“Bridging the Gap”

... providing guidance and tools for supporting a loved one through life and death transitions.

When: Friday, November 5 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. & Saturday November 6 from 8:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Where: Wayne’s House in Flagstaff, Arizona

Cost: $100 includes lunch; $40 for overnight stay (Please inquire about the sliding scale)

Preregistration required: call 928-525-2910 or email info@furthershore.org

The dictionary definition for ‘gap’ is a break or opening; an empty space or interval. For persons with serious illness, chronic pain, or terminal diagnosis, the gaps are numerous and pervasive. An obvious gap in our western world is a tendency to hold the inevitably of physical death at arm’s length. As the baby boomer population is aging, it is imperative that we give up our fears and taboos around death. Now is the time to embrace the courage, presence and compassion it takes to support our loved ones at end of life. If we want this for ourselves, a good beginning point is to practice offering this to others.

Bridging the Gap is a prehospice training that is required for volunteers serving Further Shore Tender Loving Care (TLC) clients and is useful for those planning to be present or supportive for their parents, siblings, partner, or other loved ones during health and life transitions. During this program participants will learn about a wholistic approach to end of life concerns. Talking circles, guided meditations, and experiential activities will be incorporated to provide a comprehensive picture of ourselves as supportive prehospice helpers. The program will include:

~ Orientation to hospice and palliative care philosophy
~ Understanding the team approach to wellness at any stage of living or dying
~ Learning simple methods for meeting and coping with personal grief
~ Discovering how we do and do not listen
~ Learning to compassionately express feelings and needs
~ Exercises to clear a path to peace with personal mortality
~ Learning about the rights of the dying
~ Understanding the importance of the life review

Your Presenter is ~ Aleia O'Reilly, LMT-AM is the founder and director of Further Shore. She is a licensed massage therapist, author, and associate minister, certified in numerous energy healing techniques including Reiki, Matrix Energetics, and Reconnective Healing. A skilled facilitator for individuals and groups, she has been assisting others in their wellness journeys for over thirty years.