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Jan 27 2006
Celebrating our Last Adventure
By Mary Evitt
Maria “Dancing Heart” Hoaglund wears purple to talk about life and death.
It is the color of grief and of encouragement, she said.
"And I am an encourager," she said.
A hospice chaplain for 11 years, the Clinton resident has just published an inspirational book titled "The Last Adventure of Life: Sacred Resources for Transition."
The book is the foundation for workshops and seminars she gives throughout the region.
Hoaglund, an ordained Christian minister, adopted the name "Dancing Heart" while on her own spiritual journey. She opened many doors along the way and has included the wisdom of great theologians and mystics with the thoughts of every day people in her book.
Poignant stories of the people Hoaglund met, some in the last days before death, are uplifting and informative.
Between the eloquent pages are passages on joy, truth, beauty, love and hope, as well as information on meditation, grief and healing.
A hint to Hoaglund's own roots are the Japanese characters in calligraphy throughout the book inked by Buddist friend Reiko Mittet.
Hoaglund grew up in Japan. Her parents were Lutheran ministers, so she spent her childhood mostly overseas with furloughs in the United States. When she was 17 years old, Hoaglund returned to the U.S. to attend Yale College in New Haven, Conn. She later earned a Masters in Divinity to become a minister in the United Church of Christ.
She wanted to be a pastoral counselor, but was advised she could better serve if she spent time as a minister first. For 10 years, she was a parish minister. Toward the end of her tenure, she asked God "How could I bring the joy back into ministry?"
The answer came during a meditation: Hospice.
She landed a part-time job as a bereavement counselor in Bellevue before being hired fulltime in Everett. While comforting those who are dying and their families and friends, she has gained spiritual insights.
She gave a workshop last week at the Bayview Senior Center and several hospice workers who serve clients in Island and Skagit counties attended. Hoaglund’s book is among those in a hospice library. Several hospice workers told her how helpful the book was to the families they work with.
For many people, living poses enough challenges, but dealing with their own death or that of a loved one is virtually impossible to disuss.
Hoaglund's book helps people open up and break down barriers about grief and dying.
Hoaglund offers retreats for caregivers. People who give to others all the time must replenish themselves, she said.
Working for hospice gave Hoaglund time to do her own explorations. Hoaglund’s expansive interests led to exploring Native American, Buddist, Christian and other realms of wisdom. As a result, she is knowledgeable about a wide array of spiritual and healing practices that she incorporates into her work.
She is now recognized as the type of encompassing counselor who bridges traditional religions with the new spirituality that is growing around the world, she said.
She writes,"...in the end, it is not our religion, but our full understanding and acceptance of our true essence that will save or heal us. It is through the way we live our lives every day — our love and service, our joy and understanding — that we will heal ourselves and our world."
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Aug 20 2005
Break summer doldrums with new book releases
By CYNTHIA WOOLBRIGHT
Getting the summer blues? Can’t wait for fall to come and the good old school days to be back?
Maybe it’s the books you’ve been reading while winding down the days until the leaves turn to golden hues. If that’s the case, there are a number of new books that have hit the local and national markets that feature the work of Whidbey Island authors and photographers.
Intrigued? You should be. Whidbey is home to world class authors. Take a look.
“The Last Adventure of Life:Sacred Resources for Transition”
Maria Hoaglund, a seasoned hospice worker has just completed "The Last Adventure of Life," a book that brings together information and lessons learned during her 10 years of hospice ministry and over 20 years of working in ministry and spirituality.
"I don’t see the book as something you read front to back, you pick it up and find the piece that is most useful to you at the time," Hoaglund said.
"The Last Adventure of Life" is filled with inspirational stories, poetry, scripture, prayers, guided meditations and alternative and holistic healing methods. Another valuable resource is the bibliography in the back of the book. Hoaglund made sure to give details of all of the valuable resources she utilizes in her work and which she drew inspiration for the book.
The book's publisher, Clinton-based Bridge to Dreams, describes the book as an inspirational resource book that presents a look at life, death, grief and change of every kind. It will be catalogued under the mind, body, spirit and spirituality genre.
Maria "Dancing Heart" Hoaglund has been a resident of Whidbey, specifically Clinton, for two years. She is the daughter of missionaries and grew up in Japan.
Hoaglund eventually came back to the states to find her own spiritual path that lead her to attend Yale and the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif.
After her seminary learning she was called to serve as associate pastor at the Church of the Crossroads near Honolulu, Hawaii. She came to serve the Japanese Congregational Church of Seattle in 1987 and that is where she stayed until she headed into hospice work in 1994.
"Parish ministry gave me the foundation of human relationships and a lot of the skills that would carry into hospice," Hoaglund said.
The book and its full title, "The Last Adventure of Life: Sacred Resources for Transition," are not just about grief, death and dying, Hoaglund said.
Her meeting of a variety of people, in a variety of situations during her ministry — from parish to hospice, young to old, grief to celebration — will be seen in the structure of the book, Hoaglund said.
"More than ever it is time for each of us on the planet to awaken our mortality and our spiritual nature," she said. "We are called to live with deep awareness of how we affects one another and the planet — this book will assist us in our healing, coming into balance as we become a part of the healing of the whole earth."
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