Tending Our Transitions ~ End of Life Care

Have you always felt that death could be different, yet didn't know how to make it happen. Becoming educated about your end-of-life options and having support to navigate dying and death can transform this challenging time into something sacred. Traditional cultures all knew how to take care of their loved ones at home. Knowing it is your legal right to keep your loved ones at home after death occurs allows you to slow down, be present, tend to your loved ones with tender care and make death a natural part of life's journey. Through Michelle's Tibetan Buddhist practice, training with Jerrigrace Lyons' Final Passages and Inspired Endings she brings spiritual and practical guidance to people in transition and their families for end of life support, educating families in how to create a home funeral and practices that assist before, during, and after our final transition.

Michelle has been an End of Life Doula since 2017. She brings many of her experiences into this sacred transition. It is an honor to transform the experience of death and lose into an honoring of ones life. She supports the whole family/friend community in the journey. Michelle is now offering Living into Dying Retreats to groups to explore and transform our relationship with death.

“Thank you for all of your love & support, Michelle! You are restoring our family's ability to be with mom in a healthy / respectful way. Invaluable really.” HH
”You are an anchor Michelle to both Earth and Spirit, bridging world through the strength and clarity of your heartfelt presence. What an amazing gift for us all, to have your example to follow now into the rest of our lives and deaths.” ZC

End of Life Doula

Would guidance and a loving presence be supportive for you and your family as death approaches.  Michelle's groundedness and understanding brings calm to this tender time of transition. She can offer you emotional and spiritual support with the end life and helped you and your family through the process. 

See article in Books and Media

Home Funeral

Family directed funerals allow you to keep your departed family member at home. Michelle can help you create the kind of ritual you want for loved one and educate you on the practical details of a home funeral. She will educate you with tending the body after death, setting up a ceremony meaningful to you and having you conduct home funeral.

Tibetan Phowa & Zhitro Practices

Have you felt helpless during and after the loss of a loved one and wished you had a direction for your grief.  Tibetan's have long studied death's journey and have practices that allow you to participate and offer support during this sacred transition. Michelle has trained in the Tibetan practices of Phowa, the transference of consciousness at the time of death, and Zhitro, Peaceful and Wrathful practice, which supports their journey 49 days after death.  Michelle can be available for you during this tender time.

End of life is a sacred time. 

Michelle offers support for pre-planning, coming into your final illness, presence at the time of death, home funeral guidance, and Grief support.

Living Into Dying Retreats
Available for 1 to 4 Day End-of-Life Explorations

Gather your family, friends and community for creative inner exploration and group discussion about end-of-life and understand options for ourselves and our loved ones. Included is a role-play home funeral ritual.

“What I found most valuable was the opportunity to reflect on my own beliefs about dying and death, the fear of losing loved ones, while also learning practical tools to support others in their final journey. The group discussions were heartwarming and insightful, allowing for deep connection and mutual support.” KM 11/24

Reflections

It’s hard to put in words how grateful I feel for your service to my family and guiding my uncles end of life.  It strikes me as nothing less than divine providence that you should be cast in the role of our families death Doula for this hugely significant transition. ((thank you.))

 Thanks to you, my uncle and his family were able to navigate the end of his life in connection with each other. They were able to seize the opportunity to speak what had gone unspoken and do what had gone undone. They were empowered by Truth and Love to face the scary initiations along the path to his final departure with courage and grace. He was able to go in dignity, comfort, and peace.

 Thank you for holding us all in your clear loving awareness, as we have been tumbled in the waves of Deaths ocean. You are an anchor Michelle to both Earth and Spirit, bridging world through the strength and clarity of your heartfelt presence. What an amazing gift for us all to have your example to follow now into the rest of our lives and deaths. Bless your path Michele all that called you into this holy work and all that continues to guide your journey onward
With deep gratitude and love -ZC  4/2024

"Michelle helped me to experience my brother Evan's death in a way that was beautiful and meaningful. She enabled me to connect with him in his passing so that I did not feel so helpless or alone. I know the pain will never go away, but through the guidance of Michelle's practice, I am able to experience it with love and openness. Michelle is a natural, and profound healer, and has helped me to understand my own capacity for healing. I am grateful for her work."
~ Zak Starr
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In 2012 my partner Jenya was diagnosed with liver cancer. He chose not to have the tumor surgically removed and decided to try alternative treatments. Unfortunately, the tumor grew rapidly and in October 2013, he passed away. This was a very challenging and heart-wrenching time for me and it felt good to be surrounded and supported by loved ones. With the help of Final Passages, we were able to leave his body in the house for three days, which enabled many people to visit. After the three days, we took his body to be cremated. That was when the loneliness and sadness really engulfed me. Several people still kept in touch and checked on me by phone and email, but I hardly saw anyone, except Michelle.
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Right after Jenya had passed away, one of the people who had known Jenya for years through OAEC, Michelle Vesser, came to the house and offered to chant prayers for the dead in the Tibetan tradition. She said the prayers would help Jenya’s soul pass from the earthly plane to the spirit world. At first I thought she would recite the prayers once and that would be all, but she said, if it was okay with me, she would be returning once a week for the next seven weeks to recite the prayers again. Each week, she would arrive in the early evening. We would sit on the floor in the bedroom where Jenya had passed and she would open her sacred book and chant the beautiful passages, a ritual that lasted around an hour. It was soothing to hear the prayers and I knew they were not only helping Jenya, but also myself. Michelle's weekly visits became something to look forward to, providing me with a continuity that was sorely needed at that time when life felt so chaotic. And her kind, warm, loving manner was helping me heal from the grief I was experiencing.

I am grateful to Michelle for being there for our souls (Jenya’s and mine) during that difficult time. She was an anchor and support in the midst of extreme sadness and confusion and her prayers were a healing balm.          ~ Jennie Rose
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Attending The Mystery school of living and dying in Spain was a deeply transformative and enriching experience. The retreat provided a safe, supportive space to connect with like-minded others, offering a blend of emotional support, education, wisdom and hands-on practice. and truly dedicated to fostering an environment of learning and personal growth. The workshops covered a wide range of topics, from the practical to the emotional and spiritual dimensions, giving participants a well-rounded perspective on this important work.

What I found most valuable was the opportunity to reflect on my own beliefs about death and dying, the fear of losing loved ones, while also learning practical tools to support others in their final journey. The group discussions were heartwarming and insightful, allowing for deep connection and mutual support. Overall, the retreat exceeded my expectations, leaving me feeling more confident, grounded and appreciative about my own life here and now. 
~KM 11/2024