What happens if you step into someone else's time of intensity and heightened emotion before examining your own experiences? What effects might "hidden motivations" have on your care capacity? The truth? It's not actually possible to become "fully healed" or an "empty vessel." Arguably, it's not even helpful to hold onto these ideas as aspirations.… Continue reading Hidden Influences & Agenda Checks
A written interview originally published by Mystic Mag How long have you been supporting people through grief and loss as an end-of-life doula? What first drew you to this path? I began my journey as a postpartum doula in 2009, and a few years later, expanded my path to become a childbirth educator and birth… Continue reading Holding Hands Through Life’s Thresholds
An essential part of a doula practice is introspection. When I am granted access to the most profound moments in another person's life, I can't help but be moved. And changed. Sometimes I'm even rattled. Almost always, I am awed. If this weren't to happen, it'd be an indication that I had closed off my… Continue reading Life Goes On
Ultimately, life is an endless series of mostly dull moments strung between sporadic, pivotal events. And most of us enjoy a humble existence. Your purpose for living doesn’t need to be complex or elaborate. Fame and fortune do not equal meaning. Some of us know what we are meant to be or do during our… Continue reading Your Why
Truth: Caring can be draining. But does it necessarily have to be? Can we find ways to notice our own dwindling energy reserves and replenish them as needed? First and foremost, let's establish the most important promise we must make to ourselves, which is to maintain connection to our own humanity. We must be aware… Continue reading Vital Deathcaring: Maintaining Connection to our Humanity
Francesca Lynn Arnoldy 