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Resources for Modern Psychopomps

Certain people are born with the ability to help people cross over at the time of death, or to assist the souls of those who may need some additional guidance at a later time. However, it is important to remember that psychopomps are not generally mediums. Their primary function is not to reconnect the living with the dead, but to help spirits cross over. And while some of us are born with an inclination towards this work, it is a skill that can be learned and one that is sorely needed at this time

There are a number of ways to enter a state of consciousness in which we can tap into the unseen realms and communicate with earthbound spirits. These include meditative states, dream states, shamanic states, hypnogogic states (such as waking dreams where the individual is awake, but their brain waves indicate they are still sleeping), and other altered states of consciousness.

It is also important to offer assistance to those who are dying, whether they are conscious or not. Images from dreams, myths and stories can be shared that help them envision a safe passage to the other side, prayers can be offered to enlist the help of friendly beings who will come to guide them, and methods can be learned that help energetically release the spirit from the body.

Luckily we are living in an era when an increasing number of people offer training and other resources for psychopomps, some of which I have compiled here. However, if you feel you have been called to do this work, or were born with the innate ability to connect with those who need such help, don't forget to listen to your own intuitive source of knowledge. You may find that you already possess many of the skills that you need.

Gentle Dying

Felicity Warner, founder of The Hospice of the Heart Trust in England, teaches the Gentle Dying method, which is used by Soul Midwives to help the spirit and soul make the final transition at the time of death. This is a nationally recognized method of wholistic care in the UK. Additional information is available at midwivesforthedying.org. You can also hear the author speak about her upcoming book on Gentle Dying.

Dream Manual for Psychopomps

Robert Moss, the acclaimed workshop leader, and author of such books as Conscious Dreaming, the Dreamways of the Iroquois, and the Dreamer’s Book of the Dead, offers numerous workshops and classes that may be of interest. He has also written “A Manual for the Psychopomp,” which can be found in one of his earlier works entitled Dreamgates: An Explorer's Guide to the Worlds of Soul, Imagination, and Life Beyond Death. This offers a number of exercises to help map out the afterlife, assist the departed, and make death your ally.

Shamanic Training for Psychopomps

Psychopomp work is often a part of shamanic training, and there is a growing number of opportunities for those who are interested in learning indigenous or non-indigenous methods. You may want to start out by finding what resources are available in your immediate area, or for those who are interested in core or cross-cultural shamanism, classes are available through Michael Harner’s Foundation for Shamanic Studies. The foundation offers advanced weekend workshops, including a course on Shamanism, Dying, and Beyond, and more intensive 2-week or 3-year programs, which also delve into psychopomp work.

Soul Rescuers Training

In England, Terry and Natalia O'Sullivan offer a three-year Soul Rescuers course, which enables students to develop skills as walkers between the world of the living and the spirit realms. This course promises to encourage confidence in dealing with the spirit realms, to help one learn to cope with psychic and spiritual energy, to develop one's ability to intuitively communicate, and to work with other people in a professional capacity for healing, counseling and space clearing.

Spiritual Death Midwifery

Create Sacred Space (for Conscious Transitions) is an educational organization in Virginia whose mission is to train people as guides for the dying and their families. They offer courses in spiritual death midwifery, where one can learn the basic process and techniques of death midwifery, explore the mythology of death “guides,” learn dream exercises to guide the dying to a place of safety and peace, and experience exercises that facilitate the withdrawal of consciousness during death.

Additional Websites

  • Contemplative End of Life Care — End-of-life training from the Naropa University that brings together the ancient wisdom of the Buddhist tradition with the practices of hospice and palliative care.
  • Crossing Over - A Modern Book of the Dead — Chuck Pettis offers information from a Buddhist perspective about what happens when we die, why it is important to prepare for death, and what can happen to those who “don’t pass through the tunnel and are stranded without a physical body.” As an experienced dowser, he also offers GeoPathic surveys for a nominal cost, during which he examines the earth energies present and whether there are any human or non-human entities that need help moving on.
  • Death as an Ally - The Shaman's Perception of Death — An articles from Howard G. Charing's weblog on shamanism. Howard also offers practitioner training in Europe through the Eagle's Wing Centre for Contemporary Shamanism in London.
  • Final Passages — This is Jerrygrace Lyons' organization in the San Francisco Bay Area, which offers courses in modern death midwifery and information about how to create your own home funeral.
  • Metta Institute — Founded by Frank Ostaseski of San Francisco's Zen Hospice, the Metta Institute offers more traditional end-of-life practitioner training, and plans to add programs where spiritual teachers, artists, storytellers, and psychologists can come together to re-vision dying in America.

Additional Reading