life’s experience, we may become more willing to explore dying with grace and peace. This is a spiritual activity that includes letting go of fear and finding peace within ourselves.
In most cultures world-wide, the moments of birth and death are held reverent. People everywhere are in awe as a tiny new life enters this world. Equally awe inspiring is the moment when a soul departs the body in death. As human beings, we are all travelers, and we all experience birth, life, and death. As we begin to grasp that our time on this earth is limited, we discover ways to be more compassionate, daring, generous, and kind. Our lives and relationships will be enriched by this kind of inquiry. It is a journey of epic proportion! We believe the journey can begin at any time. It requires only willingness.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines the word “hospice” as follows:
- A shelter or lodging for travelers, pilgrims, foundlings, or the destitute, especially one maintained by a monastic order.
- A program that provides palliative care and attends to the emotional and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients at an inpatient facility or at the patient’s home.
The term, hospice, is widely associated with care for the dying. It also refers to shelter or lodging for travelers {especially one maintained by a monastic order}. Here we find an implication of someone on a spiritual journey. Nearly all religions make reference to some sort of afterlife, where a soul takes refuge after leaving the body behind. While some might say that death is the “final” journey, others believe it is a birth to a new beginning. We believe that this delicate balance of birth, life and death deserves your conscious reflection and tender loving care.