Our Mandate
Our mandate is to actively promote compassionate care and support directed at improving the quality of life for the those journeying through grief, facing end of life challenges or battling life threatening illness.
“This existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds.
To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance.
A lifetime is like a flash of lightning in the sky,
Rushing by, like a torrent down a steep mountain”
Sogyal Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying
This short quote would seem to epitomize Life, tells us Life is precious and beautiful but that it is transient and sometimes too short. Life threatening illness confronts us all too often, whether it be the lives of people in our community, of friends and family or our own.
Thus begins a journey that can have a happy ending of healing and renewal or one that heralds the end of life.. Whatever the outcome each journey is uniquely it's own. Whatever the outcome Hospice seeks to support all those, patients and families, who travel that road. Life is precious & it's loss the ultimate loss. None of us can hope to
fill every void , banish every fear, look into the future with clear and discerning eyes. We can though find solace for short periods, take a break from our world, not feel the pain, release the fear, see as we have never seen; and for just a short period of time be at peace with our world and live in just those moments .It is these moments of respite and renewal that Hospice seeks to help you find.
Hospice Volunteers
Often the thought of accepting a stranger, being with you through difficult times, both physical and emotional, is incomprehensible. The last thing you need….one more person to deal with…. what will you talk about….what can they possibly offer you? Most of us are blessed with family and friends and in times of crisis they
are there to be all that we need. But family and friends mean relationships established over time, a mutual admiration society, loved ones bearing grief like yours. A Hospice volunteer is a blank slate, a shoulder to lean on, ears to listen, eyes to see, heart to feel and no expectations. There is a place for a Hospice volunteer… ..possibly with you.
Hospice Volunteers can visit you as frequently or as infrequently as you would like them to and when you want them to.
They:
are not counselors & do not need entertaining
are open to whatever it is you need for that day. Your needs may change as often as the day perhaps.
can provide respite for caregivers whilst spending time with the patient.
can walk with you ,talk with you ,share a book or music or enjoy some reminiscences
We like this analogy. If you take two tuning forks and place them close together, start one vibrating , it will vibrate at a certain rate; a few minutes later start the other tuning fork and it will vibrate at a different rate , but hold the two forks together and pretty soon they will vibrate together.
So it is, in silence that one can be attuned to another; that another person wanting only to support and comfort can do this simply by being there.
Reiki Home-Treatments
A Reiki treatment initially provides wonderful relaxation and very often the recipient has other healing experiences as the Reiki activates and speeds up the body’s natural healing abilities. No harm can be caused by Reiki.
Reiki is not a substitute for the healing arts practiced by health professionals but works along with and is complimentary to the practices of modern medicine.
Reiki is a Japanese word representing Universal Life Energy, the energy which is all around us. Reiki, when activated and applied for the purposes of healing, addresses the body, mind and spirit. It accelerates the body’s natural ability to heal physical ailments and opens the mind and spirit to the causes of disease and pain, the necessity for taking responsibility for one’s life and the joys of balanced wellness.
Many branches of Reiki have developed over the years; the Usui System of Reiki has a lineage that was born out of the experience and dedication of Dr Mikao Usui, a Japanese Christian educator, who in the 1800’s, responded to a challenge from his university students by undertaking an extensive study of the healing phenomena of history’s greatest spiritual leaders. Through travel, study, research and meditation, he evolved a healing system based on ancient Buddhist teachings written in Sanskrit. He spent the rest of his life practicing and teaching this method of natural healing.
Today the Usui System of Reiki continues to be taught by Reiki Masters who are trained in the original traditions of Reiki and whose personal and professional lives are committed to this healing art and the lifestyle which it engenders.
Most people learn to do Reiki because of a personal need for healing, then, because they themselves experience the benefits of Reiki, they wish to share this healing system with others. Reiki provides persons, their families and friends and others with the means of maintaining balance in their health.
Barbara Rudkin (Reiki Practitioner of the Usui System of Reiki)
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