Conscious Life and Death

03/10/2026

https://www.meriahnichols.com/resources-to-explain-death-and-grief-to-person-with-intellectual-disability/?utm_source=sms&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug&fbclid=IwZnRzaAQcjlBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeKm6yqAA_TNKLfD-9s6BfKZoGNoMm_G-K_QmfBr2muBGsHFR8n6HmY_-mk2U_aem_zNQ_OkO60JHkz8Y0nrx5cA

Many resources to explain death and grief to a person with intellectual disability, with a focus on explaining death to people with Down syndrome

02/28/2026

✨ Facts About Hospice Care ✨

There are many misunderstandings about hospice. Here are a few important truths:

• Hospice is for people with a life-limiting illness who are likely in the last 6 months of life — but some people receive hospice longer. The average person is only in hospice 2-3 weeks due to delay in enrolling, this is tragic & families miss out on support.
• Hospice focuses on comfort, dignity, and quality of life — not curing disease.
• You can receive hospice care at home, in a facility, or sometimes in a hospital.
• Hospice provides a team: nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers a death doula like myself works to provide more intimate and available support & advocacy filling gaps & coordinating between support systems.
• Pain and symptom management are a priority.
• Hospice also supports family and caregivers — before and after a death.
• Choosing hospice is not “giving up.” It is choosing comfort and support.

Many families say they wish they had started hospice sooner. You can sign up for hospice before you are bed ridden & can “graduate” out of it if your condition improves.

If you have questions about hospice or want help understanding your options, I’m here to support you. 🤍

— Aisha Jacqueline
Interfaith Chaplain | Death Doula

02/14/2026

I can help facilitate this type of death experience from a “good death” plan to body care and transport to after death affairs. Funeral homes are only an option not a requirement.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Atgg9b48T/?mibextid=wwXIfr

When her cancer came back, she was really clear about what she wanted this time. No hospital room. No machines. No rotating strangers. She wanted to be at home. In her own bed. Window open. Wind in the trees. Her people nearby.

As things changed, her family stayed close. Someone was always sitting with her taking turns reading, brushing her hair, holding her hand when talking felt like too much. When she died, it wasn’t dramatic. It was quiet. One breath… then stillness. The whole room just felt calm.

Later, her daughter warmed water and brought washcloths. The family washed her together. Slow. Careful. Tender. They dressed her in her favorite blue silk pajamas. Exactly how she wanted it. No chemicals. No rush. No strangers taking over.

People came by all day. Food in their hands. Stories. Tears. Some laughter, too. They sat with her, touched her hand, said what they needed to say.

When it was time, they laid out her shroud handmade by Sanctum Shrouds and gathered around her again. Everyone placed a rose. One by one. The whole room smelled like a garden.

The next morning, they carried her out to the family van. No hearse. No casket showroom moment. Just sunlight, trees, bees buzzing somewhere nearby.
At the green burial cemetery, she was laid into the forest wrapped in her shroud, roses still around her. Moss. Soil. Roots. Back to the place she loved.

Her husband said something I’ll never forget while we placed the last rose on the grave: “No fuss. Just the forest telling her story.”

02/07/2026

When we accept the fragility of life we learn to value time and have priorities that reflect our values. I can help you identify ways to bring more meaning and purpose to your life.

02/06/2026

02/05/2026

02/04/2026

02/03/2026

Bring conscious of death and what you want your legacy to be helps you live a better life.

02/02/2026

Are you afraid of death? I can help you work through those emotions & thoughts through spiritual support or a guided death meditation.

02/02/2026

01/31/2026

Being able to find meaning in the face of suffering and mortality is one of the essential tasks of having a good life and death…of being human. This quote summarizes the meaning that I cling to in life. Meaning & the journey to find it is unique to each person and it is often suffering that is the catalyst of this task. In the face of all the darkness & difficulty in this world the only reasonable response for me is compassion and holding to what is eternal. If you need support on your journey I am here.