Autobiography of a Listener

It is when we are in transition that we are most fully alive.

~William Bridges

I'm not really sure where to begin here. I've been contemplating being in transition... again. As the picture above captures me transitioning into Mermaid (by Chris Mara Photography), so to do I find myself making my way into something different. Tomorrow I start training to become a Visiting Volunteer (what I've been calling a "listener") at Crossroads Hospice. I was asked to tell a little about myself and my journey and to have fun with it... so here it is on my blog... yikes lol ;) Comfort zone... must play the edge :)


So, I guess I start at the beginning... of my life anyway ;) Born the eldest, with three sisters, I got used to being a caregiver of sorts or a helper. My Mom is a nurse and would have loved if I had followed her lead there, but that was not for me. When I was a kid, I thought about being like my Mom, as I'm sure many girls do at some point. When I started working at a gym a few years back, I told her I wanted to help people stay healthy to prevent hospital stays, if possible, rather than work with them once they were already sick. Now I find myself about to embark on a different kind of caregiver path, plus being in a place of transition as I eagerly await my certificate from Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy.


At the same time that I was working at the gym, my Grandma passed in Crossroads Hospice. The people there were so lovely and the environment so supportive, that I felt drawn to give back in some way. It took me a few years to crystallize how, but here it is. Rewind a little bit...  while working as a travelling sales/service rep., after leaving the gym, I was on a big reading kick. I would travel to many places in BC and stay in hotel rooms, where I would read many different books that I collected along the way. On one trip to Smithers, I visited the used bookstore (with a hippie feel and incense smell... side note... the books always smelled lovely lol) and found a book, entitled A Gradual Awakening, about meditation. I couldn't put it down. Stephen Levine, the author, is a meditation teacher and has worked closely with many who are dying and their loved ones. The way he spoke about dying and being with the dying was touching and beautiful in some way. Again I felt drawn to something that I wasn't quite sure of. 


Fast forward to last year, when I started training with PRYT and found that same book on our reading list. I was ecstatic. Not only because I'd already read it, but because I would get to read it again and the synchronicity was beautiful. As I read the book again, I was reminded of the Hospice and promised myself I would look into it. When I did, I found the description of "listener" and decided that I would fit that role well... or it would fit me. So many times in my life, I've been told I'm a good listener (I'm sure there were times to the contrary, but enough to stand out). The whole idea of being a witness as a PRYT practitioner seems to blend so well with being a "listener" at the Hospice, so it seems perfect that I have just completed that training as I begin this new training. As a Practitioner in Yoga Therapy sessions, I'm a witness to whatever comes up for my client and I enjoy holding a space for whatever is being explored there through postures, movement and dialogue. As a Visiting Volunteer, I will be listening to those who are dying and/or their loved ones. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to do both. I have always enjoyed being able to help in some way. 


Also, through PRYT, I learned a lot about myself (as self-exploring will tend to do) as I learned to facilitate self-exploration for others. Each session, assignment, mentor phone call and journal entry (plus more) became a tool in my "excavation" of my inner landscape. It's one of those bitter sweet moments as it comes to an end with my last mentor phone call next week :)


Sharing something from the Crossroads Hospice website that also resonates with PRYT and how I'd love to teach yoga and be with loved ones. This must be a core asset :)

COMPANIONING Companioning is about honouring the spirit:       It is not about focusing on the intellect. Companioning is about curiosity:       It is not about expertise. Companioning is about learning from others:       It is not about teaching them. Companioning is about walking alongside:       It is not about leading or being led. Companioning is about being still:       It is not about frantic movement forward. Companioning is about discovering the gifts of sacred silence:       It is not about filling every painful moment with talk. Companioning is about bearing witness to the struggles of others:       It is not about judging or directing those struggles. Companioning is about being present to another person's pain:       It is not about taking away or relieving the pain. Companioning is about respecting disorder and confusion:       It is not about imposing order and logic. Companioning is about going to the wilderness of the soul with another human being:       It is not about thinking you are responsible for finding the way out.