upcoming events
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APRIL TBA
@ Studio Buddy in the Junction
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APRIL TBA
@ Studio Buddy in the Junction
sign up here, spaces limited
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MAY TBA
@ Studio Buddy in the Junction
sign up here, spaces limited
Self-Return: A Guided Living Death Reflection by death doula, clinical hypnotist, and grief worker, Brooke Manning
These offerings are by suggested donation ($44-111). Each season I offer one no-donation community event. It's important to me to make this offering as accessible to community as possible right now while sustaining my ability to keep these offerings ongoing. I am grateful to have all participants (250+) that have attended in the past reflect this as well. Each session is 2.5-3.5 hours.
Past particpants mention leaving the experience with a positive, uplifting, and empowered feeling. My goal is to create a safe, encouraging, curious, warm, loving environment to return ourselves to a healthier sense of mortality salience, agency, dignity, acceptance, and grace when investigating our lives and our impermance. Together, we will attempt to look at death and our own mortality through a mindful, broad, compassionate lens pointed towards the impermance of nature and it’s reminding cycles, mythology and ancient practices, ritual and remembering, current western alternative death care practices, and green death education. Participants will leave with practical tools that encourage a safe and ongoing conversation with mortality.
I like to give a clear understanding of the setting and tone to help everyone feel as comfortable as possible before arriving, and that is listed below. I'd like to note that this particular method of work is my own and proprietary. I have spent years developing this process very carefully and I outline it here in trust. I am not a gatekeeper of knowledge or information, and this work is also copywritten in ownership of Length of a Candle and myself. Each ceremony is a little different but below is the flow of what we will do together.
The format flows as follows:
We introduce ourselves, though the introduction is an invitation - no one has to speak if they do not wish to. I explain my work both personally and historically, many thanks are given. What follows is a brief educational and conversational talk on anti-capitalist and green options in death care, how death became an industry, terror management theory, and impermanence using nature as our guide. There are two meditations before we journal and complete a holographic will. The focus here is unique in that we attempt a return to Self without consideration of property or possessions. We explore the meaning and value of our grace and our beauty, our love and our grief, our forgiveness and our acceptance in reflection of our own impermanence and mortality. We close with a guided journey that sits with subtle noise to imagine our bodies returning to the earth simulating a still and peaceful death space amongst nature. Integration tips, aftercare, conversation, snacks for grounding and questions complete our time together — this part of the journey together has historically been so curious and nourishing that you may want to allow for more time together at the end. I stay for 30 extra minutes if we wish to continue conversation together as a group or otherwise.
This experience is very personal and there is much trust within the room. Each person has individual space to explore without feeling watched, and no one is ever called to speak if they don’t wish to. I do many check-ins and pay close attention to care that may be needed throughout the meditation. Death -- similar to perhaps only birth and gratefully, nature -- is the universal binder of all humans though our individual experience of death is a very unique reflection of our worldview (ie; personal experience, culture, gender, religion, race, class structure, ancestral mapping, etc). In recognizing this, I intend to pull the common thread that connects us all universally in place and understanding, looking always to the pulse of nature as our guide. We forgo a last will that upholds death-as-industry ideas post-20th century (e.g. personal possessions, work/productivity, or capital in reflection of one’s life) and instead gently move toward the fundamental understanding of why we are alive, the cycle of the body, and, consciousness. Nature can quietly connect us all to our mortality daily. When we connect with this understanding in a deeper and consistent way from love, when the time comes to face our own mortality directly, we can then meet it with a greater presence of self, a calmer mindset of acceptance, and more loving awareness to ripple outwards and share with others.
Self-Return: A Guided Living Death Reflection by death doula + grief worker, Brooke
Self-Return: A Guided Living Death Reflection by death doula + grief worker, Brooke Manning
Sunday August 25, 4-6pm @ Studio Buddy, The Junction, Toronto
Sliding scale beginning at $25
12 spaces available
Self-Return: A Guided Living Death Reflection by death doula + grief worker, Brooke Manning
Self-Return: A Guided Living Death Reflection by death doula + grief worker, Brooke Manning
Sunday July 21 4-6pm @ Studio Buddy, The Junction, Toronto
Sliding scale beginning at $25
12 spaces available

Living Funeral Death Meditation - The Rock Store - Studio Buddy
Living Funeral Death Meditation

Living Funeral Death Meditation - The Rock Store
Living Funeral Death Meditation
April 6, 2-4:30pm, The Rock Store, Toronto
$55-66, use code LOVE for bipoc discount and underemployed discount
Sign up HERE
The Rock Store
Space limited to 18 folks - each ceremony typically sells out quickly. Please note The Rock Store’s cancellation policy.
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Thank you so much for your interest and trust. Together, we will navigate waters that can sometimes be choppy alone. Here, we can attempt to return to the still and daily awareness of death with careful, compassionate investigation of our mortality and impermanence through the lens of love, nature and its cycles.
I like to give a clear understanding of setting and tone in order to help everyone feel as comfortable as possible before arriving so forgive me if this message is long winded. Please take a moment to read it as it may cover some information you need, and too, I have some requests highlighted in bold. Each ceremony is a little different and for this one, I've changed the format to reflect the season, new learnings, and needs.
The format flows as follows:
We introduce ourselves, though introduction is an invitation - no one has to speak if they do not wish to. I explain the history of my work both personally and historically, many thanks are given. A brief education on anti-capitalist and green options in death care, how death became an industry, terror management theory, and impermanence using nature as guide are next. There are two meditations to begin, one reflecting life and the other reflecting death. We learn a simple breathwork before to anchor us into our bodies for support. We then take time to sit in the death space through poetry and readings before answering written questions that will then be used to complete a holographic will on one's own time. The focus here is a return to self without consideration to property or possessions; We explore the meaning and value of grace and beauty, love and grief, forgiveness and acceptance in reflection to our own impermanence and mortality. Afterwards, we lay covered by a blanket and eye pillow in a guided stillness meditation where we imagine our bodies returning to the earth as we move through sounds of pink and green noise simulating a still and peaceful death space. Ending the ceremony, there is a space for questions, reflection, greater green death education, aftercare and integration tips. Historically, these spaces shared have been immensely valuable to everyone. I suggest that you don't plan anything exhaustive after the workshop and take the time to be loving and gentle to self.
For Body: Masks are not mandatory during this ceremony but they are appreciated and very welcomed. For clarity in my voice, I will not be wearing one. The temple space is located up a flight of stairs at The Rock Store -- if you need assistance please feel free to message me and I will be happy to arrange this. Natural scent will be used during the meditation (I burn cedar, fallen + ethical palo santo gifted to me by an elder friend. I also use florida water in very small traces. I don't use orange or citrus due to common sensitivities). You will be seated on a cushion and move into a lying position with your head on the cushion during the death meditation portion. If your body needs extra support, we have extra pillows and chairs with backrests, please let me know if you may need more accommodation and I am so happy to adjust to meet your needs. All blankets and eye pillows have been washed prior to the ceremony for everyone's safety.
For Spirit: A death doula leans into the spiritual-socio-bio-psycho-philosophical needs of each individual to co-create holistic and personalized places of understanding and care with each person or group they work with whether in active stages of grief, dying, or otherwise. In a group setting, it is important to me to create a safe space for all that attend. I recognize that I am unable to have lengthy conversations with each individual before the meditation but I do invite you to share with me via reply to this email anything you feel I might need to know about you to help create a place of safety for you during the meditation. Everything you may share with me is strictly confidential and my code of ethics follows the International End of Life Doula Association. I am most recently trained under the Institute of Traditional Medicine and INELDA, two of the most renowned compassionate end-of-life-care programs in North America. I am careful with whom I learn from, using academics, constant peer/colleague led-education, personal experience, and ancestral knowledge and teachings (both in my own lineage through my grandmother and gratefully, through many of my teachers) to inform my scope of care. I am adverse to much of the very white-washed spiritual wellness world and also feel similarly about colonial notions of privilege and value through heavy-handed institutionalization though I recognize that both exist. I follow INELDA's code of ethics (happy to share this document at request) and though I am currently studying psychotherapy and Clinical Hypnosis, I am not yet qualified to couple this work into my doula work at this time and thus am extremely mindful to never give or guide care outside of my current scope of knowledge.
For Mind: This experience is very personal - each person sits facing an image of themselves most of the meditation, and nothing you write in your holographic will is shared. No one is forced to speak if they do not wish to, though there are opportunities for many questions and communication. I do many check-in's and pay close attention to care that may be needed throughout the meditation. Death -- similar to perhaps only birth and nature -- is the universal binder of all though each individual's experience of death is a very unique reflection of one's worldview; personal experience, culture, gender, religion, race, class structure, ancestral mapping, etc. In recognizing this, my intention is to pull a common thread that connects through the lens of nature, focusing our attention towards our impermanence in reflection to its cycles. We forgo a last will and testament that upholds death-as-industry ideas post 20th century (e.g. personal possessions, work/productivity, or capital in reflection of one’s life) and instead gently move toward the fundamental understanding of the cycle of the body and consciousness through nature. Nature can quietly connect us all to our own mortality daily. By simply observing the life cycle of a flower, we can cultivate a daily life cycle practice to help slowly diminish any fears that may exist, limit, or accumulate over time. We can carry these new gracefully infused understandings of death and impermanence into our daily life moving forward. When the time does inevitability come to face our own mortality in a more direct way, we can meet it with greater presence, self reflection, self acceptance, and loving awareness.
Any questions at all, I am an email away or please feel free to visit my website or instagram. Thank you for reading this long message! Thank you for your care, interest, and enthusiasm! Importantly, again, thank you for your trust and I deeply look forward to connecting with you :).