I am a Death Walker

It sounds kind of scary, but it’s not. This is my calling.

At the beginning of February of 2025, I set off on a journey that my soul had been calling me to do. I embarked on a 13 week course to learn and embody the qualities needed to become a Sacred Death Care Guide. A Sacred Death Care Guide has similarities to a death doula yet the difference is that it approaches death from a soul-based perspective. It is not necessarily religious, but definitely has a spiritual base. This work and information isn’t taught anywhere. Yet, I found it. {Cue the Universe clapping!}

I have been pulled at the deepest level to work with those who are dealing with death, dying, grief and loss. People with this calling hold what's called the "Death Walker archetype". Some people hold a “teacher” archetype, some hold a “healer” archetype, some hold the “musician” archetype etc. It just so happens that I hold an archetype that embraces walking with those who are dying, and their families.

I worked in hospice for 4 years, and next to my current practice in Holistic Nursing, I found it to be, far and away, the most rewarding area of nursing. Even so, I deeply felt that there was a piece missing, something MORE, beyond the physical and emotional aspects that I practiced as a hospice nurse.

This soul based course was the "more". For thirteen weeks, a cohort of forty-five of us, referred to as “Awakening Embers”, were held in a strong container of love, listened with open hearts, learning, feeling, understanding, and embodying what is needed to support the souls journey when transitioning to the next realm.

Fact: One Hundred percent of us will successfully die. Yet most people don't like, want, or choose to talk about death or dying. "It's depressing." "It's morbid." "It's too sad."

Yes, it is sad, and it is hard. But, if we meet it with intention, curiosity, open-heartedness and support, death can also be a profound opportunity for living, growth, and community.

I went into the course as one person and stepped out as a new and different person; one who recognizes and listens to the whispers of the soul and greets death with intention and an even deeper level of reverence. The Death Walker in me has been exquisitely nurtured and is now being gently yet intentionally pushed forward.

Back in the beginning of February when the course started, 45 men and women were told that we were Death Walkers and held that archetype. To me it felt odd, uncomfortable, and sticky to say, or maybe just admit, that that was true. But we “learned how to companion the dying, how to sit with sorrow, and how to honor the unseen”. (L.L.) I now wear the Death Walker title proudly. It feels like a comfortable (yet fancy!) shoe. It doesn’t make me feel prickly- it makes me feel warm, open and complete.

As a Sacred Death Care Guide (Death Walker):

I am ready to be seen.

I am ready to guide and support.

I am ready to share my medicine.

I am ready to lend my lack of fear as I listen, free from judgement, and hold a safe space for your most vulnerable and difficult thoughts, feelings, and challenges.

May of 2025, I graduated from the Centre For Sacred Death Care as a Sacred Death Care Guide. It is one of the most meaningful professional things I have accomplished in my lifetime.

If you have a death-related issue; you yourself are dying, you are caring for a loved one who is dying, if you have experienced a recent or distant loss in your life with which you struggle, or are simply interested in how to contribute to society’s efforts to do death better, these are the discussions I am eagerly waiting for. You may not be ready for a discussion now, but when you are, please remember that I am here to talk with you about it and if you need it, I will walk with you on your journey.

"May the medicine that we carry, be lovingly shared far and wide to help people remember what our souls already know." (M.L.)