Draft_Invite_WCS_Meditation Course_June29_July1_2018

White Cloud Sojourns 

2018 

Compassionate Breath 

Meditations…A Workshop 

to relieve suffering… 

Peter Hendrick (Kunchuk Jurmed) 

White Cloud Sojourns Invitation 

4/10/2018


Dear Friend, 

you are invited to help with the review of a new, two day, breath meditation course: 

Compassionate Breath Meditations for Ending Suffering As the End of Life Nears 

June 29-July 1, 2018 

14 Pratt Rd, Alstead, NH (my home) 

It is my hope that your participation in this weekend focus group and course review will help the work to 

evolve and ultimately flow out into the world to relieve suffering for many. 

Like many of us, over a lifetime, I have been exploring consciousness, as well as practicing, meditation, 

breath work and how our breath relates to our living and dying. My explorations have led me from the 

Quaker meditations on inner light, to yoga to Transcendental Meditation and somatic Breathwork 

facilitation, and on to the esoteric yogas (Six Yogas of Naropa) found in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. 

Several years ago, for a number of years, I presented a short, one hour, and then two hour, free course 

“Your Last Breath,” as a beginning attempt to find a simple means of allowing people to ease the 

breathing of those caring for the dying, and the dying themselves. The results of that exploration, after 

much study, practice and reflection, have led me to this expanded work and I would like your help in 

making this available for others. My goal is to create a body of work that is accessible to anyone, so 

that upon leaving such a workshop they will possess simple techniques to relieve stress and suffering for 

their own use as well as to help others. The hope is to begin offering the workshops to the public in 

September of this year. 

The weekend will be co-led by my breath facilitator colleague, Elizabeth Allen, who brings added 

wisdom to this effort. We would love to have you come and join about 6 or 7 others in my home, for 

this weekend, to assist by experiencing the teachings and then providing us feedback through forms and 

discussions. We’re inviting real life seekers from many paths for this focus group weekend. Elizabeth 

and I really believe your lived-life experience makes you an excellent potential participant. 

I’m suggesting a donation of $60.00 to cover costs for this weekend: Refreshments, two lunches and the 

printing and production of a seventy page study guide that you will be able to take with you. (While 

appreciated, a donation is not required to attend.) 

Please let us know by May 1, 2018 if you are interested in attending, and, please feel free to write or 

call if you have questions. If you are interested, we’ll send you a draft agenda and logistical details for 

the weekend. 

E Ma Ho! (Tib. How Wonderful!) 

Peter Hendrick Jurmed 


14 Pratt Rd, Alstead, NH 03602 peter@whitecloudsojourns.net 603-760-8362


Compassionate Breath Meditations for Ending Suffering As the End of Life Nears 

Short Course Synopsis 

Friday Evening: 3 Hours 

Saturday: 8 Hours 

Sunday: 8 Hours 

Our ultimate goal is to create an open sourced, mindful community of care 

by utilizing simple breath meditations to relieve suffering. 

This will be course is for caregivers, healers, clergy and chaplains, doulas, family members and, not the 

least, anyone who is dying. It will be practicum consisting of an evening and two days (18 hours) of a 

hands-on, intensive in active breath meditations. These are techniques that may provide comfort, 

compassion and increased awareness at the end of life. They are based on Tibetan Buddhism and other 

forms of yoga as well modern “breath-work” theory which I studied, receiving certification as a 

facilitator of conscious connected breathing(2005). The course may be spiritually aligned with 

meditation and prayer and compassion teachings found in all major religious traditions. It also seems 

true to me that any human who acts with compassion is spiritual. This course is suitable for those over 

16 (with written, parental permission under 18), and it’s also suitable for anyone approaching the end of 

life or who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. 

If someone can breathe, if they can find compassion, they can learn the following and use it to relieve 

suffering upon leaving here. 

• Methods and theories of breathing patterns that are tied to everyone’s physical, emotional and 

spiritual state of being. 

• Tibetan breath meditations that are based on compassion 

• Modern relaxation and breath awareness techniques 

Upon leaving the workshop, an attendee may assist, using discernment, in caring for the dying (or, for 

their own use), to help relieve the suffering of the whole person. Some of the breath meditations that 

relieve stress for both caregiver and the dying will include: 

• Breath of Joy 

• Smile Breath 

• Loving Kindness Meditation 

• Tonglen (Receiving and Sending) 

• Tonglen with Toning Breath (“The Long Vowel “A” Breath.” 

• Intimate Connection – Sitting and Observing the Breath 

• Other simple breath meditation techniques 

To allow for meaningful presence at the end of life by relaxing body and spirit. These techniques may be 

done actively, in partnership with the dying; while some of the meditations may also be done passively, 

by the caregiver, without intruding on the dying person or their family or caregivers. 



Focus Group Aspect for this Workshop 

For this focus group review, the thought is for you to attend with “beginners mind” and 

participate during the weekend as a student, saving thoughts and critiques for both the short 

term review forms and then, allowing yourself time for reflection and either through additional 

forms, or conversations by phone, letter or email, providing additional feedback for us. 

Birth our existence, our consciousness, dying, our very last breath: These are heady, intense 

subjects and even the bravest explorers among us will need time to reflect and contribute. 

Some of the things we may want to explore with you are: 

• Is the material helpful and factual (according to your knowledge)? 

• Was it presented in an understandable, caring way? 

• Would others, who have never explored these subjects understand? 

• Was there enough space to integrate what you experienced> 

• An 18 hour weekend course is intensive, what other formats could be considered? 

• Inclusion or exclusion of spiritual references in the teachings – more/less? 

These and other questions will be covered in queries and open end questions in optional course 

review forms and conversations. 

“This is samsara. We must try.” 

Ayang Rinpoche 



DRAFT SCHEDULE: Outline of Learning Areas (Roman Num.) and Activities (Alpha) 

Day One - Evening (2.5 hours - 6:30 to 9:00 PM) 

A. Breath exercise (Seated or Standing) (5 minutes) 

1) Introductions and Intro Section (Logistics, safety; what we will cover: 40 minutes 

2) Breath and Being - Consciousness follows breath, breath follows consciousness, from 

the moment we are born, until we die. Death, the great teacher. ( 30 minutes – total 1 

hour 15 minutes) 

3) Breath Meditation Intro (30 minutes) 

B. Breath of Loving Kindness – Guided Meditation (First Step) (45 minutes: 9:00 PM) 

Day Two - Morning (4 Hours) Start 8:30 AM 

C. Breath Exercise (5 minutes) 

4) Circle check In – Recap (35 minutes) 

5) Conscious Connected Breath (Explain and Demo 35 minutes) 

6) Patterns of Breath – Breath and Emotion/Entrainment – Fear to Excitement to Love to 

Desire to Anger: Slow-Shallow; Slow-Deep; Fast-Shallow; Fast-Deep; Intro to Conscious 

Connected Breath (30 minutes - Total Time: 1 hr 45 minutes ) 

Break: 15 minutes (Ends at 10:30) 

7) The Panic and Pain of Dying – In the Breath (30 minutes) 

a. Hyperventilating; Fear and Myth 

b. Ending Entrainment - Easing the suffering – Physical benefits of relaxed 

breathing 

c. The Dying Breath Patterns – Panic Breathing’s Varied Forms 

D. Guided Meditation – Loving Kindness - 40 minutes 

(Practicing generating/sending love to others, especially your foes.) 

8) Intro to Tonglen: The Concept of Sending and Receiving Breath Mediation (Tonglen) (1 

hour) 



a. with brief practice session either before or after lunch 

Lunch: 75 minutes – to 1:15 

Day Two – Afternoon 

E. Regroup - Breath of Angels or Smile Breathing Exercise (5 mins) or Tonglen for 30 

minutes if not before lunch. 

9) Group Circle Check in - Feedback on Receiving and Sending 40 minutes 

10) The Goal of Breath Meditations (10 minutes) 

11) Suffering Breath Patterns Discussion and More on Hyperventilation (15 minutes) 

12) Active Sending and Receiving – The “Long Vowel Toning” Breath 30 minutes 

a) Benefits 

b) Demonstration 

F. Tonglen Simple form: Ten Smile Breath Teaching & Practice (20 minutes) 

i. Target Total time: 90 minutes: 2:45 PM 

Break (15 minutes - ends at 3:00 PM) 

G. Guided Tonglen Practice (Receiving and Sending) (40 minutes) 

13) Active Toning Further Explained 

H. Active Demonstrations/Practice of Breath of Compassion/Toning “Ah” (30 minutes) 

14) Stages of Dying 


Day Three – Morning 8:30 AM 

I. Breath Exercise (5 mins) 


15) Circle Check In and What we will cover today (40 minutes) 

16) Dialogues on Compassionate Breath/When Passive and Not To Use (45 minutes) 

J. Active Smile and or Eye Breathing Practice (30 minutes) 

Break 15 Minutes 

K. Tonglen) and Toning Breath Practice (2 hours) 

a. Active Compassion and Toning Visualizations 

b. Passive Toning and Compassion 

Lunch (90 Minutes) 1:30 Start 

Day Three - Afternoon 

G. Loving Kindness Guided Mediation (30 minutes 

17) Discussion: On Active Toning Method (45 minutes) 

Break (Ends at 3:00 PM) 

18) Review (40 minutes) hour) 

a. Compassionate Breath Meditations – How to Use. 

b. Review of 7 Easy to Use Breath Meditations 

c. Reminder of Cheyne-Stokes Breath Pattern – Non-interference 

K. 10 minutes – Breath Visualization Exercise: Dissolving into the Light 

19) Upon Last Breath – Continue Meditation – Remain Calm Compassion (20 minutes) 

20) Questions and Answers (40 minutes) Distribute Feedback forms/Books/Certificates of 

Participation. 

H. Closing Circle (15 minutes) 

END AT 5:15 PM

Draft_Invite_WCS_Meditation Course_June29_July1_2018

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