End-of-Life Midwifery
and the Sacred Art of Dying
February 20, 2012
Women of Wisdom
20th Annual Conference
Seattle, Washington
http://www.womenofwisdom.org/2012Conference/2012Conference.php
Women have been present helpers and healers at birth and
death for centuries. Over time, we have become divorced from the caring and
rituals of one of life's great mysteries: the dying process. We will create
sacred space and explore women's history as midwives at end of life,
cross-cultural and shamanic approaches to the dying process. We will look at
death practices in America, and the spiritual impoverishment evident in
end-of-life care in this culture. Rituals and exercises – ceremonial hand
washing, anointing ceremony and sacred songs and chants – throughout the
presentation will offer examples for end of life care so we may reclaim our
places as midwives to the dying and honor the dead. Bring a journal and writing
utensil.
Dawn Dickson, MSW, LICSW has been deeply involved in the exploration of the inner landscape for 20 years and an initiate and student of indigenous teachings for fourteen years. She is a graduate and instructor of the Sacred Circles Institute, a group and body of work devoted to earth-honoring traditions and the path of the heart. She works with teachers and healers in the Pacific Northwest Native American coastal and Mystery School traditions, as well as Ecuadorian and Peruvian healers and shaman. She is an initiate in the Q’ero tradition of Andean shamanism. She facilitates workshops on women’s spirituality focused on depth psychology, empowerment, dream work, and the circle as a transformative principle. Dawn holds retreats for cancer survivors in relation to mindfulness and the healing properties of nature. The medicine wheel, or wheel of life is the model that informs her work and life. Dawn holds a Masters Degree in clinical social work and a Bachelor of Science Degree in psychology from the University of Washington.
