The Caregiver Website

You might think this title means that you have to get out of bed in the morning, punch on your computer and get moving on the internet. No big deal, right?

Distinctly not.

What I am talking about is expanding your vision. We live in a boundless energy field and you’re an integral part of it. How can you become more aware of this? Or, better yet, how can you make this a part of your day to day consciousness?

1. Start the day with a short routine; either walking, exercise, meditation, prayer – some sort of regular practice that will bridge you into the day. If you do exercises they should have an internal element; that is involved with posture, breathing, chi flow, good energy, or clearing your mind.

2. Use affirmations and reminders throughout the day. Work with a saying or some positive reminder. You are trying to do something different – which is stay aware of the endless energy network which we call our “world.” You can count on this energy being there, so remind yourself that it is.

3. Pause. At some point when you are feeling pushed to the edge and your perspective becomes somewhat narrowed, ie you are totally stressed, try to take a minute or even one second to pause. Just do nothing. Don’t relax, just stop for a moment. Then go on stressing. Stress is good. We need it in certain situations. Tomorrow I will write about the one tenthousandth of a second relaxation method. Oh, but here’s a hint. If you drop the tension in your facial muscles, the entire body will relax.

4. Be assured. You can count on the unified field because it is the inherent nature of reality. Physics knows. The more you look for it the more certain of it you will become. It’s only your perception (and a mere thousands of years of cultural conditioning) that have prevented you from seeing it, and now you hold the key.

We will proceed on to relaxation, chi, healing, and beyond…so stay tuned.

“Everything is in the process of being forgotten But who we are – who we have been in  personality, mood and character- persists much longer.  David Dodson Gray p.18

A very insightful quote about our true nature in this wonderful book by Jolene Brackey.  Here, early in the book, she is talking about the characteristic reversion in age behaviours of many Alzheimer’s patients. She then goes on to discuss the nature and characteristics of dementia and provides many activities and techniques that allow us to joyfully relate to the Alzheimer’s patient.

A Walk to Remember? Study Says Yes
www.nytimes.com

So, its been proven that walking is good for stress relief, and now memory gain. Remarkable. Below is an excerpt from the Caregiver Revolution about walking for stress relief…and now memory gain!

Walking and Pedaling
Walk briskly every day for a half hour in your neighborhood or on a treadmill in your home. If you don’t have a treadmill, either march in place at the kitchen counter or set up a circuit that you can walk in your home. Listening to music makes this a little more enjoyable. Or you can pedal on a stationary bike, building up gradually in 5–
minute increments to a 20 to 30 minute session, four to five times per week.

Remember, pay attention to your breathing and keep a positive frame of mind. Your worries will come and then drift away like clouds going across the sky. Don’t dwell on them, just let them go.

This walking or biking time is your time. Don’t let anything distract you from it. You will build up a routine and really start to enjoy it. Ask anyone who walks or exercises if they ever want to miss a session. They probably don’t. They love it. It becomes a
vital part of their daily life. It’s just a matter of getting started.

One should not let a person die alone.  Indeed, in several societies, there are people whose role is to provide this special service.  They are not there in the capacity of ritual mourners, but to act as a companion or guide —  a kind of spiritual midwife.  Their work is considered to be of great merit.  Trungpa Rinpoche, in the Introduction to The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Fremantle and Trungpa) said that he learned to do that when he was just eight years old.

This companionship is not only to assuage the fears of the dying, but also to comfort the mind of the person immediately as it detaches itself from the physical body.  This perspective is not only Buddhist (or Hindu) for, as states the Jewish Code of Laws compiled by 12th century sage Moses Maimonides (Shulhan Arukh 194: 4,) “From the moment a person is in the throes of death, no one is allowed to leave him, in order that his soul may not depart when he is all alone, because it is bewildered when departing from the body. . . .  .”

I believe that this is attributable to: H.E. Ayang Rinpoche (Drikung Kagyu) and apologize if I have gotten the attribution wrong. In any case I feel that it is an important point to consider. We carry the companionship that we have developed in caregiving right to the moment of death. We needn’t be afraid of this moment but see as the culmination when the value of our presence, simply being there, is comforting for the person who is facing a bewildering transition.

Please reply or comment with information about your event for our calendar. Any events or conferences, ongoing seminars accepted in any of the categories listed below. We aim to make this the most comprehensive calendar for caregivers, clinicians, hospice workers, social workers, home health aides and health care-ing professionals on the web.

The editing of our book just took another step forward and we are getting close to publication. I’ve made many wonderful discoveries while researching and writing this book and now while starting the process of publicizing.

This website and WordPress are one such discovery. I know it sounds totally noob-ish but prior to about a month ago I had never realized the capabilities of wordpress…and the incredible community that supports it. So, thank you! And if for some reason you don’t know about this amazing web tool go to youtube  or www.wordpress.org and check it out. Let me know what you find. I gotta say, the youtube tutorials are, for the most part, excellent, and that is where I’ve learned the most.

Here’s a classic  if you haven’t seen it in a while. Thanks to Gorby for the reminder!

From: Teachings on Phowa When a person is going to die, they need to work with themselves and become familiar with what is important for them in terms of spiritual practice. If you don’t do that, if you just practice verbally without a real inner connection to what you’re doing, then there will not be a lot of benefit. So you need to develop a deep feeling of your own spirituality, of your sense of commitment, and so on. With those factors in place, then you will actually accomplish something at the time of your death due to the power of your sincere prayersand practice. If you’ve only had a verbal type of spiritual practice then your ability to rely upon the transference of consciousness techniques will be rather weak.Regarding ourselves as western individuals, we of course would like to be able to do something with ourselves at the time of death, to be able to do something positive and constructive for ourselves. But you won’t be able to attain this ability without practice. What is said is that you need to receive the instruction and apply yourself for a certain period of time until you have what’s called the signs that you’ve accomplished the transference of consciousness. So if you do the practice over a period of days and then finally get the sign that indicatesthat you’ve been able to open the central channel, then at the time of your death all you need is to be reminded of this. Because you’ve already done the practice and have the familiarity of it, you will be able to get out of your body and you will be able to accomplish the transference of consciousness. Therefore it is necessary to receive the instruction, and to do the practice until you get the sign, a dream or something such as that, there are various signs. And when you’ve received the sign then you can put the practice aside until it is actually your time of death, then merely clarify it at that time and actualize it.

A fun article: Brain Aerobics for caregivers! By Sylvia Nissenboim

I just stumbled upon a terrific article and had to share it. Presence is our number one tool in caregiving. We can actually strengthen it and gain confidence in it’s power to keep us alert and alive to the many possibilities that exist in any situation.  The Energy Body