Summary

This nondenominational resource provides reassurance

Author Biography

RICHARD F. GROVES is the founder of the internationally renowned Sacred Art of Living and Dying educational series, which teaches participants how to alleviate spiritual and emotional distress at the end of life. A hospice chaplain for nearly thirty years, Richard has attended the deaths of more than five hundred people. He speaks nine languages and has earned graduate degrees in theology, ethics, law, and pastoral counseling. Richard and his wife, Mary, established the Sacred Art of Living Center in Bend, Oregon, twenty-five years ago, where he still resides today.

HENRIETTE ANNE KLAUSER, Ph.D., is the author of four books, including the best-selling Writing on Both Sides of the Brain and Write It Down, Make It Happen. She is the president of Writing Resources, a seminar and consulting organization, as well as an active lecturer, workshop leader, and freelance writer. Henriette Anne is dedicated to helping people use the power of the written word to build relationships, bring families together, and heal emotional wounds. She lives in Edmonds, Washington.

CONTENTS

Preface to the Paperback Edition - viii

Introduction - 1

Part I. The History

Hospice

The Original Hospice: The Art of Dying Well - 13

A Vision from the Past: God’s Hotel - 14

Our Cultural Bias: Death Is the Enemy - 17

Hospice in America: Gift and Challenge - 19

Ancient Books of the Dead

The Heritage - 21

• Egyptian Book of the Dead: A Greater Light
• Celtic Books of the Dead: Spiritual Midwifery
• Gnostic Books for the Living and Dying: Bridge between East and West
• Tibetan Book of the Dead: Coaching the Soul
• Monastic Books of the Dying: Prescriptive Care

What the Books of the Dead Have in Common: Lessons for Us Today - 34

Spiritual Pain

Pain versus Suffering: The Human Condition - 37

Diagnosing Spiritual Pain: Asking Courageous Questions - 39

Responding to Spiritual Pain: A Psychospiritual Relationship - 42

• Meaning Pain: The Painful-Blissful Encounter with the Truth
• Forgiveness Pain: The Common Cold of Spiritual Pain
• Relatedness Pain: Leaving the Familiar Behind
• Hopelessness Pain: Death as Healer

Becoming an Anamcara - 55

• Ten Commandments for the Anamcara

Part II. The Stories

Annie: the Perfectionist
Will you love me even if I get it wrong? - 63

Henry: the Helper
Will you love me even if I can’t love you back? - 81

Sara: the Achiever
Will you love me even if I am not successful? - 95

Heather: the Dreamer
Will you love me even if you know who I am? - 111

Park: the Thinker
Will you love me even if I lose everything in life? - 125

Maria Elena: the Loyalist
Will you love me even if I break the rules? - 143

Andrew: the Adventurer
Will you love me even if I cry? - 159

Dorothy: the Asserter
Will you love me even if I am weak? - 175

Larry: the Peacemaker
Will you love me even if I disagree with you? - 189

Story Archetypes - 202

Part III. The Tool Chest

Art Therapy - 205

Breath Work - 209

Coma Therapy - 213

Dream Work - 218

Energy Therapies - 223

Forgiveness Exercises - 227

Guided Visualization - 231

Healing and Assistance from Ancestors - 236

Healing Religious Abuse and Images of God - 240

Intercessory (Nonlocal) Prayer - 244

Journaling - 248

Life Review Exercises - 252

Meditation Practices - 257

Music Therapy - 262

Religious Rites and Sacred Writings - 267

Rituals for the Bedside - 270

Rituals of Release - 273

Vigil Rituals and Rituals for Remembering - 277

Bibliography - 285

About the Authors - 294

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

The Original Hospice: The Art of Dying Well

Apply yourself now, that at the hour of death, you may be glad and unafraid.
–Thomas à Kempis

The word hospice comes from the same root word as the terms hostel and hospitality. Hospice conjures up images of Swiss Alpine shelters, complete with a St. Bernard dog wearing his signature brandy cask. These original hospices were indeed places of respite for weary medieval pilgrims. Like early B & Bs, hospices dotted Europe’s high Alpine landscape, which followed ancient Roman trade routes. Some of the oldest hospices, created by physician-monks and nuns, trace their lineage back to the year 1000 a.d.

The hospice infirmary was an essential part of an institution where travelers also fell sick and died. Within the relatively safe walls of European monastic communities, the West thus created its first hospital and health care system. A library of records still exists that refer to a larger tradition popularly called the ars moriendi, or the art of dying.

Many ancient cultures produced books of the dead. In recent years there has been a revival of interest in writings like theTibetan Book of the Dyingand the Celtic Books of the Dead. Few Americans realize that, a thousand years ago, the West also produced its own book of the dying. At the turn of the last millennium, early in the eleventh century a.d., a convergence of many great traditions took place in the heart of Europe. The result became an ingenious collection of wisdom with the bold nameArs Bene Moriendi,or the Art of Dying Well.

Aspects of this ancient healing art are relevant today. Just knowing that an entire society was once committed to doing whatever it took to support the peaceful dying of its citizens is impressive. Thears sacra moriendi,considered a sacred art because of its care for both body and soul, became a blueprint of the original Western hospice that survived for nearly five hundred years.

Our Western ancestors created guides and manuals for their work, but there was no “one size fits all” model to relieve spiritual pain. During the Middle Ages, there was a distinction between art and science. Science was responsible for finding and applying universal principles; art referred to the application of science to a person or thing. At the end of life, the caregiver’s art was to find a unique way to relieve a particular person’s struggles and fears.

Few places on earth have preserved the spirit of the West’s ancient hospice movement like the medieval town of Beaune (pronouncedbone) in Southeastern France.

A Vision from the Past: God’s Hotel

The only measure of a society’s greatness depends upon
how it cares for the poorest of its poor at the end of life.
–Nicholas of Rolin, Founder of l’Hôtel-Dieu

Approaching the village of Beaune today, the modern pilgrim feels dropped into a dream from long ago. Situated in the famous wine-growing region of Burgundy, Beaune is one of Europe’s great trading crossroads. Inside its fortresslike walls is a world-heritage site called l’Hôtel-Dieu, or God’s Hotel.

The Hospices de Beaune was conceived in the mid-fifteenth century, prior to the demise of Europe’s original hospice movement, only a few years after France’s patron saint, Joan of Arc, was burned at the stake. During Europe’s bloody Hundred Years’ War, the lot of the average peasant was desperate. Roving bands of murderers, rapists, and extortionists spread terror throughout the countryside, as one of Europe’s last devastating plagues decimated entire populations. Life and death for the average person was brutish.

In the midst of this despair, the region’s chancellor, Nicolas Rolin, convinced both king and pope to exempt the newly con

Excerpted from The American Book of Living and Dying: Lessons in Healing Spiritual Pain by Richard Groves, Henriette Anne Klauser, Henriette A. Klauser, Richard F. Groves
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.