Caregiver Revolution

Are You A Mindful Caregiver?

Posted on June 5, 2011 by webmaven

Here’s a good introduction to the concept of mindfulness for caregivers, from Caregiver Magazine.

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Some Major Conferences coming up in June

Posted on May 29, 2011 by webmaven

If you haven’t taken a look at our conference calendar then you might not be aware that some big conferences are coming up in June. The Holistic Nursing conference starts next week in Louisville and it is FANTASTIC. If there’s ANY way that you can get there you should!

We had planned to go with our book but we are just too busy here so we hope to see you there next year!

The FICCDAT conference is a major disability and caregiving event.

Later in the month is an important bereavement conference which we attended many years ago and it is THE clinical professionals standard in this field.

June 2-5 AHNA Conference Louisville KY – Holistic Nursing Conference. We’ll be there!

June 5-11 FICCDAT-Toronto (includes family caregiving track) Canada – Caregiving, Aging, Disability and Technology

June 22—25 Making Connections: Dying, Death and Bereavement in the Global Community
Pre-conference Institute June 21—22, 2011
InterContinental Miami – Miami, FL
Join your peers in thanatology for this exciting event, a combined meeting of the International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society and the Association for Death Education and Counseling

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Three Beautiful (Catholic) Prayers for the Dying

Posted on May 28, 2011 by webmaven

The Friends of the Poor Souls -3 Prayers for the dying

This is a very nice story which includes some prayers. The prayers seem to build in intensity and by the time you finish the third it is quite a powerful experience.

While on this site I clicked on the name of Sister Mary Magdalena. She lived an intensely spiritual life and had times of ecstasies as described below:

From the time of her clothing with the religious habit till her death the saint’s life was one series of raptures and ecstasies, of which only the most notable characteristics can be named in a short notice.

First, these raptures sometimes seized upon her whole being with such force as to compel her to rapid motion (e.g. towards some sacred object).

Secondly, she was frequently able, whilst in ecstasy, to carry on work belonging to her office–e.g., embroidery, painting, etc.–with perfect composure and efficiency.
Thirdly–and this is the point of chief importance–it was whilst in her states of rapture that St. Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi gave utterance to those wonderful maxims of Divine Love, and those counsels of perfection for souls, especially in the religious state, which a modern editor of a selection of them declares to be “more frequently quoted by spiritual writers than those even of St. Teresa”. These utterances have been preserved to us by the saint’s companions, who (unknown to her) took them down from her lips as she poured them forth. She spoke sometimes as of herself, and sometimes as the mouthpiece of one or other of the Persons of the Blessed Trinity. These maxims of the saint are sometimes described as her “Works”, although she wrote down none of them herself.

This ecstatic life in no wise interfered with the saint’s usefulness in her community. She was noted for her strong common-sense, as well as for the high standard and strictness of her government, and was most dearly loved to the end of her life by all for the spirit of intense charity that accompanied her somewhat severe code of discipline. As novice-mistress she was renowned for a miraculous gift of reading her subjects’ hearts–which gift, indeed, was not entirely confined to her community. Many miracles, both of this and of other kinds, she performed for the benefit either of her own convent or of outsiders. She often saw things far off, and is said once to have supernaturally beheld St. Catherine de’ Ricci in her convent at Prato, reading a letter that she had sent her and writing the answer; but the two saints never met in a natural manner.

See the Catholic Encyclopedia

Posted in aging, bereavement, care giving, care giving, care giving, caregiver, caregiving, caregiving, catholic, Christ, death and dying, death and dying, elder care, end of life, end of life care, hospice, hospice, hospice care, prayer, spiritual care, spiritual care | Comments Off

Keep your Brain Buff – Free Webinar

Posted on May 12, 2011 by webmaven

From Caregiving.com:

Every month on Caregiving.com, we hold free webinars which help family caregivers as well as professionals working with family caregivers. Here’s the webinar schedule for May;

Webinars For Family Caregivers

Title: Keep Your Brain Buff
Date: Thursday, May 12, at Noon CT (1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT)
Presenter: G-J, who cares for her husband and blogs on Caregiving.com

In this 45-minute webinar, G-J will share tips and suggestions to keep our brain in shape.

To participate in this webinar, visit this page on Thursday, May 12, at Noon CT (1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT). Be sure to arrive a few moments early and with paper and pen.

Title: Dispelling Doubt: Caregiving with Clarity
Time: Wednesday, May 25th, at 11:00am Central (Noon ET, 9 a.m. PT)

What do, when to do, how to do it: That’s a caregiving day. Add in your caree’s confusion and that’s a caregiving bad day. In this 45-minute webinar, Denise will help you find the triggers in your day which feed into your self-doubt and dampen your confidence. Once you understand the source for your doubts, you’ll be able to make changes in your routine and your day to keep your confidence.

To participate in this webinar, visit here on Wednesday, May 25, at 11 a.m. CT (Noon ET, 9 a.m. PT). Be sure to arrive a few moments early and with paper and pen.

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Webinars for Professionals (typically scheduled for the third Tuesday of every month at 11 a.m. CT)

Title: Best Practices: Creating Effective Support Groups
Time: Tuesday, May 17th, at 11:00am Central (Noon ET, 9 a.m. PT)

Support groups can be one of the best gifts you give a family caregiver. In a great group, a family caregiver connects with others, gathers ideas and learns about resources. How do you make sure your group is great?

In this 45-minute webinar, Denise will share best practices for family caregiver support groups. To attend this webinar, go here on Tuesday, May 17, at 11 a.m. CT (Noon ET, 9 a.m. PT). Be sure to arrive a few moments early and bring paper and pen.

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Miss one of our webinars? No worries! We archive all our webinars; you can listen at the caregiving webinar archive.

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Whirling with the Dervishes

Posted on May 11, 2011 by webmaven

You may wonder what this post has to do with caregiving! I have taken several workshops with the author of this book and highly recommend the preparatory, “kiyanaa” exercises. They are based on an ancient persian system of physical fitness which is done to a strong complex rhythm. It is remarkably rigorous, effective and holistic and still practiced in Iran. If you search youtube or google “zurkhaneh” you will see some examples of this exercise. The whirling, “sama’a” takes the practice to different level.

Posted in aging, care giving, care giving, care giving, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiver support, caregiving, divided attention, elder care, elderly, end of life, energy healing, exercises, fourth way, healing, mindfulness, spiritual care, stress relief, stress relief exercises, sufi movement, zen | Comments Off

The Caregiver Revolution is here…and now!

Posted on May 6, 2011 by webmaven