Pamela Rathbun - Death Doula

There are seasons when life feels busy.
There are seasons when we feel lost.
There are seasons when we simply need to remember who we are.

My newest guided meditation, The Rhythm of Return, is an invitation to come back to yourself—one breath at a time.

Together we’ll explore the gentle rhythm of returning to your breath, your body, and the present moment with loving awareness and compassionate curiosity.

No matter how many times you’ve wandered, you can always return.

What season of life are you in right now?

🎧 Listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ6sF5N_FG8

You can also explore more guided meditations and reflections at:
https://www.pamelarathbun.com

Last week I shared a reflection called The Comfort We Seek.

This week, I wanted to offer something to experience rather than simply read.

This guided meditation is a companion piece to the blog—an invitation to gently explore where you seek comfort, meet those parts of yourself with compassion, and remember the quiet place within that has been there all along.

There is nothing to fix.
Nothing to change.
Only an invitation to return to yourself with kindness.

I hope it offers you a few moments of peace today.

🎥 Watch the meditation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EQh4JecJOY

📖 Read the companion blog: https://www.pamelarathbun.com/blog-1/the-comfort-we-seek

After several months of creating, learning, recording, writing, editing, and sharing, I suddenly found myself with a quiet week.

At first, part of me thought I should keep producing.

Instead, I rested.

As I slowed down, I realized I wasn’t just resting—I was integrating. My mind and body needed time to receive everything I had experienced.

During that quieter time, I found myself asking some honest questions:

Why am I doing this work?

What is my intention?

Where do I look for reassurance when I lose sight of myself?

The answers weren’t out there somewhere.

They were already within me.

This week’s blog is about the gentle rhythm of drifting away from ourselves… and returning again with compassion.

If you’ve ever felt like you needed to keep pushing, or wondered if it’s okay to slow down, I hope this reflection meets you where you are.

✨ New on the blog: The Rhythm of Returning
Read it here: After several months of creating, learning, recording, writing, editing, and sharing, I suddenly found myself with a quiet week.

At first, part of me thought I should keep producing.

Instead, I rested.

As I slowed down, I realized I wasn’t just resting—I was integrating. My mind and body needed time to receive everything I had experienced.

During that quieter time, I found myself asking some honest questions:

Why am I doing this work?

What is my intention?

Where do I look for reassurance when I lose sight of myself?

The answers weren’t out there somewhere.

They were already within me.

This week’s blog is about the gentle rhythm of drifting away from ourselves… and returning again with compassion.

If you’ve ever felt like you needed to keep pushing, or wondered if it’s okay to slow down, I hope this reflection meets you where you are.

✨ New on the blog: The Rhythm of Returning
Read it here:https://www.pamelarathbun.com/blog-1/the-rhythm-of-returning

I’d love to hear what season you’re in right now. 🌿

Photo by: Chelsea Day

🌟Call a Death Doula Spotlight

Melissa Wood on Hospice, VSED, and End-of-Life Choices

When we avoid talking about death, we also miss opportunities to make thoughtful choices about how we want to live until the very end.

In this conversation, I sit down with death doula Melissa Wood, who shares her personal journey into this work after witnessing the deaths of both of her parents at a young age. Today, she specializes in supporting people through hospice, advance care planning, VSED (Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking), and other end-of-life choices.

Together we explore:
• What hospice really does—and what many people misunderstand about it.
• How death doulas support both the dying person and the people who love them.
• Why advance directives and conversations with our families matter so much.
• The importance of education, compassion, and honoring each person’s wishes.
• How accepting that life is finite can help us live more fully today.

One of the things I appreciate most about Melissa is her commitment to helping people make informed choices without judgment. Knowledge helps replace fear, and that is one of the greatest gifts we can offer one another.

I hope this conversation encourages you to begin some of these conversations with the people you love—even if you’re healthy and nowhere near the end of life. Preparing doesn’t take away hope. It often creates more peace.

🎥 Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ0Q3lGp8uQ&t=47s

I’d love to hear your thoughts after you watch.

Call a Death Doula | Melissa Wood on Hospice, VSED, and End-of-Life Choices In this episode of Call a Death Doula, Pamela Rathbun speaks with N...

The Comfort We Seek

When life hurts, what do you reach for first?

If you’re like most of us, the answer isn’t accidental.

Over the years, I have reached for many things in search of comfort. Looking back now, I can see there was always a reason.

In this week’s blog, I share some of my own journey and what I’ve discovered about the many ways we seek relief. More importantly, I share what changed when I learned I could go inside myself and bring myself comfort.

My hope is that this reflection helps you meet yourself with a little more understanding, loving awareness, and compassionate curiosity.

I’d love to hear what resonates with you.

🌿 Read the full blog here:
www.pamelarathbun.com/blog-1/v48mk72bg35e0y8m7cgz2emafes6mh

Photo by Daniel on Unsplash

🌟Call a Death Doula Spotlight

Kathy Bray on Surrender, Service & Supporting Families Through Death

Kathy didn’t set out to become a death doula.

After hosting a Death Café in 2017 and spending years learning about end-of-life care, she eventually surrendered to what she describes as the “call” of this work.

Today, Kathy serves families in southeastern Washington through community education, bedside support, end-of-life planning, and by mentoring a collective of aspiring death doulas.

In our conversation, we explored surrender, spirituality, community outreach, supporting healthcare workers, and the importance of talking about death before a crisis occurs.

One thing that stood out to me was Kathy’s commitment to meeting people exactly where they are and helping make conversations about death a little less frightening.

Watch our conversation here:

https://youtu.be/SyXqt2E4rs4?si=gCizKyA0wLEnL73s

Call a Death Doula | Kathy Bray on Surrender, Service & Supporting Families Through Death In this episode, I sit down with death doula Kathy Bray to discuss ...

🌟 Call a Death Doula Spotlight

Jessica Tomforde on Supporting Families Through Dying

How do we learn to be with someone who is dying?

According to Portland death doula Jessica Tomforde, we don’t have to learn as much as we have to remember.

Jessica shares how leaving the fast pace of the tech world, living and working on a farm, and later walking alongside her own mother through terminal cancer led her into death doula work. She reminds us that death is woven throughout life—in the changing seasons, in the soil beneath our feet, and in every transition we experience.

One of my favorite moments from our conversation was when she said that being with someone who is dying is simply loving them. We already know how to love. Sometimes we just need someone to remind us that we can stay present, even when things feel uncertain or frightening.

We also talk about:
• Green burial and our relationship with nature
• Supporting families through the dying process
• Why information reduces fear
• The beauty of slowing down
• How death work helps us appreciate being alive

🎥 Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUNYri7KNV4&t=576s

Jessica’s website and contact information are linked in the YouTube description.

🌟Call a Death Doula Spotlight

Elizabeth DeTienne on Living Fully by Talking About Death

Elizabeth’s journey into death doula work began after her father’s death. Like many families, hers was left navigating difficult decisions without a clear plan or understanding of the options available.

That experience inspired Elizabeth to learn everything she could about end-of-life care, death education, and helping others prepare before a crisis occurs.

In our conversation, we explored end-of-life planning, death cafés, caregiving, aging, community support, and one of my favorite topics: how contemplating mortality can help us live more fully.

As Elizabeth shared, asking ourselves how we would live if time were short can help us focus on what truly matters.

Watch our conversation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azKDT4MOvSs&list=PLz5YEf09hX3L8Ll2SV7C1v8Ujcw1-IgQ-&index=3&t=46s

🌿 New Guided Meditation: Practicing Death

What if practicing death wasn’t about dying?

What if it was about loosening our grip on fear so we could love more freely, receive more deeply, and live more fully today?

This week’s guided meditation is an invitation to gently notice where you may be holding on—with compassion rather than judgment—and to soften into the present moment.

As we release our grip, we become open to the possibility of peace in our days.

🎧 Listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_rjsTiha3g&t=8s

I’d love to hear what resonated with you.

Practicing Death | A Guided Meditation for Letting Go and Living Fully What if practicing death wasn’t about dying?What if it was about ...

What if practicing death isn’t really about dying?

What if it is about loosening our grip on what we cannot keep so we can fully love what is here now?

In this week’s blog, I share a personal story about anticipatory grief, practicing loss, and how it changed the way I love.

Because in the end, practicing death is really practicing life.

Read here:
https://www.pamelarathbun.com/blog-1/practicing-death