Founded in 1974 by Dr. Charles Garfield, Shanti has been at the forefront of a growing national movement to enhance the quality of life for persons living with life-threatening or chronic illnesses by providing volunteer-based emotional and practical support.

Shanti is a Sanskrit word meaning “inner peace” or “tranquility”. It is an appropriate name since, ultimately, all of Shanti’s direct service and educational programs are aimed at easing the burdens and improving the well-being of people in difficult life situations.

Key to the success of Shanti’s mission is the Shanti Model of Peer Support, which is both a philosophy and a set of techniques that are used throughout our work. It is a way of being with another person that frees both parties to be fully who they are and communicate their feelings to one another. It is a way of being which allows two persons to meet as equals. It is a way of relating to others that is characterized by certain values and attitudes.

To learn more about Shanti, please visit their website here.

Dale Borglum is the founder and Executive Director of The Living/Dying Project. He is a pioneer in the conscious dying movement and has worked directly with thousands of people with life-threatening illness and their families for over 30 years. In 1981, Dale founded the first residential facility for people who wished to die consciously in the United States, The Dying Center. He has taught and lectured extensively on the topics of spiritual support for those with life-threatening illness, on caregiving as a spiritual practice, and on healing at the edge, the edge of illness, of death, of loss, of crisis.

To learn more about The Living/Dying Project, please visit their website here.

Finding God in Our Hearts

My wife, Margot, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in July of 2002. She was twenty-nine years old. Over the years she pursued both conventional and alternative treatments, but in June of 2011 she was told she had no more than a week to live. Our dear friend Mira had known Dale Borglum, founder of the Living/Dying Project, for many years and suggested we seek his support. We agreed. Mira contacted Dale and he offered to meet with us. Margot was in the house with our family when Dale arrived. I first met with him on the driveway. Dale asked me a number of questions about the situation at the moment, and about our family members and their spiritual beliefs. I told him that Margot and I attended Catholic Mass, but were open to all spiritual beliefs and believed God was to be found at the core of all religions, but most importantly in our hearts. Over the next five days Dale ministered to our family. With Dale’s guidance we found peace and love in a very difficult situation. With his support Margot and I, her parents, her sister and her family, our children and grandchildren, my siblings and their children all found healing. When Margot left her body she was filled of love,peace, and joy. She innately had all of these qualities, of course, but Dale was able to bring her great peace as she approached the end of her life and brought tremendous peace and love to me and our family. I will be forever indebted to Dale and The Living/Dying Project. I urge anyone facing
death to reach out to Dale and the Living/Dying Project for their kind and loving expertise. Margot is missed by us all, but it gives me great solace knowing she left her body with such peace and love in her mind and heart.

Mike Murphy
Newly Elected Member of the Living/Dying Project Board