- PEMA CHÖDRÖN
HOW WE LIVE IS HOW WE DIE
THE QUESTIONS BELOW ARE FOR YOU WHETHER ...
YOU ARE HEALTHY AND LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE
HAVE JUST RECEIVED A TERMINAL DIAGNOSIS
YOU ARE IN THE LATE STAGES OF LIFE
Have you thought about how the body slowly shuts down in the months to weeks to days before we die? The approach of death is often gradual. Would you recognize the changes in another person you love or yourself when it expresses?
For those of us that have trusted the innate intelligence of the human body or consider yourself a 'non-interventionist'...have you thought about when or if you would choose to accept medical intervention?
Have you thought about what legal and medical documents you may need or want to have in order? Have you shared them with your loved ones so that they know where to find them if/when they are needed?
Do you have an Advance Care Plan? Advance care planning refers to the options you have for legal AND medical orders you want to have in place for the 'what if’s' when you need them.
If you do not typically share conventional health values, have you considered having an ethical will alongside your conventional will or a deciding on a health care power of attorney?
Have you considered where you want to die, who you want around, what kind of music or smells or flowers you want or don't want around?
How each person deals with any discomfort in their life typically becomes their level of pain during the dying process. Have you communicated your level of comfort/discomfort with pain and what level of consciousness & comfort you are will to exchange for your pain management?
Most people say they have fear… have you asked yourself, are you afraid of dying or being dead? What exactly are you afraid of?
Did you know that there are plant medicines that have been shown to reduce fear and allow you to reach a level of acceptance of one’s mortality with a single exposure? Would you consider this as an option for you or a loved one?
Have you considered the impact of your death and dying on the planet? Does that even matter to you? Eating organic but being embalmed (by another human exposed to the chemotoxic chemicals) and put into the ground – does this resonate with you?
Have you considered what you want done with your body when you no longer live in it? Do you know what options are available to you in your state and local community? Green, traditional, sea or...
Finally, have you had conversations with friends and family about your wishes? Having your affairs in order is one of the greatest gifts you can leave as your legacy on your way out…
I can help you navigate these difficult questions and uncover the space where you are more curious then afraid with the goal to empower you to put your wants and wishes in place.
“This precious human birth, so free and well favored, bless me that I reach its full meaning. The time of death is uncertain. Bless me that I have no regrets.”
- PRAYER TO MACHIG LABDRÖN
Karma Chakmé
Together we’ll move you away from fear-based ideas on aging, illness, dying and death. Knowledge IS power. My goal is to empowers you to consider your own mortality and put the pieces in place to leave this world in a manner that is congruent with the values you have lived by.
THIS is the legacy you leave YOUR loved ones. I will support your agency to give instructions on how you wish to be cared for when you can't speak for yourself, how you hope to experience your end of life transition and after you have transitioned, how do you hope to be cared for and/or celebrated after death.
- STEVE PANTILAT MD
UCSF MEDICAL CENTER
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